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Bob Schaffer's Son May Face Discipline At School For Racist Facebook Page
Looks like its not only Colorado Senate Candidate Bob Schaffer (R) whose troubled by his son's Facebook page.
From the Dayton Daily News:
University of Dayton officials said Tuesday, Aug. 5, they are considering charging student Justin Schaffer for a violation of the Standards of Behavior for posting offensive information on his Facebook page.The 19-year-old son of Republican Senate candidate Bob Schaffer of Colorado on Monday apologized for an entry that had the words "High Five ... Who's Gay" over a photo of a waving Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. It also had a picture of the Pyramids with the words "Slavery Gets (expletive) Done."
UD said the Code of Conduct standard calls for students to respect all members of the community and the community at large.
Sister Annette Schmeling, vice president of student development and dean of students, said she will have an initial conversation with Schaffer about the postings and "explore the ways his Facebook page is not showing respect."
"We are addressing it and we expect to begin the adjudication process before classes start on August 20," Schmeling said in a written statement.
Over at the main TPM blog, Josh has a pretty thorough summary of the implications a "Slavery Gets Shit Done" image has on a candidate who has previously been tied to sweat shop labor in the Mariana Islands.
Post his vile garbage in the U. Dayton football team locker room along with his photo. Discipline will soon follow.
August 6, 2008 9:49 AM | Reply | Permalink
the kid's a punk and probably a bigot as well. but, i'm not sure U Dayton should be punishing him for his facebook page.
errr, wait, i'm all for it as long as my values are being enforced by those in authority. or, gosh, i hope my speech will always be acceptable to those in authority.
however, i'm open to hearing a line of reasoning though. i mean, i'd understand if this was hardcore neo-nazi stuff; what do people suggest as a means of drawing the line?
August 6, 2008 11:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
Tricky question, I agree. But first of all, did he identify himself as a UD student on the page, making this their business. And even moreso, when the Dean of Students is "Sister Mary", you're probably in a school where the rules are a little different: Codes of conduct, etc.
August 6, 2008 11:56 AM | Reply | Permalink
Solid thinking there. Any school has a right to expect THEIR students to represent their school in a good light. I had wondered where that racist statement came from and now I find it is from the Colorado State Senate Candidate's son. You can always tell the situation in the home when this sort of swill comes from the kid. Now that it is public knowledge about what school this kid attends, nothing for the school to do but to boot him. Strange, the parents did not teach this kid better or maybe they did teach him this racist crap but more likely the kid has just gotten in with a Nazi crowd. No matter his reason, we need for this sort of hate crap to be nipped in the bud by both parents and schools.
August 11, 2008 8:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
Let's be clear - U. Dayton is a private institution, and they are free to enforce whatever code of conduct they like as long as it is not discriminatory. If this were a public institution they would have a lot less latitude.
As long as they have some sort of code of conduct that putting up potentially offensive, bigoted stuff could fall under, they are free to take disciplinary actions. Now, I might personally not want to attend a school that would severely discipline people for making offensive jokes, but if that's their policy, so be it.
August 6, 2008 1:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
ok, i can buy that reasoning.
i guess i still get the heebeejeebies whenever some authority (especially an academic institution) reacts to speech like this: a knee-jerk reaction perhaps.
August 6, 2008 2:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
The young man is the son of a politician running for US Senate. He can say anything he likes. Personally I wish he'd keep it up.
The University of Dayton is a private Catholic College and can do as they please concerning his face book page and whatever else. That's what's great about attending a Private Religious school, you make the decision as to who will be deciding what set of rules you follow when enroll. It seems young master Schaffer doesn't meet their standards. He has the option of leaving or accepting the decisions made. Again that is the beauty of attending a private religious institution. Its all about choice.
August 6, 2008 2:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Can we punish offensive speech and still maintain that we place a high value on free speech?
I think that people who spout rascist trash should rightly be ostracised, and that if they are inciting immediate violence they may properly be arrested. But punishing them for ignorant, boorish speech is wrong. After all, stupid and boorish people are given contracts for many millions of dollars to host radio shows. This young man obviously has potential. Maybe he can intern for Rush Limbaugh.
August 6, 2008 12:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
If "we" is the government, then no, not in general.
If "we" is the public as a whole, acting through collective private actions like boycotts or protests, then sure, we can.
In this case, the university is one single private organization. If they want to take action as a private group, that's their prerogative and it doesn't impinge on the principle of free speech.
August 6, 2008 1:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't like making facebook pages public. These are private things where your friend's are invited. It should not go out into media circulation.
That being said, it is a real window into the heart of a republican minds, and boy is it ugly.
August 6, 2008 12:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
A quick look at Justin's (mirrored) facebook page reveals that his email name his "hoplitejustin," an informative glimpse into his political philosophy. The hoplites were infantrymen who fought on behalf of the Greek city-state, but not as members of a conscripted army. According to answer.com:
Add this to his belief that "God is a republican," membership in a group called "Democracy Bad, Republic Good," some hardcore xenophobia, and you can start to get a pretty rich picture of this kid's worldview.
August 6, 2008 12:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
So he's not a combatant in real life, he just plays one on the internet. Another f***ing chicken-hawk?
August 6, 2008 2:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
He's in ROTC at UD. Whether any disciplinary action taken by the school spills over remains to be seen. Schaffer's twin daughters, who are slightly older than Justin, are also involved -- one is a cadet at the Air Force Academy and the other is in ROTC. He also has two younger daughters. Bob Schaffer is a chickenhawk, but his kids, apparently, are not.
August 6, 2008 3:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
I didn't know he was in ROTC. I can't imagine that LTC Schretzman will be very happy about this.
August 6, 2008 3:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
I teach at UD. We are Catholic, Marianist University. Students can be disciplined if their conduct is found to be in violation of the published code of conduct. The guiding thought in these principles is the respect for all persons regardless of differences. What I object to in the DDN coverage, and which I told the reporter in a series of emails this morning, is that focusing on the Obama smears makes it look like the university is targeting (admittedly juvenile, tasteless) political speech. I don't think that this is the case. His facebook page goes against core values of the UD community. Also, it is not correct to treat facebook as if it were private. UD students, and I suspect others as well, use it for promoting all kinds of university sponsored events. If he had had these posters up in his room in his university residence there would have been an issue as well. This is not normal speech, it borders on hate speech and certainly creates a hostile environment for faculty and students on campus. I am very happy that Sr. Annette has stepped in so quickly. When I read this on TPM last night, I was completely embarrassed. Most of our students are better than this.
August 6, 2008 1:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
As a Catholic university grad myself (Benedictine), I know that Dayton does have a good reputation and I am confident that they will handle this properly. I'm sure standards have changed since I graduated more than 35 years ago, but anyone posting stuff like that would have been gone in an instant. And that in an environment that was pretty tolerant and open in most things. This stuff crosses a pretty clear line into the realm of hate. I would be surprised it were tolerated by his ROTC unit either; although he is not an officer, unless standards have deteriorated from my military days, it certainly falls under "conduct unbecoming" and reason enough to drum him out of the corps.
August 6, 2008 3:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's irreverent speech. It's political satire. It's not publically attempting to make anyone unwelcome. It should be protected speech. It's in the same comedy tradition as George Carlin, though politically opposite, and doesn't deserve the uproar.
August 6, 2008 4:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
What does, "Slavery gets shit done" satirize? It probably does not deserve lots of public uproar. But, as one who could have this kid in a class, it bothers me. We should also pay attention to the way racism works on campuses like UD--Joe Feagin's and Leslie Picca's work on what they call "Two-faced racism" comes to mind. Racist and eliminationist rhetoric is often written off as satire so people like me just don't get it.
August 6, 2008 4:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
If nothing else, it's a reminder that slavery, as an institution, existed and still does exist for a reason. Usually, because it was profitable or the most effective way that a society found to get things done. Failure to understand and address that likely leads to failure to eliminate slavery. The pyramids were built in Africa by slave labor, having nothing to do with America or race relations in the US. Any links must be drawn separately by the speaker or the audience. It is possible to discuss or joke about slavery as a historic fact without involving race. Even if it were not, banning jokes and being unable to find poor jokes even slightly amusing is a sign of a deep flaw in a society. Just remember, the next time you fly, security is not a joke!
August 7, 2008 4:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
To be quite honest, nothing you write here makes any sense without suspending every notion of justice. It is not possible to joke about slavery--the injustice of the institution, no matter where it is located, is just too much to be tolerated. Any joke about slavery will never be funny, only painful.
August 7, 2008 4:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
The best response to douche baggery is to just let every one know who the douche bag is. It will sort itself out.
August 6, 2008 4:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
I've got an idea; seeing as how he is of military age, I think he should get off his *ss, join the service I'm sure he supports and express his sentiments face to face with the troops in Iraq now currently protecting his right to free speech. He should make friends and influence people with ideas like that. It's not so much that his words are ignorant and foolish; what's so shocking and depressingly sad is that the historical suffering of others is a joke to him - classic sign of a pyschopath. Just a thought....
August 13, 2008 11:48 AM | Reply | Permalink