Can someone please explain this to me? Re: Duke, and the South.

[Thtwudbeme]

Let's see....we bring up a confederate flag....and instantly, there are people screaming about slavery, civil rights, the south is horrible...lynchings..

Many of the comments that follow the "south is horrible for it's history and present racist attitudes," then follow up with comments such as "I drove through the South in 1979, and lemme tell ya! Never again!"

"I was there on vacation last summer...it was horrible!"

"I had to live in rural (fill in the blank) for two years and I couldn't get out of there fast the hell enough!"

Now...we have allegations of misconduct at Duke that involve misogyny, a possible rape, and racism.

Let's hear the comments now-

"What? Duke is a GREAT school! I met someone that went there, and loved him!"

"I went there and my friends were nice!"

Interesting. I wish someone would explain it to me.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

1. Ignorance

People love to state opinions, especially when they're uninformed and can fall back on bland and bald generalities with little or not substance behind said opinions. I think it's mostly a misguided attempt to sound knowledgeable, at the same time longing to be part of something, anything, bigger than they are.

Ignore them. People who spout off like that aren't worth any time or attention.

Consider, instead, how we're possibly already invading Iran..................

[goclark]

5. Agree nt

[leftofthedial]

2. rich, white south = good; poor south = not good

according to northeastern elite "liberal" snobs

is this what you're looking for?

[havocmom]

3. When ya get an explaination, please let me know

I don't get it either. But it is funny how jerking knees often kick folks in their own ass ;)

[OldLeftieLawyer]

14. Oh,

good one. Very good imagery.

Hiya, kid .........

Hangin' in there, are ya? Aren't we all?

[havocmom]

19. Hanging by a thread OLL

but hanging in none the less

Having fun watching my Senator implode of late. ;)

[salin]

4. class

not getting the town/gown dynamics that are often present in college towns - esp college towns that house elite Us.

[Thtwudbeme]

6. That's kind of what I think too

but, I am still pretty shocked at the number of DUers that are knocking themselves over to prove that Duke is somehow not an elitest school---nope, no racism, or misogyny there--no sirree, Bob. That girl's a tramp, plus she wants--in fact chooses---to strip for a living.

[salin]

8. I have attended two schools that in someways match the profile

the regionally elite - but not on Duke scale - in a small town in the poorest county in the state, attended by a lot of really rich kids from around the region and country. Extreme wealth/poverty issues, entitlement (on how to treat others) on behalf of the students towards those who live in the town - and complete denial/blindness of those students' towards their own entitlement and generally abysmal behavior towards locals.

The second institution, is located in a pretty wealthy (at least in recent times) area - so the in/out; us/them mentality was not nearly in play as much... it was more "us and us in the future" vs "us and us in the past". The very poor areas were further away from the U and suffered from classicism at the hands of the 'townies' (that is, everyone U and those living in the Community around the U).

Point being - wealthy/exclusive Us - tend to not only have an air of elitism - and as a result often are ripe with rotten entitlement behavior. Only when you plop that U into a community that mirrors it - does the dynamic shift.

I guess what we learn from this inconsistency that you find - is that classicism per higher ed (esp elite higher ed) out trumps regional bias - in particular the anti-south bias that often shows up in these here fora.

[cali]

15. I saw very, very few DUers doing as

you suggest. I was highly critical of the Counterpunch article and I laid out why. I did not say that Duke was not an elite school, or that there was no racism on the campus. I didn't see anyone else saying that either. I've never knocked the south as a region, and though I do see the kind of posts you say are so prevailent, I disagree that there are large numbers of posters doing so.

[quaoar]

16. Of course Duke is an elite school

So are Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Penn, etc. etc.

And anyone who thinks that gang rape can only go on at a Southern elite school is delusional.

I went to grad school in Chicago as the only person in my class from the South. A fellow student from California asked me once how I handled all the racial tension in Mississippi where I went to undergrad school. I said, "a lot better than they handle it up here."

The South has not cornered the market on racism.

[adriennui]

17. U. chicago is in an integrated part of the city

i never saw racism and the school pretty much blended in to hyde park (although i will admit that i never would go south of the midway after dark).

[msongs]

7. allegations are not facts. now that you have opened a new thread

on the same subject you abandoned recently earlier (albeit with a slightly different twist) you may wish to examine the reality that:

the confederate flag can represent horrible things AND Duke can be a great school with wonderful students AND there can be a lot of lousy people attending it AND....AND....

for the most part we do not live in and either/or world.

Msongs
www.msongs.com/impeachbush.htm

PS - I could choose to strip for a living, but nobody would pay me :-)

[WilliamPitt]

9. I hate to tell you this,

but I cannot understand what exactly you are asking. I tried. Can't do it.

[Jane Eyre]

10. Did you mean the University of New Jersey at Durham?

That's what lots of us native North Carolinians call Duke University. It may be in North Carolina, but the student body is in no way predominantly Southern.

Duke law school's famous alumni include Richard Nixon and Kenneth Starr.

Here's a quote from Tricky Dick:

“And I always remember, that whatever I have done in the past, or may do in the future, Duke University is responsible in one way or another.”
-Richard Nixon, August 17, 1960

And now a 21-year-old Duke student is pushing to restore Duke's pride in their most famous alum Richard Nixon:

http://www.enterstageright.com/archive/articles/0405/0405dukenixon.htm

[FreakinDJ]

11. But this is the problem with politics today

But this is the problem with politics today. It is 2 huge radical elements going at it with the majority left in the middle wondering who is going to step up to the plate for them. You have to remember Clinton ran as a “Center-ist”, a middle of the road kind of guy. Clinton rejected PNAC just as he rejected the feminist positions that were clearly anti-family.

The Bush regime sought to polarize the masses early on as part of Rove’s agenda. It worked well in the beginning but I believe now the majority of America can see through it. Americans are less likely to accept radicalism in any form today.

The radical fringe well soon be just that – the fringe

[Finder]

18. And what "Feminist positions" would those be?

I am referring to your comment--"Clinton rejected PNAC just as he rejected the feminist positions that were clearly anti-family."

I can't imagine any feminist position being anti-family.

[FreakinDJ]

20. You missed the sarcasim symbol

Trully you say that in jest....

[Orangepeel]

12. explain what? why people at DU argue?

Does it seem to you that no one at DU defends the south and/or southerners when blanket statements about how awful it was in 1979 are posted? Does it seem to you that no one at DU makes such blanket statements about Duke in the wake of the scandal?

Because to me, it seems like there are plenty of posts making broad generalizations about how awful the south and Duke as a school are, and plenty of posts calling out these broad generalizations as, well, broad generalizations.

[Chomp]

13. The

snobberies and inverted snobberies and inverted inverted snobberies on display with this issue are most disturbing.

No logic or consistency.

That's why court proceedings in the US should be sub judice like they are in most civilised countries.