More racism in Ann Arbor

Understandably, the issue of racism makes Ann Arborites uncomfortable. As the defendant in the Supreme Court’s 2003 decision upholding affirmative action in law school admissions, the University of Michigan is frequently the canvas for the political opinions and agendas of outsiders — and it’s getting messy. In the aftermath of the 2005’s most infamous incident — in which two white students were accused of yelling epithets and urinating on a group of Asian students — the debate raged between those who saw the event as a hate crime, and those who, brandishing scare quotes, dismissed it as only a “hate crime.”

Even in that debate, however, both sides were able to keep largely civil to one another. Case in point: Nick Cheolas, incoming editor at the conservative Michigan Review and a person with whom I have never agreed, wrote in to the Michigan Daily a few months back. Amidst falling over himself to apologize for the alleged perpetrators, Mr. Cheloas nevertheless managed to write an editorial fit for public consumption.* No matter what side of the political fence you’re on, it’s possible to appeal to facts [or, in Nick's case, someone's account of the facts] and reason, not racial invective.

Unfortunately, it’s not alway that way in practice. I was at a friend’s apartment this afternoon, and given the recent heatwave, I cut through the Modern Languages Building on my way home. Halfway through, I passed a bulletin board, full of ads looking for subleasees or experimental participants. One note caught my eye, despite its small size and shoddy photocopying:

“Ralph Nader didn’t lose the 2000 election for Al Gore. Instead, it was blacks’ hatred for whites that pushed so many white voters to the right.” …

Hooh boy. The flier continued for two more tightly-packed paragraphs, spread over two sheets. I made it far enough to read that “blacks regularly maim white atheletes to win pro sports contracts” and how “blacks commit 10,000,000 hate crimes against whites every year that go unreported” before I grew too disgusted to go on. Automatically, I grabbed the flier and dropped it in a recycling basket nearby.

Walking away, I wasn’t sure I did the right thing. I certainly am, as George H. W. Bush would say, “a card-carrying member of the ACLU.” That means, among other things, that I value free speech even when it’s ugly, vicious speech. I guess to this point, I’ve never been in a position to actively test that value. Rationally, I don’t believe there ought to be a test to determine whether speech is pleasantly expressed before it qualifies as speech. But in the heat of the moment, I wasn’t thinking rationally. I mean, as a private citizen, I wasn’t in any danger of violating anyone’s First Amendment rights (in fact, I suppose I was exercising my own). Further, I don’t think that the handbill would have lasted much longer had I not removed it — you would have head to see the thing. At the same time, I’m conflicted

In the meantime, though, there is an ugly current of racism in this town, and it looks like it’s expressing itself this summer. I wonder if the poster was trying to get his message out in time for the influx of out-of-towners visiting the Art Fair. I hope I don’t see any more around town, but the one I saw today was clearly photocopied, and spread across two quartersheets at that. Come to think of it, maybe they’re printed on both sides (I didn’t examine it very closely before junking it), which would suggest someone intends to hand them out. I’ll be keeping my eyes open, and I hope others will do the same. There’s a place for fair and civilized debate about race in America, but the direction this particular screed was going in wasn’t a civilized one at all.

Yikes, Ann Arbor. Yikes.

*I don’t meant to imply any connection between Nick or anyone else and the flier; just including him as an example.