Columbia University Professor Finds Noose on Office Door

Sick sh*t, no matter where it happens.

 

I'm not shocked. Last month they gave centerstage to a guy who thinks all Jews should be killed. Obviously the moron with the noose thinks the same for blacks.

 

Hopefully they can find the perpetrator and arrest them.

I personally don't buy into the whole hate speech, but this isn't hate speech.

This is a threat of violence against another person - it's a form of terrorism.

 

Come now. This doesn't have national implications. Afterall, it's not a fact until Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have arrived to pronounce it so.

All kidding aside, Columbia is still a collegiate setting. My money is on pranksterism by one of the frat houses rather than "hate crime." Half of their frat "assignments" are in poor taste, often very poor taste -- or things have changed radically since I was in school.

 

There is a fine line between pranks in poor taste and "hate crimes".

When is it funny and when is it wrong? A noose on a black person's door is never a "prank" never "funny" never just "in poor taste" -- it is wrong.

Because it's a "funny" frat assignments does not excuse the hate behind the message.

 

I didnt know what a noose was until I looked it up just now...that sucks.

At first, I was gonna suspect Ahmadinejad.

 

Cesar, just because I suspect it may be a prank doesn't mean it isn't wrong or in poor taste or that I condone such behavior. I'm just saying that sometimes it is what it is, a tasteless, attention-getting prank by sub-adults.

 

It was a silly noose -- not a silly goose.

 

A noose on a door is a threat of violence. It's a statement that may be interpreted by someone as a threat of physical violence. It scares people, it intimidates them.

Not a prank. It's like calling someone up and saying, "I'm going to come over and hang you!!!!". It's like yelling bomb at an airport and then trying to say it was just a prank.

When you make a threat against someone's peace of mind or safety, you have violated their intrinsic rights that this country is founded upon...and free speech does not protect you from infringing on another's right to live thier life without the fear of prosecutions or oppresion.

 

I can't help but think that this applies to the funny Iranian fellow who showed up last month.

 

*Persecution

Sorry, it's a pet peeve.

 

Oppression and persecution should be prosecuted. Thanks, I don't feel so all alone. Typos happen to everyone, but poor spelling shouldn't.

 

I can stomach typos and poor spelling, but word usage drives me crazy. I ignored for example that he misspelled their in his post.

 

I think I can partially agree with both Thumbs and New Yorker, in that it's possibly intended as a prank but can reasonably be inferred as a threat of violence. If they find out who did it, I have no problem with a terrostic threat or, I dunno, criminal trespassing charge, maybe with a citation and a fine, or just a day in jail. If it happened to me, and I found out who did it, I may be more inclined to just sit and talk with him/her; get a feel for their intentions and attitude, and, maybe if it were already as publicized as this incident, get a written but unsigned apology.

 

This was the Teachers college, there aren't fraternities and it is mostly a grad school anyway.

 

Would you give them a lollipop or a popsiscle?

Rocket River

 

I think it was an hilarious prank. Nothing is funnier than putting a noose on a black professor's door. That is just too funny for words. Let the jokes continue!

 

It is completely a grad school - I went there. The NY Post alleges that it was a fellow professor who did it.

 

Putting a noose on someone's door is an act of violence. It's designed to inflict damage on a person's sense of well-being and security. To make them afraid of their safety and make them feel uncomfortable. It's akin to genocide since it's about pushing someone out of an environment based on ethnicity.

This is something that is not PC. This isn't calling a bunch of girls nappy headed ho's or saying Macacca. This is the real deal, and needs to be investigate. It's persecution of someone based on their race, and the offender must be prosecuted.