I see smog, U C Hate Speech
Even just ten years ago, if you were a loudmouthed dumbass, you really didn't have a whole lot of ways to get your point to a whole lot of people. Really, you had a megaphone or letters to the editor. But newspapers want you to be coherent, and you can't just strap on a bullhorn and yell, otherwise you're liable to get carted off to jail or the loony bin. But the internet changed that. Anyone with a pipe to the web and a web page or camera can write on the ultimate bathroom wall. And best of all is the anonymity! You can hide behind a nom de hack, or block comments, and you may never have to deal with people who disagree with you. Given that truism, I'm surprised that an incident like Alexandra Wallace's tirade hasn't happened more often. (Or maybe they happen everyday, and we just don't see nine hundred ninety-nine of the thousand.)
Anyway, I think she's allowed to say whatever she wants, even if it was in really poor taste to mention the recent tsunami and to affect a faux-Japanese speech pattern. I heard plenty of people who re-affirmed her story, and that sort of thing happens in a library. I don't take issue with that. I take issue with a Vice-chancellor of UCLA who says: "if she's received a death threat, I find that as deplorable as her original Youtube video"
Soon after uploading the video, Ms. Wallace was receiving those threats by e-mail and by phone. I would think that most sane people would find the death threats the more deplorable, but not at UCLA. A stupid college student saying stupidly insensitive things is equivalent to threatening to kill her. That instead of protecting the free speech of one of their student, the administration goes straight to their bookshelf, hauling out the student code of conduct, and seeing just where the holy and sacred text will allow them to levy disciplinary action against her, just because someone might (might!) be offended and outraged. UCLA is the very definition of political correctness run amok.
The real winner in all this is a gentleman named Jimmy Wong. After the original video, he penned a song of his very own, posted it and got huge traction on Youtube. It is easy to be lewd, nasty, vituperative and hateful. It is difficult to be clever and cutting and make your point without resorting to name calling, but Jimmy pulled it off, and I think it will lead to something great for him.
Later on, it turns out that Alexandra is leaving UCLA because of the fallout from her video. In the same way as there's a Bill of Rights, there should also be a Bill of Responsibilities. You can't just say whatever you want and expect everyone is going to fall all over themselves to agree with you and laud your opinion. Even if you don't mean anything by it, people will be offended and react adversely to what you said. Your having to deal with the fallout from your speech is the other half of being able to say what you want. UCLA had a really good chance to make an example of the incident by saying "We don't like what she said, but she gets to say it, and we're going to set an example by not overreacting" but they missed out.
Anyway, I think she's allowed to say whatever she wants, even if it was in really poor taste to mention the recent tsunami and to affect a faux-Japanese speech pattern. I heard plenty of people who re-affirmed her story, and that sort of thing happens in a library. I don't take issue with that. I take issue with a Vice-chancellor of UCLA who says: "if she's received a death threat, I find that as deplorable as her original Youtube video"
Soon after uploading the video, Ms. Wallace was receiving those threats by e-mail and by phone. I would think that most sane people would find the death threats the more deplorable, but not at UCLA. A stupid college student saying stupidly insensitive things is equivalent to threatening to kill her. That instead of protecting the free speech of one of their student, the administration goes straight to their bookshelf, hauling out the student code of conduct, and seeing just where the holy and sacred text will allow them to levy disciplinary action against her, just because someone might (might!) be offended and outraged. UCLA is the very definition of political correctness run amok.
The real winner in all this is a gentleman named Jimmy Wong. After the original video, he penned a song of his very own, posted it and got huge traction on Youtube. It is easy to be lewd, nasty, vituperative and hateful. It is difficult to be clever and cutting and make your point without resorting to name calling, but Jimmy pulled it off, and I think it will lead to something great for him.
Later on, it turns out that Alexandra is leaving UCLA because of the fallout from her video. In the same way as there's a Bill of Rights, there should also be a Bill of Responsibilities. You can't just say whatever you want and expect everyone is going to fall all over themselves to agree with you and laud your opinion. Even if you don't mean anything by it, people will be offended and react adversely to what you said. Your having to deal with the fallout from your speech is the other half of being able to say what you want. UCLA had a really good chance to make an example of the incident by saying "We don't like what she said, but she gets to say it, and we're going to set an example by not overreacting" but they missed out.