“This event was never intended to be centered around racism or hate. This year, one of these brothers is a conservative Republican, and the new members roasted him by playing the part of a racist conservative character. It was a satirical sketch of an uneducated, racist, homophobic, misogynist, sexist, ableist and intolerant person. The young man playing the part of this character nor the young man being roasted do not hold any of the horrible views espoused as a part of that sketch. We would like to believe that the new members seen in the video laughing at the horrible things being said were not laughing in concurrence with these beliefs, but in fact the opposite—that racism, sexism and homophobia are so wrong that they are laughable.
…
We are open-minded, scholarly leaders, both in our profession and in the community.”
…”— Excerpt of an entirely insufficient apology posted by members of Syracuse University’s Theta Tau engineering frat after a truly deplorable video of them engaging in racist, homophobic, sexist behavior garnered national media attention and outrage.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
ChrisK
I think most of us already knew that. Well with the exception of DC guy that is..^_^
ChrisK
Oh and the whole “scholarly leaders” thing is such bullshit. You just know that they didn’t write that with a straight face
steve3885
I hear ya!!!
Aromaeus
Aren’t they supposed to be in college and that’s the best excuse they could come up with? I’m assuming none of them are pre-law.
jkb
Now would they happen to have a bridge to sell?
BivisibleGuy
I called it as a poor piece of satire the moment I watched it. I really wish these “editors” would have posted the apology in full. These guys were stupid but not espousing hatred. Get down off your high horse and accept a darn apology and admit that you were wrong. You can’t take a bad joke. Please, folks, learn to breathe and figure out how to move forward, just as I hope these kids will be able to. Frontal cortex is not fully developed by their freshman year of college. They admit it was a mistake. Allow them to learn from their mistakes. Stop being the SJW people joke about and be the SJW the world deserves.
Brian
We see your calling card
Cylest Brooks
Here’s the problem: they were INTENDING to be funny, but what the ACTUALLY did was problematic as fuck.
Go with me here… this might be where your version of an “SJW the world deserves” might be different from mine… but when it comes to racism and racist epithets, I prioritize the potential harm that can be caused above the rights of white folk to laugh about stuff.
Sure, those guys might not have been intentionally trying to support overt racism, but that’s what happened. Their half-apology didn’t really apologize so much as it just attempted to explain and justify… which says to me that they are not interested in learning or growing from this experience. Instead it seems like they just want to declare themselves as “good guys” and guilt us into giving them a pass for this (incredibly tactless) act.
I don’t. I don’t give them a pass, and I don’t believe that they are good guys. I believe that they are complicit in the continued systemic oppression of black people. And I believe that they are racist themselves.
As someone who’s called a SJW quite often, I reject your suggestion that these were just boys being boys, unable to make better decisions because of their not-fully-formed frontal cortex. I can also name dozens of black young men who have been shot down by the police (who didn’t care about their brain development when they mercilessly took their lives). Unless you’re advocating just as hard against that, I’d suggest that perhaps your willingness to give these dudes leniency has more to do with the color of their skin than it does with their intent or their brains.
nitejonboy
Meanwhile they’re banging each other silly in private.
Ummmm Yeah
Blacks commit more crimes and are raised to think they are entitled to run from and attack the police. The reason more of them get killed per capita is because more of them bring it on themselves. It really is that sinple.
MaxTaste
How people dumb as posts get into college is a mystery to me.
Cylest Brooks
I deleted a whole thread here and, for the sake of transparency, wanted to leave a comment explaining why.
I appreciate everyone who took the time to respond to the gross, vile, racist thoughts that were espoused here. Generally, when folks take the time and invest the emotional energy into responding to racism, I try not to delete their words.
In this case, however, I felt like the entire conversation was detrimental. The original premise, followed by many lengthy diatribes all attempting to suggest that black folk somehow deserve the crimes committed against them, are absolutely unwelcome on Queerty.
Ummmm Yeah’s account has been banned. I will continue to monitor this thread, and will remove any comments that attempt to re-start this conversation. I will also effectively begin banning any and all users who suggest that black folk are guilty in their own oppression. Consider this a warning.
Thanks.
DCguy
The issue I have with the explanation the Frat offered is this.
They claimed they were making fun of a member who has these beliefs…….
Ok….well here’s an idea, if that is true, why not kick that member out? Supposedly they thought those ideas were well known enough and idiotic enough to supposedly spoof them in this “Play” they did, but not idiotic enough to kick the person out?
So the choices are this, Either the Frat is full of racists and anti-Semites, OR they have one or two members that feel that way and instead of handling it, they just laugh about it.
Sorry, either one doesn’t work or excuse anything.
BivisibleGuy
Wow, super job of being inclusive of other people. While I don’t condone their behavior, it seems like a way to poke fun at the “stupid” ideas these members have and hope they see the light. Excluding them or banishment won’t teach them a thing. Education is key. Poor satire is poorly served, but excommunicated doesn’t serve either party.
DCguy
Hi @BivisibleGuy
I get what you’re saying, HOWEVER, if they were advocating for rape, or child molesting, or slavery, or anything like that should the first concern be that we aren’t bine “Inclusive” to people that want rape to be legal?
Would a woman’s shelter get attacked for not being “inclusive” for not allowing people advocating rape to be allowed to be members?
So why shouldn’t the school be allowed to take disciplinary action against a group that is basically harassing every minority student on campus? Why is the FIRST worry whether the 5 frat guys get hurt feelings rather than the 5,000 black and lgbt students on campus?