Days Responses Demonstrate Nixon's Point

TO THE EDITOR:

After reading Friday’s responses to D. Pierce Nixon’s column (“Responses to DAYS ON THE HILLTOP,” THE HOYA, Sept. 28, 2007, A2) we were struck by the fact that most of these letters only served to prove his point. After Nixon made his point that “it’s an all-too-common occurrence that those who are afraid to let the notion of race die will kill the discourse by labeling someone with whom they disagree as a racist,” (“Jena Rhetoric Stops Progress, Stifles Debate, THE HOYA, Sept. 25, 2007, A3), other letters made the implicit connotation that he is narrow-minded and bigoted. One letter, for example, encouraged “Nixon and other students to take advantage of the opportunity to engage students of different backgrounds,” implying that Nixon is some closet racist who doesn’t already support or engage in racial dialogue.

None of the letters addressed any of the substantive claims Nixon made in the second half of his column: that the Jena Six should be charged with assault and battery, regardless of race; that racial intimidation, like the hanging of nooses, should be criminalized; and that violence is not the answer to hate speech. All these were completely valid, well-

thought-out points that no one chose to respond to, focusing solely on his discussion of race, again proving his point. So much for discourse.

It seems that Georgetown is very interested in plurality, discourse, dialogue and diversity: diversity in everything but thought.

JP Medved (MSB ‘09)

Jared Pilosio (SFS ‘09)

Sept. 29, 2007