BINGHAMTON REVIEW
P.O. BOX 6000 BINGHAMTON, NY 13902-6000 EDITOR@BINGHAMTONREVIEW.COM
Founded 1987 • Volume XXX, Issue V
Editor-in-Chief
Patrick McAuliffe Jr. Managing Editor Kayla Jimenez Copy Desk Chief Elizabeth Elliot
Business Manager Jason Caci
Editor Emeritus Jordan Raitses
Associate Editors Adrienne Vertucci, Colin Gilmartin
Staff Writers
Aditi Roy, Luke Kusick, Chris DeMarco, Jordan Jardine, Tommy Gagliano, Thomas Sheremetta, Matthew Rosen
Cleaned Out the Fridge Jason Caci
Special Thanks To:
Intercollegiate Studies Institute Collegiate Network Binghamton Review was printed by Gary Marsden We Provide the Truth. He Provides the Staples
PUTTING THE BS IN BSA
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by Patrick McAuliffe
4 Ten Trendy Costumes to Rock This Halloween by Our Staff 8 Taking the BS Out of BSA by Kayla Jimenez 9 Kap’s Collusion Claims by Colin Gilmartin 11 Here’s An Option: Leave North Korea Alone by Jordan Jardine 12 Communism Was Never About Equality by Sen. Joseph McCarthy 14 Spooky Stats Stall Baseball Bats by Jason Caci 15 Words Are Not Inherently Offensive by Anonymous
Departments 3 Editorial
5 Letter to the Editor
TELL US WHAT YOU THINK! Direct feedback to editor@binghamtonreview.com 2
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Vol. XXX, Issue V
EDITORIAL Dear Readers,
A
From the Editor
s our Free Press office mates have done, so too shall we bring to you our issue full of spoopy content and topics sure to make the hair on your arms stand on end. Ooooo, classic Binghamton Review satire and questioning the status quo! Truly the most frightening thing this holiday season. Be sure to pray to Mr. Skeltal every night until November 1st for strong bones and much calcium. Doot doot. Again, we ended up being so chock-full of original content that there’s no room for a throwback! I’m personally incredibly proud of this issue and how our staff continues to push the envelope (keep in mind, our mission statement hopes that we entertain our readers when engaging with them). That being said, lemme break it down for you. In place of Press Watch, our staff has assembled some Top Ten Trendy Halloween Costumes (if not obvious when you read it, they’re satirical) to help you stand out at that frat party downtown. Colin begins his Review writing career with an extrapolation on the continuing developments in the curious case of Colin Kaepernick. I and my Managing Editor Kayla, somewhat unexpectedly, voice our opposing opinions on the recent Boy Scouts of America decision to allow young women into their Cub Scout and Boy Scout programs. Just as a side note, this kind of op-ed writing, where two people write against each other on a pertinent issue, is exactly what I want to see more of in the Review. The two leaders of this magazine provided you an example; what’s your excuse? (editor@binghamtonreview.com, shameless plug.) Returning to the content of this issue, Jordan proposes a hands-off approach to future relations with North Korea, in a plan he hopes will deescalate conflict and lead to a more peaceful world. Jason comments on the worrying trend of focusing too much on baseball statistics and not enough on the sport itself. The 1950s firebrand Sen. Joseph McCarthy resurrects and explains how communism was never about equality for its followers, and has led to more death and destruction than any Marxist professor can justify. Finally, Anonymous advocates for a stance mired in controversy: that no word or slur is inherently offensive, and that context does matter when considering the meaning of these words. You may notice something interesting after our Halloween Costume recommendations. That’s right, we have our first ever Letter to the Editor! You can read what a fan of the Review from the opposite end of the political spectrum has to say about our hard work. Please please follow the example of this dedicated fan and send in your feedback to editor@binghamtonreview.com. We won’t bite! I promise. Once you get to know us we’re hardly spoopy at all. Stay safe on Halloweekend! The things that go bump in the night should only be the music at the club or party with people you trust.
Sincerely,
Our Mission Binghamton Review is a non-partisan, studentrun news magazine of conservative thought at Binghamton University founded in 1987. A true liberal arts education expands a student’s horizons and opens one’s mind to a vast array of divergent perspectives. The mark of true maturity is being able to engage with those divergent perspectives rationally while maintaining one’s own convictions. In that spirit, we seek to promote the free and open exchange of ideas and offer alternative viewpoints not normally found or accepted on our predominately liberal campus. We stand against tyranny in all of its forms, both on campus and beyond. We believe in the principles set forth in this country’s Declaration of Independence and seek to preserve the fundamental tenets of Western civilization. It is our duty to expose the warped ideology of political correctness and cultural authoritarianism that dominates this university. Finally, we understand that a moral order is a necessary component of any civilized society. We strive to inform, engage with, and perhaps even amuse our readers in carrying out this mission.
Patrick McAuliffe Jr.
Views expressed by writers do not necessarily represent the views of the publication as a whole. editor@binghamtonreview.com
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TEN TRENDY COSTUMES TO ROCK THIS HALLOWEEN
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Ten Trendy Costumes to Rock This Halloween Written by Our Staff
1. Colin Kaepernick
This costume is right for the times! With Colin all over the news, now is the time to show your support for the black community. What better way to do it then to dress as Kappy himself? All you’ll need is a Kaepernick jersey, some cleats, an afro wig, and, arguably the most important part of the costume, dark-colored foundation! Wow the crowd with this daring and social activist look.
2. Harvey Weinstein and Literally any Female Actress Cute couples costume alert! Show your friends that you’re in the know and actually read the news with this creative and never-before-seen couples Halloween look.
3. Elizabeth Warren
Want to dress like a Native American but worried you’ll offend people? No problem! You can still dress up in Native American attire, with headdress, moccasins, fringes and all. This costume only needs old lady glasses and a short, distasteful wig to complete the look. The costume can’t be offensive, since you’re dressed up as an actual Native American and a truly inspirational woman! Make sure to contour those cheekbones, ladies!
4. Illegal Alien
Alien costumes are so totally 2017. Get those space buns up high and break out the galaxy glitter for this costume. Alien costumes are so basic, so switch up your alien look by adding an orange jumpsuit. Stand out from those other basic bitches out on Halloween with this illegal alien costume!
5. Slutty Muslim
What better way to show your support for the Muslim community than to completely defy its values? This slutty Muslim costume is a MUST-lim this fall. Ladies, show your feminist side on Halloween. This costume simply requires a burqa and some scissors! Cut the burqa to right below the butt, and cut a tit slit front and center. Support your fellow gals and FREE THOSE NIPPLES. Your costume will leave all the fellas saying “Ji-had me at hello!”
6. Binghamton Review Member
Halloween is a time to be something that you’re not. Get out of your comfort zone with this Binghamton Review member costume… step into something that you vehemently oppose! Salmon shorts, boat shoes (no socks), American flag cape, MAGA hat (optional), and make sure to rock white face! The final touch is telling everyone you’re not racist because you have “a few black friends!”
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TEN TRENDY COSTUMES TO ROCK THIS HALLOWEEN
7. Papi Richard Spencer
There’s no better way to protest the alt-right than dressing up as their leader mixed with a sexi Spanish sombrero! You know they hate race mixing, so be sure to incorporate as many cultures into your costume as possible to represent your support for multiculturalism! A Native American headdress, a geisha robe, Hawaiian tiki torches… nothing is off limits for this bad hombre!
8. Sexy Anne Frank
Hate Hitler? Us too! This Sexy Anne Frank costume is one of our favorites. You can purchase this costume from online retailer HalloweenCostumes.com! Oh wait, they removed it from their website? Huh, wonder why!
9. Sobbing Jimmy Kimmel
Wanna show your lefty friends how much of a great person you are? Since no one has more moral high ground than Jimmy Kimmel, why not go as him! Get the tears going by rewatching least year’s election night results for an even more realistic effect. Grab your Hispanic friend to go as Guillermo so he can be the butt of every joke. If you’re really ambitious, print out mean tweets for your friends to read!
10. Daddy Putin
Fellas, is this the costume for you! Go shirtless, with a large cross necklace, baggy tie-at-thewaist camo pants, combat boots, and one of those little horse stick toy things that we all had as kids. The ladies will be Yeltsin your name all night!
Editor’s Note: Just in case it wasn’t obvious, these costumes are satirical. Stay safe this Halloween!
Letter to the Editor Hey Binghamton Review,
Hi there,
This is probably not the appropriate forum for this, but I’m a little drunk so who cares. I’ve been a student here for a little over three years. Just wanted to let you all know that I love the paper and pick it up every time I pass it in C4 or the Union. I’m a big old hippie dippie fag (and pretty proud of it), so I don’t agree with a lot of the individual opinions in your articles, but I love the honesty and the intellectual basis of the pieces I see. I was surprised at first how much I enjoyed reading your paper and also, how much I agreed with a lot of the ideas in it. I’ve always thought that hearing opinions different from your own are a good way to challenge your own beliefs - but that’s also a corny thing that everyone says and never actually tries to do. I’m no conservative, but I am a student/teacher/adult/person who is frustrated by a lot of the same things that you and people of all political leanings are frustrated by today.
Thank you for the feedback. We very much appreciate it! It’s comforting to know that not everyone in the world is so deeply entrenched in ideology that we can’t find value in the other side. Also, props to you for being a proud “hippie dippie fag,” which I think has been the only time I’ve heard that expression in my life. Hearing different opinions is the best way we grow as people, and I appreciate that you recognize that. You seem to have a solid grasp of what we’re about, so I won’t rant much longer. Instead, have a dank meme, on the house! Thank you again for your support, however silent or loud it may be. -Patrick McAuliffe, Editor-in-Chief
Anyway, keep doing what you do. I don’t always agree with you, and my delicate sensibilities are offended at least a few times by each issue, but your voice is so important on this campus. Also, even though I’m usually the butt of the joke, you guys are just freakin funny. Keep it up.
editor@binghamtonreview.com
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PUTTING THE BS IN BSA
Putting the BS in BSA
BINGHAMTONREVIEW.COM
By Patrick McAuliffe
B
ig news came out (pun intended) of the Boy Scouts of America on National Coming Out Day (October 11th). Starting in 2018, Cub Scout packs will have the option to accept girls, and in 2019 the BSA hopes to have a program ready for young women to earn the rank of Eagle Scout. I know many of my fellow Eagle Scouts and other Scout brothers will disagree with me on this important decision by our beloved organization. I believe the BSA is making a mistake, not because I believe girls and young women to be incapable of living up to the BSA’s standards, but because this decision seems to be a thinly disguised attempt to revitalize for modern times when in reality it betrays the core mission of the BSA and ignores other options for change and gender equality. The decision to allow young women into Boy Scouting comes after a considerable push by families and girls to have the ability to earn the Eagle Scout rank. Back in November 2016, I shared a video by NowThis Her on Facebook about a girl who was fighting for inclusion in the BSA in order to obtain Eagle rank. The video painted the BSA as “discriminatory” and claimed that the US government should defund the organization until it ended such discrimination. It isn’t just individual women who want to be included in Scouting, either. The press release from www.scoutingnewsroom. org also cites general changes in family wants and needs: “Families today are busier and more diverse than ever. Most are dual-earners and there are more single-parent households than ever before [1], making convenient programs that serve the whole family more appealing. Additionally, many groups currently underserved by Scouting, including the Hispanic and Asian communities, prefer to participate in activities as a family. Recent surveys [2] of parents not involved with Scouting showed high interest in getting their daughters signed up for programs like
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Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, with 90 percent expressing interest in a program like Cub Scouts and 87 percent expressing interest in a program like Boy Scouts. Education experts also evaluated the curriculum and content and confirmed relevancy of the program for young women.” The studies cited are as follows: [1] PEW Research Center survey conducted Sept. 15 – Oct. 13, 2015 among 1,807 U.S. parents with children younger than 18. [2] BSA surveys included two external surveys and four internal surveys conducted from April to September 2017. Surveys were conducted online. It may seem that this decision was one made to provide a wider berth of services to American families, but the main objection many raise is about the role of the Girl Scouts of America. According to RT News, Girl Scout leaders such as Muriel Berry, Director of Communications for Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland and GSA President Kathy Hopinkah Hannan say that the leadership of the BSA never approached them about the plan, with Berry adding that the relationship between the two organizations was a “formidable, wonderful partnership.”
“It may seem that this decision was one made to provide a wider berth of services to American families, but the main objection many raise is about the role of the Girl Scouts of America.” Both of my younger sisters were Girl Scouts, and the older of the two even earned her Silver Award (perhaps comparable to the Life rank in Boy Scouting). My mother, a Girl Scout leader of both of their Troops, still made time for helping me with my Boy Scouting requirements, and kept me on top of completing the necessary
steps in my Eagle service project. My father continues to serve Boy Scouting as a Troop leader for my younger brother. The invaluable effort that my entire family gave to my Scouting career is something I am eternally grateful for. Anecdotal evidence typically does not hold much power in an argument, but it can often point to something greater. I’m not saying that all families are like mine, or that my family’s case of a united appreciation for Scouting programs across the genders is the norm. There are ways to get involved in the organization of the opposite gender as the organizations stand now, and the option to deepen that involvement without complete integration is something I don’t think was fully explored. I suppose that’s the main question surrounding this decision: why not full integration? Michael Surbaugh, Chief Scout Executive of the BSA, says that “This decision is true to the BSA’s mission and core values outlined in the Scout Oath and Law. The values of Scouting – trustworthy, loyal, helpful, kind, brave and reverent, for example – are important for both young men and women.” I agree wholeheartedly. That is why, drawing upon my own research and what I observed from my sisters’ participation, I offer my input to any GSA leader looking to revitalize the Girl Scout program for today’s young women. A program that is widely seen as only selling cookies and making crafts would naturally fall behind a program that bestows an instant eye-catcher on a resume and has produced national heroes, from presidents (Gerald Ford) to astronauts (Buzz Aldrin). To speak for the prestige of the award, only four percent of Scouts attain the Eagle rank. Yes, you may say, we can revamp the Girl Scouts, but the Gold Award is far less reputable than an Eagle Scout award. Few people know the effort that goes into achieving one and as a result girls feel that they have no incentive to
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“There are ways to get involved in the organization of the opposite gender as the organizations stand now, and the option to deepen that involvement without complete integration is something I don’t think was fully explored.” work for it. Because of this, a young woman would rather achieve something far more prestigious and helpful to her future: the Eagle Scout award. My answer to this criticism shifts unjust failings in this department to that abstract beast I love to wrestle with named “society.” A vast majority don’t know about the dedication and work that goes into earning one. Merely perusing the requirements online (which can be found here: http://www. girlscouts.org/en/our-program/highest-awards/gold-award.html) gives me the impression that this would have been a much more daunting task than an Eagle project. Even when projects went beyond building picnic benches for a park or a bridge over a local trail’s swamp, the Eagle award has a bit more structure than what the Gold Award seems to require. I don’t mean to put down the Eagle rank at all; my point is that the Gold Award is at the very least as challenging and demanding as its corresponding award in Boy Scouts. Changing societal attitudes about it starts with you. If you find yourself in a position of hiring or admission and you see a Girl Scout Gold Award, remember that time you followed my link and were impressed by the requirements for that award, and admit that dedicated young woman into your organization. Don’t stop there; encourage all of your friends and connections in similar situations to do the same. “Be the change you wish to see in the world” and all that. (By the way, recipients of both awards can enter the armed forces one rank higher than an average enlistee.) By this point you may be frustrated. How can such a hard-line libertarian not advocate for the right of a pri-
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PUTTING THE BS IN BSA vate organization to change its policies and not have to justify them? Or better yet, I might be a filthy sexist for criticizing a private organization for making the progressive and moral decision to join the current year. Yes, I am a hardline libertarian; yes, I’m criticizing their decision; and no, I’m not a filthy sexist. Another major question that is vitally important is whether the BSA is a private or a public organization; that is, whether they receive any federal funding. The BSA is a private, 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization chartered by the US Congress; however, it does not actually receive funds from said Congress. Most funding comes from local councils, donations, membership dues, and the national sale of Scout merchandise and magazine subscriptions (shout out to the staff at Boys’ Life; I still have my Pedro pin from the 2010 National Jamboree and your concluding monthly jokes were hilarious to pubescent me). Boy Scout Troops and councils usually have permission for the use of public property such as schools and government buildings (as is customary for community-centered organizations), but they do not receive a direct monetary benefit. If they are a publicly funded organization, legally speaking they would have to abide by the 1963 Civil Rights Act against discrimination. However, by all apparent evidence, any government benefit the BSA receives is indirect, making it a private organization. The NowThis Her video I mentioned at the beginning of this piece brought up the fact that the BSA’s rules were written at a time before women had the right to vote. Those rules still happened to stick around after women gained that right, and even outlived second-wave feminism in the 1960s. All because, as a private organization, the BSA had the right to make its own rules for membership and not have to justify them to the public. Then, as now, people were
mad, but there was and is no way to legislate a solution. In the end, it seems like the fiasco is all about where choice should lie. Cub Scout packs won’t be required to let in girls, and young women can choose to not work towards Eagle. The Girl Scouts will still exist, and with the BSA’s decision new families may choose to sign their children up while more traditional members may choose to stop participating. I’m not quite sure yet whether I will sign my future children up for Cub Scouts and encourage them to continue into (Boy) Scouts. For me, Troop 375 was a place of escape from the social pressures of facing members of the opposite sex. I was never a “hit her it means you like her” guy, and I didn’t enjoy people that were; I was more of a “oh god she breathed at me” guy. As much as the word gets mocked and tossed around, Boy Scouting provided a safe space for me, away from all of that. Taking that away in the name of equality and anti-discrimination, especially when so many other options catered to each gender exist, is a pretty stupid decision to this Eagle. Sources:
http://www.scoutingnewsroom.org/press-releases/bsa-expands-programs-welcome-girls-cubscouts-highest-rank-eagle-scout/ https://www.rt.com/usa/406419-boy-scoutsgirl-scouts-reactions/ https://www.quora.com/U-S-Federal-Government-What-funding-does-the-Boy-Scouts-ofAmerica-BSA-receive-from-American-taxpayers http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/11/04/ raising-kids-and-running-a-household-howworking-parents-share-the-load/ http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/02-506. pdf
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TAKING THE BS OUT OF BSA
Taking the BS Out of BSA
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By Kayla Jimenez
T
he Boy Scouts of America (BSA) announced on October 11th, that starting in 2018, young girls will be allowed to join the Cub Scouts, with an Eagle scout program extended to young women by 2019. This isn’t surprising; earlier this year, the BSA voted to allow transgender boys to join the organization. The Wall Street Journal explains that “it seems the Scouts have finally surrendered to the culture war, but the reality is more complicated.” While many are outraged, disappointed, and disgusted by this transition, here are some valid reasons for this change. 1. The BSA is losing members According to the Wall Street Journal, “Boy Scout membership has fallen by about a third since 2000.” WIth a steadily declining membership, and multiple failed initiatives implemented aimed at stopping this decline, the BSA was left with little options for its survival. In fact, previous initiatives, such as the Sea Scouting and Venturing programs, have been open to women, in hopes to battle the diminishing numbers of scouts. If those up in arms about this change truly cared about the Boy Scouts as an organization, they would see that allowing young girls and women is necessary for the organization’s survival. The WSJ reports that, “90% of parents not involved with scouting were interested in getting their daughters into a program like the Cub Scouts.” Hello, that’s a huge opportunity to expand membership! Allowing young girls to get involved seems like a no-brainer solution to the loss of members, if you ask me. 2. New programs will uphold tradition and family-oriented values In the announcement, the BSA emphasized that it intends to develop and offer more programs for entire families. Those who typically argue for the Boys only Boy Scouts appreciate and understand the importance of family in young people’s lives, as does
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the BSA. New programs and initiatives that are family oriented have to include women and girls to truly be about family. 3. Girl Scouts < Boy Scouts Another point of contempt for those in opposition to allowing girls into the Boy Scouts is that the genders are inherently different, so boys have Boy Scouts, and girls have Girl Scouts. As a former Girl Scout, let me just say that the Girl Scouts is a far less useful organization, and not because women are less useful in society. Yes, there are differences between the genders, but that does not mean that young girls wouldn’t benefit from the opportunities the BSA has to offer. A Facebook friend of mine, Caitlin, emphasized the futility of Girl Scouts in a recent status: “When I went ‘camping’ as a Brownie and as a Junior, we slept on mattresses in a cabin. Boy Scouts of the same age, however, learned how to pitch tents and build a fire. The Boy Scouts got to march down Main Street militaristically while holding the colors while the Girl Scouts waved like pageant girls at parade goers while wearing handmade cardboard costumes. Yes, both kinds of Scouts learned how to work independently as well as alongside a team, but there are still some big differences between the groups that make them in no way equal. This isn’t an issue of completely obliterating gender norms or en-
“In today’s world, women and men alike have influential roles in society and in the family, and the values of the BSA will only be more effective with more loyal members.” forcing a more “politically correct” agenda, -okay? It’s about giving little girls the same opportunities as their male peers. God forbid a first grader would rather go on a hike instead of sell a box of cookies.” YAS queen. No really though. At Girl Scouts, we would sit around, glitter glue shit, fill out workbooks… everyone hated it and was only there because her mom forced her to be because they thought it would look good on college applications! What type of organization is that? Oh, I guess we occasionally did community service, but that was not as common as the glitter gluing. And I know this varies from troop to troop, but I was in four different Girl Scout troops from kindergarten to high school, and none of them seemed to be much different. Could the Girl Scouts up its game and start offering better programs for young girls and women? Sure! But have they? Mmm, not really. What incentive did the GSA have? They lacked competitors. Now that the BSA is allowing females to join, there is a competitive environment that will encourage both the Girl Scouts and the Boy Scouts to continue to provide exciting and educational opportunities for young men AND women. 4. The BSA still upholds and even furthers its mission For your reference, here is the BSA mission statement: “The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law.” And here is the Scout Oath: On my honor I will do my best To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;
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BINGHAMTONREVIEW.COM To help other people at all times; To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight. And the Scout Law: A Scout is: Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, Reverent How is the BSA going to fulfill this mission with fewer and fewer boys joining the Scouts? Um, they’re not. Allowing girls to join will further the reach and impact of the BSA on society and will help the BSA to achieve its mission. Young girls can follow the Scout Oath and Law just as well, and by doing so will only help young boys to do so. Boys and girls, women and men, are a team, whether that be in the classroom, in the workplace, as parents, as siblings, as friends, on the battlefield… the list goes on and on. In today’s world, women and men alike have influential roles in society and in the family, and the values of the BSA will only be more effective with more loyal members. Though these roles may differ, the core values of the BSA will have a stronger place in society if taught to young boys AND girls. 5. Girls will not be infiltrating the Boy Scouts, as dens can still be
KAP’S COLLUSION CLAIMS single-gender Even though girls will be allowed to join, dens can still be single-gender. On an individual basis, local packs can decide whether they want to be mixed or single-gender, or both. No one will be forced to change the entire structure of scouting programs. Local leaders, parents, and participants can make that decision on their own. If a den wants to be mixed-gender, great! If a local pack decides that dens will
“If those up in arms about this change truly cared about the Boy Scouts as an organization, they would see that allowing young girls and women is necessary for the organization’s survival.” be single-gender, that’s cool too! I’m all for separating young girls and boys for camping trips, for example, because that shit can get awkward. This change is not about forcing the genders to become one, or making boys more feminine, or girls more masculine, or eliminating all signs of gender identity, or diminishing differences between the genders… it’s about
building a community, bringing people together, and instilling core values in young people regardless of gender. The BSA is even designing an Eagle Scout program specifically for young women, so the integrity of the original Eagle Scout program for young men will not be compromised nor will it be adversely affected. The Scouts confirm that “this unique approach allows the organization to maintain the integrity of the single-gender model while also meeting the needs of today’s families.” So relax. I get it, I really do. People are concerned that the Boy Scouts will lose its ability to affect and inspire young men, or they’re concerned that we are becoming too politically correct and erasing all differences between the genders, or they have some other argument that I did not address here (see Patrick’s article, homies). But the reality is that the BSA needs female members to continue to grow, and has incorporated women into the organization for years. According to the LA Times, “nearly a third of the group’s volunteers are women.” It’s time that people come to terms with change and learn to see the positives instead of focusing on the negatives.
Kap’s Collusion Claims
By Colin Gilmartin
Amidst the turmoil that was my Monday morning, thanks to my 59 year old uncle who somehow trampled my fantasy football team this weekend by 70 plus points without knowing he was playing me, I tuned into the God awful channel that is ESPN to witness the tangible football plays that led to my historic demise this past Sunday. My (hopefully) championship-worthy team was brought to a solid record of 4-2. After the highlights, ESPN predictably goes right to the social issues and “injustices” that surround the NFL during their program. “First Take” with Max Kellerman and Stephen A. Smith, blasphemous as ever, delves right into the NFL’s notorious poster boy, Colin Kaepernick. Kap and his newly assembled legal team have
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now filed a grievance against the NFL and its owners claiming that there is a secret plot of collusion against Colin and his beliefs, disallowing him from continuing his quarterback career in the NFL. From the kneeling campaign he’s forefronted and other mishaps, Kaepernick has burned many potential bridges that would have secured him a roster spot on an NFL team.
“Maybe your stance that America is racist as a whole...is somewhat flawed. Maybe you yourself is what’s standing in your way of playing professional football again.”
Firstly, the Miami Dolphins, with their current disaster of a QB situation, were in such dire need of a body running their offense that they brought in the apathetic enigma that is Jay Cutler. Cutler, before being brought into Miami, was on schedule to take up a much more relaxing announcer position with a major TV network to be commentating football, not playing. What does that say to you, Colin? Maybe your stance that America is racist as a whole, and subsequently refusing to stand for the National Anthem of a country that has given you and many other minority players an opportunity to play a sport for millions of dollars despite being biracial, is somewhat flawed. Maybe you yourself is what’s standing in your way
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of playing professional football again. The Dolphins passed over Kaepernick for two glaring reasons, which Kap seems blissfully unaware of. First off, if Kap were to be signed to the ‘phins, immediately there would be a rift in the fanbase because of the kneelings, causing many fans to switch allegiances to the Bucs (if you like crab legs) or to possibly stop watching football entirely. Now I know some people believe Kap’s argument is well-founded; I don’t know these people personally and don’t care to, but they are out there. I firmly believe that the support of these people isn’t enough to justify the signing by the Dolphins, considering the supporters of Kaepernick are the minority. Miami also has a huge Cuban population, and Kap has pissed them off as well! He’s been spotted sporting a Fidel Castro T-shirt during a press conference while he was still a part of the 49ers organization. Castro’s legacy, one of the most oppressive and
It takes a certain kind of idiot to vaporize the chance of a multi-million dollar deal for their significant other, even if it’s for a cause that these people hold true to their hearts (some [wo]men just want to watch the world burn, Master Bruce). 10
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able.
infamous in the past century, somehow gives Kap solace. He believes “great minds think alike” according to the the act of wearing this T-shirt. I don’t see how the former Cubans that have weathered the Castro dictatorship could be on the same wavelength as him, let alone be fans of the same Dolphins organization. Yet, Colin thinks that it is the team owners that are being unreason-
The second Kap mishap is that nobody has ever successfully compared their potential boss and a beloved former member of an organization to a master and slave dynamic and secured the potential job. Kaepernick’s girlfriend, who’s assumed the role of Harley Quinn to Kaepernick’s Joker-esque sensational narrative, compared the Baltimore Ravens’ owner Steve Bisciotti and Hall of Fame middle linebacker and long-cherished Raven Ray Lewis to Leonardo Dicaprio and Samuel L. Jackson in the movie Django Unchained. Harley - I mean Nessa - seems to think it’s accurate to portray Lewis as the self-loathing slave, knowing where his bread is buttered and blindly following the racist and vicious master. This is all while Kap is in contract talks with the Ravens! Even better, Ray Lewis was for signing Kaepernick, wanting him as a safe backup to the “elite” Joe Flacco, who eerily could be the athlete doppleganger of the Scarecrow from Batman Begins (please google this, I guarantee you’re gonna like the comparison). It takes a certain kind of idiot to vaporize the chance of a multi-million dollar deal for their significant other, even if it’s for a cause that these people hold true
to their hearts (some [wo]men just want to watch the world burn, Master Bruce). For a professional athlete already skating on super thin ice, Kap should know better. I don’t think a backwards political stance is worth missing out on millions, but what do I know? I’m just a distraught fan of the NFL who likes money. NFL owners understand that taking on Kaepernick in this political climate would mean a definite drop in profits solely because of the bad taste he’s left in the mouths of too many fans and members of the NFL. Professional sports leagues are businesses and at the end of the day, it’s about profits. Take the NBA’s Isaiah Thomas trade. The guy played for the Celtics right after his sister passed away, just to be traded this past offseason. If a business doesn’t want to lose profits unnecessarily due to signing a player swimming in controversy, how can someone claim that doing so is a secret plot against him? It’s rather obvious that a business wants to take in as much revenue as possible at the expense of a player not entirely deserving of a roster spot. Newsflash: Kap opted out of his own contract when it came time to renegotiate his deal with San Francisco. His skill doesn’t even live up to the hype; Alex Smith is now a franchise quarterback and he was benched for Colin, making the NFL general managers feel that the Kaepernick train has left the station for good. This long standing story of Kaepernick against the NFL is exhausting at this point. Luckily, Colin has hammered the last figurative nail into his coffin with this official claim of collusion, making it virtually impossible for him to be signed by an NFL team now.
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HERE’S AN OPTION: LEAVE NORTH KOREA ALONE
Here’s an Option: Leave North Korea Alone By Jordan Jardine
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hroughout his tenure so far, President Trump has been increasingly hostile toward North Korea. The Hill reported on October 10th that Trump was going to explore a “range of options” with members of his security staff about how to deal with this situation. I can say with almost 100% certainty that staying out of the DPRK’s business was not included in his socalled “range of options.” I understand that Kim Jong-Un is an abhorrent, awful, authoritarian leader. His people are starving, forced to genuflect at the altar of the state every minute of every day, and Kim can’t even provide most of his people with electricity, even in the capital of Pyongyang. I get it. However, this is not an issue the United States can easily solve. We should not involve ourselves in any country’s affairs that are not a direct threat to our national security. One argument warhawks will invariably make is that North Korea does pose a threat to our national security, with a nuclear weapons program that could potentially have the capacity to attack the United States. First of all, Kim will NOT attack the US if we do not attack him first. Yes, he is an insane manchild, but he isn’t stupid. He knows the grave consequences he will face if he launches an offensive nuclear attack on the US. The fear mongering perpetuated by the American media is entertaining, but wildly misleading. It’s true that North Korea has a fairly extensive nuclear program, but the notion that their nuclear weapons are even close to ours in terms of technology and quantity is utterly ridiculous. The United States military is the single greatest fighting force ever assembled in the entire history of humanity. Despite Kim’s fiery, threatening rhetoric, he and his advisors are most likely well aware of this fact. Trying to defeat our superior nukes with sub-par, primitive nukes is like trying to ward off a swordsman with a toothpick. North Korea uses nuclear weapons as a deterrent against other nations that may want to invade their nation. If a nation, such as the US, were to invade North Korea, the political and economic ramifications would be enormous. I firmly believe that North Korea does not have the capacity to launch an effective attack against the US, but they most certainly do have the capability of attacking South Korea and possibly Japan, two of our closest and most important allies. If we
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launch an attack against the DPRK, millions of North Korean, South Korean and Japanese lives would be at stake. Is it really worth it to lose these innocent lives over empty threats? It never ceases to amaze me how easily Americans get scared. We switch into panic mode over the most mundane, most insignificant ways. Donald Trump always talks about “getting tough.” He actually needs to follow through on that promise. His campaign slogan shouldn’t have been “Make America Great Again.” His slogan ought to have been “Make America Grow a Pair Again.” Honestly, this country needs to have a spine like it used to. While I’m on the subject of the past, allow me to point out some of our myriad foreign policy blunders over the last several decades. The Iraq War is a prime example of this. When we invaded Iraq in 2003, we were told by our government that this would be a quick war that would only last a few months. We were also told that we’d be welcomed with open arms as altruistic liberators by the Iraqi people. Both of those things turned out to be nothing more than demonstrably false rhetorical passages from the Bible of American Exceptionalism, preached by the likes of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. We’ve been in Iraq for 14 years (counting when we left for 10 minutes in 2011 under president Obama). Saddam Hussein, as brutal of a dictator as he might have been, was a stable force in the region. He was vehemently opposed to Al Qaeda and did as much as he could to eliminate the influence of radical Islam over the Middle East. When we removed him from power, we created a dangerous power vacuum which was eventually filled by Iraqi intelligence officials and rogue Al Qaeda members to create the group we know today as ISIS. Afghanistan is another great example of our incompetent, imperialistic foreign policy. We were told that this war would also be relatively quick. Unlike Iraq, I actually support what the Afghanistan campaign was originally about: trying to take out Osama bin Laden and dismantling Al Qaeda and the Taliban. We managed to take out bin Laden, but the Taliban now control almost half of Afghanistan. We need to get out, and get out soon, but we’re still there. Why? Opiates and minerals. American pharmaceutical companies rely on Afghanistan’s opium supply for drugs like morphine and methadone, among many others. Afghanistan also has an abundant supply of minerals, including lithium, which we use for lithium batteries in laptops, cell phones, etc. The point is, we need to worry about our own affairs and leave the rest of the world alone. I’m not suggesting we isolate ourselves completely, but rather suggesting that we need to involve ourselves less in conflicts that don’t directly impact the lives of American citizens. Diplomacy and empathy should always be foreign policy options, especially when dealing with a country that desperately needs it, as does North Korea. Source: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/354819-trump-discusses-range-of-options-with-security-team-on-north-korea
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COMMUNISM WAS NEVER ABOUT EQUALITY
BINGHAMTONREVIEW.COM
Communism Was Never About Equality By Sen. Joseph McCarthy
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he constant waves of protesters demonstrating in the streets against Donald Trump and his policies seem to be drawing out all sorts of leftist groups. We routinely see demonstrators proudly waving the hammer and sickle flag and calling for “death to capitalism”. Socialism and communism are routinely incorporated within social justice doctrine, and capitalism is blamed for all of their woes. College professors have no problem weaving in Marxist indoctrination into their curriculum. It’s almost like they’re completely ignorant of or turn a blind eye to the evil and devastation that communism has brought to the world. Communism advocates for the abolishment of private property and social classes in place of common ownership of the means of production. This is in efforts to create a utopian classless society where everyone is supposedly equal. “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need” was popularized by Karl Marx, and was used to refer to the idea that a full-scale communist society would somehow not only produce enough goods and services to satisfy everyone’s needs, but that there would also be an abundance of everything. The only problem is that in every nation throughout history where this has been tried, it has always failed.
“These traitors hid behind the guise of civil rights issues in order to spread their ideology to disenfranchised members of society. CPUSA called for racial integration and gender equality when it was taboo to even suggest such things in American society...” 12
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Communism gained traction in the United States in the early 1920s when the Communist Party USA contributed to the founding of labor unions and spread their ideology to American workers in hopes of inspiring a socialist revolution. The CPUSA was not only directly bankrolled by the Soviet Union, but also participated in their espionage activities by creating a direct network to Moscow to pass along confidential information, fake passports, and recruit new agents within the US State Department. These traitors hid behind the guise of civil rights issues in order to spread their ideology to disenfranchised members of society. CPUSA called for racial integration and gender equality when it was taboo to even suggest such things in American society, in hopes that their support would attract women and minorities to support the communist ideology. The Soviets capitalized off of racial discrimination in the US, and propagandized racial equality in hopes of pandering to minorities. But of course, the idea of complete equality was just that, an idea. Racism was also deeply embedded within the Soviet Union, from racial discrimination to ethnic cleansing. Germans were targeted through Stalin’s Great Purges and mass rapes of millions of German women by the Red Army. Ethnic Germans were deported and put into labor camps. Over 100,000 Poles were executed and many more were forcefully deported. Hundreds of thousands of Hungarians, Ukrainians, Rusyns, Koreans, Kalmyks, Crimeans, and Estonians were also deported. The Soviets combated Ukrainian nationalism with the Holodomor, where the USSR’s genocidal policies purposely created a mass famine in which 7 to 10 million Ukrainians died of starvation. Decossackization policies pursued by the USSR lead to the genocide and deportation of hundreds of thousands of Cossacks. Greek
males over the age of 16 were arrested by the secret police. Anti-Semitism was widespread throughout the USSR, as Stalin constantly used Trotsky’s Jewish background to attack him. The Soviet Union’s overt policy was that of anti-racism, but that wasn’t the case when thousands of Africans were actually invited to work, study, and live in Moscow. While the existence of racism was openly acknowledged during the Cold War era in the US, the USSR’s anti-racism policy was just a facade, as black Americans invited to Moscow were just used as political propaganda pawns and were never fully accepted by their fellow Soviet neighbors.
“How did an ideology that has lead to some of the worst crimes against humanity come to be embraced by Western academia?” Robert Robinson was the black poster child for Soviet anti-racism as he lived in the USSR for over 20 years, and describes being denied employment because of his skin color and regularly being called racial slurs. The false sense of classless societal harmony doesn’t just end in the USSR. Radical leftists love to sport Che Guevara shirts and praise communist dictator Fidel Castro. These same leftists who also support LGBT rights turn a blind eye to the fact that Castro threw homosexuals into concentration camps or expelled them from the country. Fidel Castro is held up as a champion of African rights because of his anti-colonialism stance and his support for regimes such as Angola and South Africa in the fight for independence. Like the Soviets, Castro preached an anti-racism policy abroad to gain political brownie points. He even declared that racism had been eliminated in Cuba, even
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BINGHAMTONREVIEW.COM though discrimination against blacks in Cuba was still widespread. Fulbright Scholar Terrell Jermaine Starr says “for every Assata Shakur who finds safe haven in Cuba, there are jails full of “darker-skinned Cubans” who have never received the dignity of their American exile guest. And for every Langston Hughes who was treated like royalty in Moscow, there are people such as Pierre Kalmek, a sailor from Francophone Africa, who lived in the Moscow during the early 1930s and complained that locals regularly spat on him.” When black Cubans did try to speak out against racism, they were silenced by beatings, death threats, and rape threats by Cuban authorities. How did an ideology that has lead to some of the worst crimes against humanity come to be embraced by Western academia? Expatriates from the Frankfurt School who were expelled from Germany brought the concept of cultural Marxism to American colleges. It was picked up by professors across the country and used to then indoctrinate generations of college students to buy into the idea that racial groups were victims of capitalism which could be fought by embracing Marxist ideals. Communists thought that by clinging onto racial groups and infiltrating the Civil Rights movement, that they could pit races against each other and destroy the fabric of American society. This propaganda was heavily pushed by the USSR and Cuba, both of which never showed the realities of living under their regimes included massive human rights violations, political repression, and starvation. The only equality that communist societies have achieved in nearly every instance is that everyone is poor and starving together. Stalin was the sole dictator of one of the world’s largest economies during the Cold War, and was named the
“The only equality that communist societies have achieved in nearly every instance is that everyone is poor and starving together.” editor@binghamtonreview.com
COMMUNISM WAS NEVER ABOUT EQUALITY
fifth richest person of all time by Time Magazine. Fidel Castro accumulated nothing short of a net worth of $900 million by the time he died according to Forbes. These regimes have killed over 100 million people in the past century, hid behind the guise of anti-racism to spread their ideology, and made their leaders wealthy beyond the imagination, all in the name of “from each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” Sources:
Walicki, Andrzej (1995). Marxism and the leap to the kingdom of freedom: the rise and fall of the Communist utopia. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press. p. 95. ISBN 0-8047-2384-2. George Thomas Kurian, ed. (2011). “Withering Away of the State”. The Encyclopedia of Political Science. CQ Press. ISBN 9781933116440. doi:10.4135/9781608712434. Retrieved 3 January 2016 Robert Gellately. Lenin, Stalin, and Hitler: The Age of Social CatastropheArchived May 5, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Knopf, 2007 ISBN 1-4000-4005-1 pp. 70–71
https://web.archive.org/web/20110709033835/ http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc. do?language=en&type=IM-PRESS&reference=20081022IPR40408 https://web.archive.org/web/20110709033835/ http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc. do?language=en&type=IM-PRESS&reference=20081022IPR40408 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/ feb/15/black-in-the-ussr-whats-life-like-for-arussian-of-colour https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2016/12/05/fidel-castro-andcommunisms-flawed-record-with-black-people/?utm_term=.ad0873dd450e https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism_in_the_ Soviet_Union h t t p : / / w w w. n p r. o r g / s e c t i o n s / p a r a l lels/2015/03/26/395530735/a-fraying-promise-exploring-race-and-inequality-in-havana https://splinternews.com/african-americans-should-stop-lionizing-castro-as-champ-1793864057 https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/24/world/ americas/obamaurges-raised-voices-incubas-husheddiscussions-ofrace.html?_r=0 http://time.com/money/3977798/the-10-richest-people-of-all-time/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/keithflamer/2016/11/26/10-surprises-about-castros-extravagant-life/#10a75db66d76
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SPOOKY STATS STALL BASEBALL BATS
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Spooky Stats Stall Baseball Bats By Jason Caci
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espite the fact that people are celebrating Halloween for the lone reason that they want to feel justified in their costume choice, it is also time to glue your eyes to baseball’s fall classic: the World Series. Baseball has changed a lot over the past decade, with more management personnel using advanced sabermetrics to scout players. I went into more detail about this in my article “Tech Tock, Tech Tock,” which you can read on your own time if you so choose. There is a consequence to this implementation of sabermetrics: games are taking longer than ever to finish. Like, zoinks! Baseball is a gentleman’s game. I might be an atheist, but I have the patience of a Quaker. However, the long time length of these baseball games is making me go bonkers. Brian Costa and Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal pointed out that “there were more pitcher substitutions than ever, the most time between pitches on record and longer games than ever.” A large reason for this comes from a greater focus on how certain pitchers fare against certain batters on the basis of handedness. As a result, the manager uses the lefty-righty switch more often. The lefty-righty switch is when either a pitcher or batter is substituted out of a game because he struggles against a player with a particular handedness. For example, a manager of a baseball club looks at how Bryce Harper fares against right-handed pitchers and which part of the strike zone he is able to hit against them. If Bryce Harper has a good batting average against right-handed pitching and is able to hit the parts of the strike zone that the right-handed pitcher currently in the game usually throws at, then the pitcher would probably be substituted out of the game and a left-handed pitcher would be brought in to face Harper instead. This is a basic example. In reality, baseball scouts go much more in-depth than this. A move such as this would take
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a few minutes, which is insanely long considering the large amount of downtime that already exists in baseball as compared to other sports. The effect is reflected in the dwindling viewership for national TV broadcasts for baseball games. For example, Sports Business Journal conducted a poll in 2012 that revealed “Fox averaged a 1.7 rating and 2.5 million viewers for its Saturday regionalized telecasts, marking the net’s lowest MLB audience since it acquired TV rights prior to the ’96 season.” Not only has Fox suffered from the diminishing number of viewers, but ESPN and TBS have received the same fate as well. Sports Business Journal found that “ESPN averaged a 1.2 U.S. rating and 1.8 million viewers for its ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ telecasts, marking
“Some people argue that Major League Baseball has jumped back in front of the NFL as the most popular sport in the U.S.A. If this is the case, then the real reason that the NFL has dropped in popularity has not been due to the quality of play and competition, but rather the National Anthem protests.” the lowest audience since ‘05,” while “TBS averaged 448,000 viewers for its non-exclusive Sunday afternoon games, marking the net’s lowest audience since it began airing the games in ’08.” All of this data was collected well before the “Trump Effect” (the coverage of then-candidate and current President Donald Trump leading to a declining viewership of other television programs). Some people argue that Major League Baseball has jumped back in front of
the NFL as the most popular sport in the U.S.A. If this is the case, then the real reason that the NFL has dropped in popularity has not been due to the quality of play and competition, but rather the National Anthem protests. This is a bigger case of the NFL declining in popularity as oppose to the MLB springing up in popularity. Here is what I propose: Gut the word “sabermetrics” . Make sure it ceases to exist from the dictionary. Make it cease to exist. I do not want to see it with my two naked eyes. If baseball teams get rid of sabermetrics, then there will be a smooth flow in baseball games and teams will have more success because they will stop overthinking everything. As a result, less pitcher substitutions would take place and more runs would be scored in baseball. Typically, people like to watch an offensive slobber knocker rather than a good duel between two pitchers. There are too many variables in baseball to have sabermetrics play such an integral role in making decisions within baseball games. Sabermetrics do nothing. There have been plenty of teams that have won less than 95 games that have won a World Series. Well gang, I think I just solved this mystery. Now somebody give me a goddamn Scooby Snack. Sources:
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2012/10/09/Media/MLB-reg-season.aspx https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-downside-of-baseballs-data-revolutionlong-games-less-action-1507043924
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WORDS ARE NOT INHERENTLY OFFENSIVE
Words Are Not Inherently Offensive By Anonymous
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’ve recently found myself the target of accusations of racism. These accusations weren’t the result of me doing or saying anything racist, but rather because I said that simply saying the “n-word” isn’t necessarily racist, and that it really depends on the context. I knew people would disagree with me, but I certainly didn’t anticipate the intense hostility and expletive-filled screaming that ensued. They went allout Tana Mongeau on me. I now have three girls on my floor that no longer want to come into my suite because they are “uncomfortable” around me, and are going around telling people (including my black suitemate) that I am a racist. However, that night also inspired me to write this, so that’s a plus I guess. Regardless of the accusations and buzzwords that are thrown at me, I will continue to speak my mind and stand up for others that are unfairly being labeled racists, sexists, homophobes, and so on. I’m not a fan of trigger warnings, but I need to make this clear - I will be using words that are considered offensive in certain contexts. However, the context I will be using them in is to support my argument and provide examples, not to demean or insult anyone. Words are not inherently offensive. Words mean nothing without context around them. The context is what really determines what that word means. For example, there is a tremendous difference between calling a woman a bitch, and saying that something was “a bitch” to do. In the first scenario, “bitch” is being used as a derogatory and sexist word to put down a woman. In the second scenario, “bitch” is being used as a word to describe how annoying or difficult the task was to complete. The word is the same, but the context changes the meaning of it completely. This principle applies to every word in the dictionary, including the word “nigger.” Calling a black person a “nigger”
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is a horrible thing to do, and the person who said it is obviously a racist, and deserves to be labeled as such. There are certain scenarios, however, where saying the word is not racist. One of those scenarios that I should start with right of the bat is the way I am using it in this opinion piece. I am not using “nigger” as an insult or a slur, but rather as an example. There is a clear difference between the way that I am using the word, and the way that slave owners in the 1800s used the word. Another scenario where it is not bigoted to use offensive words and slurs is when you are quoting someone else, such as reading from a book or singing along to a song. Calling someone a racist for singing along to Kanye West is idiotic, because they aren’t even that person’s words. They are simply repeating the work of an artist or author.
“Reading books and historical documents as they are written is crucial to understanding them, and calling someone a racist or another buzzword for doing so is beyond idiotic.” I remember sitting in class in 9th grade, reading along as one student read Of Mice and Men aloud. The student who was reading approached the part where they start talking about Crooks, and paused. He thought for a second, then read it exactly as it was written - “Ya see the stable buck’s a nigger.” Everyone stared at him, in disbelief that he had actually said the “n-word.” The word spread fast of what he had said, and how he was a racist because of it. Not only is he not a rac-
ist, but he should have been applauded for actually reading the book how it was written. Of Mice and Men was written in the 1930s, when referring to black people as “niggers” was pretty common. That sentiment is reflected by the language used in the novel. By skipping over or censoring the word when reading, you are not only being ignorant to history, you are also altering the dynamic between the characters. Everyone referring to Crook as “just a nigger” is extremely important in building not only Crooks’ character, but also the characters of everyone that treats him that way. Reading books and historical documents as they are written is crucial to understanding them, and calling someone a racist or another buzzword for doing so is beyond idiotic. The nature of a word is based almost entirely on the context it is used in, not on the word itself. Using the word “nigger” doesn’t automatically make someone a racist, using the word “bitch” doesn’t automatically make someone a sexist, and using the word “faggot” doesn’t automatically make someone a homophobe. While these words definitely can be offensive, and should probably be avoided if possible, it is important to analyze the context they are used in before accusing someone of bigotry or hate speech.
“Regardless of the accusations and buzzwords that are thrown at me, I will continue to speak my mind and stand up for others that are unfairly being labeled racists, sexists, homophobes, and so on.” BINGHAMTON REVIEW
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