Law Professor's Response to Black Lives Matter Shirt Complaint
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This is a disturbing trend of arrogance amongst some folks who think they can enter into a culture which existed before they did, and demand it assimilate to their standards. If the school allows professors to express themselves in their choice of clothing then the discomfort of a few students should not be enough to challenge that.
Anyone who's really intellectually prepared for College, especially in the United States where the 1st amendment is so important to everyone, should probably know all of that without having to be told. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think so.
And naturally I'd assume you'd have no problem with a professor wearing a "white lives matter" shirt? And that you'd respond similarly to people who complain if one does?
Being easily manipulated is not a virtue or positive trait. It's not going to help you with natural selection. People who get offended by things other people say or by the clothing they wear are taking the wrong path in life.
B) if a student came in wearing a "white lives matter," or more extremely, a "black lives don't matter" shirt, how much backlash would there be? I'm genuinely curious what HN thinks. From what I've seen, that student would become public enemy #1, and would most likely be expelled from the school.
"White Lives Matter" is likely to be controversial for two reasons. First, it misses the point of the Black Lives Matter slogan, as the professor addressed quite well. Scan his response for "focus and exclusion" for detail, there. Second, "White Lives Matter" does not stand alone as a statement in today's cultural context. No one could wear such a shirt and claim it was anything other than a counterpoint to "Black Lives Matter". Thus, in 2016, that counter-slogan comes with a very strong implication of "black lives don't matter." Which brings us to your more extreme case.
Wearing a shirt that proclaimed "black lives don't matter" could be seen as a wry commentary on American culture, if worn by a black student already known by their peers to be an activist for civil rights. Even then, the face value of that statement means it should be verboten.
And that face value is, I'm confident, what you mean by your question. I certainly hope that any university would indeed expel a student (after a warning) who insisted on making the statement that the lives of other people do not matter. The social purpose of universities is to improve society by increasing the knowledge and awareness of its members. "Other people don't matter" is an interesting stance to take for a socratic dialog around solipsism, but as a personal statement is clearly opposed to the mission of any respectable education institution.
Your questioning itself strongly suggests that you (like many) sense an invisible "only" before "black lives matter." I'd like to encourage you to re-read the "focus and exclusion" portion of the professor's response.
BLM refers to not just the statement, but also the organization and what it does and encourages.
If you look at the BLM twitter feed, you'll see plenty of pictures of BLM supporters wearing T Shirts saying things like "Assata taught me" (Referring to Assata Shakur, the cop killer).
BLM organizes events where they chant things like "pigs in a blanket, fry'em like bacon". The pigs in a blanket referring to cops in body bags.
It's sad when someone like a law professor thinks its ok to identify with such an organization.
History doesn’t matter. Therefore sequences of cause and effect can be ignored (or even inverted).
What you think something means is the same as what it actually means.