Students at Ohio State University are furious after school officials published information about two Black suspects connected to a “hate crime” that occurred near the Columbus campus earlier this month, which the university was required by federal law to report.
The first communication did not reveal the race of the victims, which is where the whole uproar began.
OSU is mocking their entire Black student body right now. They’re blatantly making campus more uncomfortable and dangerous for us and POC.
— Deja Janay 🤍 (@foreverdejaa) September 5, 2020
“Mocking the entire Black student body?” How so? “Making campus more uncomfortable and dangerous” for you? Same question.
(Wait — message to self: Do not attempt to employ facts, logic, rationale, or any other reasonable thought processes while writing this piece. It would only frustrate you, and then you’d lose focus.)
Student Solidarity at Ohio State University — whose Twitter account boasts a whopping 195 followers — called out the university for its “irresponsible” public safety notice, while also throwing shade on the notion that White people could be victims of “hate crimes” perpetrated against them by Black people. “This is unacceptable,” it declared.
Last Thursday, @OhioState sent out an irresponsible “public safety notice” that claimed OSU students were the victims of a “hate crime”. The email identified the alleged attackers as Black, while failing to mention that the victims were White. This is unacceptable. pic.twitter.com/BbjkpNch4U
— Student Solidarity at OSU (@SolidarityatOSU) September 7, 2020
OSU sent out an email on Friday confirming that the alleged victims were White, but this is not enough. The damage has already been done. Furthermore, they continued to classify this incident as a hate crime, despite admitting that the alleged victims were White. pic.twitter.com/CY1dFluqfq
— Student Solidarity at OSU (@SolidarityatOSU) September 7, 2020
You know what, Student Solidarity? This is unacceptable. Your tweets, that is. Question: If the victims had been Asian, say, would that have qualified as a hate crime? Or are you suggesting that Black Americans are incapable of committing hate crimes against any race?
Had OSU identified the alleged victims as White, this would have been clear. Instead, they chose to omit this fact, and identify only the race of the alleged attackers. This is a clear example of a microaggression towards the Black community.
— Student Solidarity at OSU (@SolidarityatOSU) September 7, 2020
OK, this is ridiculous. Setting aside the silliness of “microaggressions,” how did the initial omission that the victims were White constitute a “microaggression” against the Black community? Seems to me the “microaggression” would have been against the White community, for failing to report a crime against White victims. Very confusing.
As reported by Campus Reform, the Department of Public Safety sent two follow-up emails identifying the victims as White OSU students and that the suspects were in custody. One suspect allegedly yelled a racial slur at a student and punched him in the face.
The Lantern, OSU’s student newspaper was on it, people.
A demonstration of about 100 people has gathered outside Bricker Hall demanding Ohio State acknowledge it “error and confusion in the handling of” a public safety notice on a pair of assaults against white victims the university categorized as a hate crime under the Clery Act. pic.twitter.com/0ttCJTLpg0
— The Lantern (@TheLantern) September 8, 2020
Then things got really insane.
The details of this incident that were shared in OSU’s public safety notice do not meet the legal definition of a hate crime. To refer to it as such solely because the alleged perpetrators used a “racial slur” is illogical.
— Student Solidarity at OSU (@SolidarityatOSU) September 7, 2020
Uh-huh. Except they were wrong. The follow-up emails said that in addition to the racial slurs, one of the students was punched.
“Racial slurs” referring to White people are not based on a history of violence & oppression towards White people. Using this “slur” does not have the same violent, racist implications as a White person saying the n-word, for example, nor does it make this incident a hate crime.
— Student Solidarity at OSU (@SolidarityatOSU) September 7, 2020
Hold the OSU campus bus. So lemme make sure I understand. These students are suggesting it’s not possible for a Black person to make a racial slur against a White person. Period.
Apparently, cracker, honkey, hick, hillbilly, whitey, white trash, and trailer trash, off the top of my head, are good-to-go slurs against White people by people of color, right? Of course, they are; ever seen a Chris Rock stand-up comedy bit?
#ProTip for Student Solidarity OSU:
Racist-motivated actions don’t originate in the victims of those actions; they exist within those committing racist acts. Suggesting that people of any race are incapable of committing racist acts against people of another race is as naive as it is wrong. Not to mention it’s a lie.
Students for Solidarity OSU, Black Lives Matter, and the Democrat Party were unavailable for comment as to what a Black person would have to do to a White Person to “qualify” as having committed a “hate crime.” I’ll now hold my breath.
