A menorah in a Northeastern University quad was vandalized and fliers bearing anti-Semitic and other offensive references were distributed in some Harvard College residences Friday in incidents that school administrators quickly condemned.
Two Northeastern students confessed Friday to damaging the decorative menorah, a candelabrum used for Jewish worship during the eight-day celebration of Hanukkah.
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This stuff is not offensive. Offensive is something different entirely. I've been offended in my life and got over it.
This is just plain STUPID and IGNORANT behaviour. How did a person go through grammar school, high school and get accepted to a world class university and remain this ridiculous? Anyone found responsible for this sort of thing needs to be reminded where they are and told to think about whether they are ready to become a cooperating member of the world of the educated.
Hate is learned. As Denis Leary says, of his toddler, "You know what he hates? Naps." I'd like to know what kind of homes these nitwits grew up in.
I think the situation in the Middle East makes for a difficult situation. People take sides. It may be Israelis vs. Palestinians, but that gets converted in people's minds to Muslims vs. Jews. And not by accident; the warring parties make the same references.
So what is hate? Certainly damaging a menorah is a crime, but distributing a flyer or brochure? Not necessarily. If it didn't contain swaticas or advocate violence, it could just as well have been political.
“Jews need not apply” and “Seriously, no [expletive] Jews. Coloreds OK.” If similar comments were made about gays and lesbians, about Muslim Americans, or about African Americans, would you argue that "it could just as well have been political"? You seem to be arguing that Jews deserve anti-Semitic remarks and conduct. In my mind, that makes you an anti-Semite.
It seems to you because you want it to seem to you, so you can be insulting. It's in your mind because you like to make other people evil like yourself.
I wasn't defending anything but freedom of speech. I was saying that hate requires hateful remarks. The flyer sounds rather sophomoric to me, but it contained no threats that I can perceive. If it said "no [expletive] liberals" I might be a bit aggravated, but I wouldn't consider it hate speech in a legal sense, and I wouldn't expect an investigation.
My point was that free speech is allowed in this country, including speech that belittles people or insults people, as you regularly demonstrate. Prejudicial it may be, but we're allowd prejudicial speech regardless of how it may ring in your ears.
You like to twist what people say in order to apply non-existent motivations to them. You should be ashamed, but there's no chance of that.
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This is how the Holocaust began in Europe. Anti-Semitic incidents like this should be punished by expulsion.