This protest was peaceful. Not all protests are.
by James A. Bacon
Forgotten in the firestorm over the gang-rape hoax and the “rape epidemic” at the University of Virginia, there is a very real crime that has, to date, gone unpunished. On Nov. 20, a group of eight masked men and women attacked the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house, the location of the alleged gang rape, by throwing bricks and bottles through nearly every first-floor window. Messages such as “F*** Boys,” “Suspend us,” and “UVA Center for Rape Studies” were spray-painted on the walls.
A month later, no arrests have been made and no charges have been filed. It’s not even clear if the Charlottesville police have any intention of pursuing the vandalism case. Yet Washington Times reporter Jeffrey Scott Shapiro managed to track down a student who claimed to have participated in the attack. He spoke to the reporter on the condition that his name would not be used because he did not want the police to find him.
Shapiro described the young man as “the progeny of a privileged family” and quoted him as follows:
“Victims at the university have no legitimate channels to take action, and I think vandalism is a completely legitimate form of action when like, legitimate authority is corrupt. I think it was justified,” he said in an interview with The Times.
Asked whether he believed the ends generally justified the means, he casually replied, “Sure.” He also said he is not opposed to “armed revolution” as a means to end what he termed “systemic oppression.”
The student said his group of friends sent an anonymous letter to various news organizations several hours after the attack warning that it was “just the beginning.” The letter threatened to “escalate and provoke until certain demands were met,” including “an immediate revision of university policy mandating expulsion as the only sanction for rape and sexual assault.” …
The student … said he had no regrets despite the fact that the accuracy of Jackie’s story in Rolling Stone has come under significant doubt, including the name of the fraternity where the alleged attack occurred. Asked whether he felt at all bad about attacking the wrong fraternity, he showed no remorse and justified the attack on the broader woes of “social injustice.”
“I’ve done some thinking about that, but the answer is no. Everyone knows this is a house that does not respect women. They are part of the problem, and I do not feel bad. We have an objective set of laws that empowers the police to kill black men with impunity and protects white rapists at U.Va. from prosecution. The laws are only legitimate when they work. This is not a particularly radical campus, but we’re mad.
“As a college student, I know a lot of people who have been the result of direct oppression. We have tried peaceful political change, and I think a huge percentage of people in this country are fed up with that because we’re not getting anywhere.” …
“The police force does nothing but harass the black community and protect white students from being uncomfortable,” he said.
Maybe there is a problem with white male privilege. If this pampered little snot and his Che Gueverra wannabe friends get away with a significant act of vandalism, maybe Charlottesville police do have two standards, one for whites and one for blacks.
On the other hand, considering how the radical protesters who disrupted the Charlottesville City Council meeting last week went unchastised (see previous post), maybe the problem isn’t white male privilege — it’s left-wing privilege in the People’s Republic of Charlottesville. Some crimes and misdemeanors are worth prosecuting and others aren’t.
Let’s take a look:
- Jackie. The UVa student identified as “Jackie” in the infamous Rolling Stone article slandered the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house and an acquaintance identified as “Drew.” It is increasingly likely that the entire story was a fabrication from start to finish. Punishment: None.
- The vandals. Eight vandals of the Phi Kappa Psi house caused damage that could total more than $1,000. Punishment: None (so far).
- Social justice activists. Social justice activists hooted down a speaker with whom they disagreed and plunged a City Council meeting into a half hour of anarchy. Punishment: None.
- Dude exercising his first amendment rights. A politically incorrect guy got hooted down by a hostile crowd. Punishment: When he ran briefly over his allotted three-minute limit to make up for time he couldn’t be heard, the mayor asked a police officer to escort him from the council chamber.
- Sororities and fraternities. Amidst the wave of undocumented and unproven allegations of an “epidemic of rape,” UVa President Teresa Sullivan shut down the social activities of all sororities and fraternities through early January – collective punishment for the alleged sins of a few.
