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October 19, 2005

Syracuse Prof Compares Gang Riot to Boston Tea Party

Syracuse Professor Dr Boyce Watkins, author of What if George Bush was a Black Man?, compared the rioting of Toledo gang members to the Boston Tea Party just minutes ago on Hannity & Colmes.

It was the first time in recent memory that both Hannity & Colmes seemed to think that their guest was an idiot.

As Drudge might say, "Developing..."

Update: Ian Schwartz at The Political Teen has the video.

A partial transcript, picking up at the 2:00 mark:

Sean Hannity: But I don't understand the few people here... How do you.. you can't say poverty caused people to throw rocks at ambulances.

Boyce Watkins: I'm not saying that poverty causes peope to do anything, but the fact is that if you just look at the symptoms and you don't look at the cause, then you're always going to wonder,well What in the world's making people behave that way? You don't have the right to judge people who are in situations you don't understand...

Sean Hannity: Yes we do, yes we do...

*crosstalk*

Boyce Watkins: No, No...

*crosstalk*

Sean Hannity:.. we, we have the right to discern. sir, you are rationalizing -- hang on a second, I'll let you talk -- we have a right to discern
right and wrong, and people, good people, don't like those people who were marching [neo-nazis in a parade. --ed] and good people find it repulsive that people who are there in a community to help save lives have their windsheilds pelted out with rocks. Good people can discern right and wrong, you don't throw rocks at police cars sir--


Boyce Watkins: But good people will support programs that will give the angry youth opportunities so that they don't feel angry. You think this riot is because of... *crosstalk* This riot wasn't due to the neo-Nazis...

Alan Colmes: Boyce, hold on... Boyce this is Alan Colmes in New York. you can't make any excuses for this behavior, and the best thing that could have happened *crosstalk* -- hold on, and I'll give you a full chance to respond -- the best thing that could have happened to these neo-Nazis when they came to Toledo would be ignore them, and unfortunately, that's not what happened.

Boyce Watkins: I agree with you. I agree with you, but the thing is that if you simply look at the actions and you don't try to understand what is really going on, you're going to wonder why they're behaving this way. If you look at the Boston Tea Party for example--

Alan Colmes: You compare this to the Boston Tea Party?

Boyce Watkins: Yes, yes, becuase the fact is that you can look at the Boston Tea Party and say oh, well those thugs they're stealing tea, what wrong with them? But the fact is that there was a reason they were doing this--

Alan Colmes: A movement like the Boston Tea Party? You can't make that analogy!

Boyce Watkins: No-no-no-no. You don't define it as a movement, but the fact is that those peope who ae suffering do. And I'm not saying that all this was justified--

Alan Colmes: You're making excuses for them!

Boyce Watkins: No, I don't judge... I believe in a safer America, but if you want a safer America, you must have a fair and equitable America, in which everyone is given access to the same american Dream that you--

Alan Colmes: You're making it sound, Dr. Watkins, as if poverty somehow excuses the kind of behavior we're showing on our screen.

Boyce Watkins: Poverty, Poverty is not an excuse, but it s partly an explanation. And there's a diffrence between being poor and being trapped in poverty. And so until we as a country fully address the poverty issue, we're going to have another Katrina situation, we'e going to have another Toledo situation, we're going to have another Rodney King sitation...

Alan Colmes: That's a fine line between excuse and explanation.

[italics mine]

Yeah, gangbangers throwing bricks at squad cars is the exact same thing as colonists protesting excessive taxation without representation.

Posted by Confederate Yankee at October 19, 2005 10:07 PM | TrackBack
Comments

"Those thugs are stealing tea..."
Classic, yet stupid.

Posted by: The Man at October 20, 2005 06:41 AM

Boyce Watkins is right about one thing, "This riot wasn't due to the neo-Nazis..." The neo-Nazis were certainly a catalyst, but not the base cause.

Watkins is right about another point, "And there's a difference between being poor and being trapped in poverty." There certainly is a significant difference.

But Watkins fails to dig deep enough to peel back the base problem. He stops at, "And so until we as a country fully address the poverty issue..." This is the typical liberal cure mantra; throw money at the situation; give the poor some of the money from the rich. From those who have to those who need... But giving people just enough money to subsist only perpetuates the situation. It perpetuates the dependency of the poor toward the benevolence of the provider (in this case the Democrat sponsored social welfare programs). That's benevolence. True compassion digs deeper into the cause to discover a genuine need to develop a skill set and provide an opportunity to grasp the American dream. But as long as the social mindset of dependent gimme, gimme, gimme is perpetuated, any effort to treat the cause will be rejected in favor of the treat the symptom appraoch. The liberals do a genuine disservice to the people they claim to help, and the recipients cannot see beyong the dollar that is handed to them.

Ancestrial slavery has nothing to do with the current plight of poor black Americans - just look at the population of poor white and poor Hispanic populations without slavery in their backgrounds. However, modern slavery to the provider (social welfare programs) is a major cause of continuing poverty in this country. And socialism is NOT the cure! The old adage is true - give a man a fish and he eats for one meal; teach him how to fish and he feeds himself daily.

Posted by: Old Soldier at October 20, 2005 07:49 AM

What College of Idiots gave this Watkins a degree?

Posted by: BobG at October 20, 2005 11:27 AM

This kind of college, that make my degrees from accredited California institutes look bad.
New College of California

Posted by: Josh at October 20, 2005 01:30 PM

Actually his college degree isn't as bad as some being handed out by the elite palaces of Yale and Harvard. Most major colleges have spent the past 30 years trying to lower their standards to match the non-educational institution called UC Berkley. Most have been 99% successful. I'd rather hire a graduate of the local community college than a PHD from any of the elite (in their minds) colleges. If one of my children or grandchildren mentions going to one of these dumps i'll shoot them on the spot.

Posted by: Scrapiron at October 22, 2005 02:36 AM

My son is a student at Syracuse University. Sadly the university is mostly a bastion of liberalism. My first view of his dorm was sullied by all the "No Place For Hate" signs, banners. pamphlets, buttons, and fliers that the administration feels is the most important message to send to the freshman students upon arrival. People like BOYce Watkins are evidence that colleges give degrees to minorities because of diversity and not based upon merit. Newly appointed university chancellor Nancy Cantor is unlikely to take action against Watkins, She is after all the former head of U. of Michigan where she supported affirmative action in the recent Supreme Court decision upholding A.A. in college admissions. She is just as unqualified as Watkins. The liberal idiots protect each other.

Posted by: ACV_FrEdUp at October 23, 2005 11:44 AM