Colorado: Anti-Asian Satire Draws Suspension

[Alex Linder]

'Asian hate' writer suspended

By Heath Urie, Daily Camera

February 27, 2008



Max Karson, who wrote the controversial column, listens to the rally proceedings.


CU students hold hands while singing We Shall Overcome during Wednesday's protest rally.


Torey Gannon, left, and Victor Hsu listen to speeches condemning an opinion column.

BOULDER — The author of an opinion column that garnered national attention for saying Asians "hate us all" and should be hated back was suspended from CU's Campus Press newspaper staff Wednesday.

"Max Karson's duties with the Campus Press have been suspended pending a restructuring of the opinions section," according to a statement posted on the student paper's Web site Wednesday.

Karson ignited a firestorm last week when his piece titled "If it's war the Asians want ... It's war they'll get," infuriated some students and past members of the Campus Press staff who said the piece was inflammatory and a failed attempt at satire.

The statement goes on to say that the publication's editors are in the process of organizing an "open, public forum to address diversity sensitivity in our news coverage" and are rewriting their ethics policy.

The announcement came the same day university officials said they're close to announcing major changes in the way the paper is operated and overseen.

Faculty members within the CU School of Journalism and Mass Communication met behind closed doors for more than two hours Wednesday to discuss how to best change the management structure of the Campus Press, a class that operates within the school, so that offensive content doesn't get published.

The Campus Press already has agreed to establish a Student Diversity Advisory Board, invite student organizations to meet face-to-face with the editors, adopt an "opinions policy," schedule a series of diversity-awareness workshops for the entire staff and host a series of workshops for opinion writing and editing.

More than a dozen student members of the Campus Press sat outside the faculty meeting room Wednesday waiting to hear what decisions were made about the fate of the publication, but no announcement was made when the group emerged.

Paul Voakes, dean of the journalism school, did release a statement from the faculty group that served equally as an apology.

"This (column) is the antithesis of what we're trying to teach in our school," Voakes said. "The faculty and I take responsibility for the offense that the Campus Press obviously has caused."

He called Karson's column an "editorial mistake" that should have been caught.

Meanwhile, Karson's column continued to spark anger Wednesday.

Boulder City Manager Frank Bruno released a statement saying, "Discrimination is not what Boulder is about."

Also, about 150 students gathered on the University Memorial Center south plaza for a rally and demonstration against the Campus Press.

Chris Choe, a 21-year-old senior and member of the Korean American Students at Boulder group who led the rally, said he hopes the university's administration fundamentally changes how content is reviewed before it's published by the class.

"I want to see responsibility," Choe said. "I want to see that this isn't being marginalized."

Later, the group migrated to a large auditorium on the campus for a forum among Campus Press representatives, CU officials and student leaders.

Federal mediators brought in by student organizers from the U.S. Department of Justice moderated the public meeting, in which students continued to call for changes at the online student paper and in which Campus Press editors offered apologies for any pain that Karson's column caused.

"The mistake that I made when I published the article was thinking that my reactions spoke for everyone," Editor-in-Chief Cassie Hewlings, who sat somberly through the meeting, told the crowd. "I am so incredibly sorry. I didn't want to hurt anyone.

"I've learned more this past week than I have my whole 22 years of life."

EARLIER STORY

Student leaders at the University of Colorado on Wednesday demanded the resignations of the online student newspaper editor and a faculty adviser for publishing a column that has created a furor among Asian Americans and other minority students.

A diverse audience of nearly 200 people attended a rally outside University Memorial Center before meeting with CU-Boulder Chancellor Bud Peterson.

The students carried signs that read "Stop the Hate" and "Responsible Journalism Now."

Several rejected the idea that the Feb. 18 column - written by student Max Karson - was meant as a satire and instead called it hate speech. It was titled "If it's war the Asians want . . . It's war they'll get."

The students also were upset about a column published a day earlier titled "No hablo Ingles," or "I don't speak English."

"The editors at the Campus Press should rename that opinion section as 'racist viewpoints,' said David Chiu, a CU senior. "Once again, the reputation at CU has been tarnished. The publication of these articles embodies institutional racism."

He called for the resignation of Cassie Hewlings, Campus Press editor-in-chief, and faculty adviser Amy Herdy.

Both Hewlings and Herdy apologized directly to the audience after they were prompted by the student government's diversity director.

"I am sorry, it was no one's intent to be hurtful," said Herdy, who noted that the paper also had published an apology.

When someone asked Hewlings what she was apologizing for, she replied, "I am so incredibly sorry. I didn't want to hurt anybody. . . . It was a mistake for me not to see how more people would take this. I've learned more in this last week than I have in my entire 22 years of life."

After the meeting, Hewlings said she did not intend to resign.

Charles Gilford III, one of the three leaders of the CU student government, said he respects freedom of speech but that it was no excuse for publishing the column.

"You have no right to isolate and marginalize certain people," he said. "You have no right to attack a member of our family, and that's what's happened."

Gilford suggested that campus officials evaluate the column in light of federal anti-discrimination laws.

Peterson listened and took notes during the meeting.

At the end of the 90-minute session, he said he would direct students and staff to examine if anyone's civil rights had been violated. He noted that he has directed the journalism department's chairman to re-evaluate the structure and supervision of the Campus Press. He also vowed to re-examine some measures that the campus promised to take two years ago after another student leader received a racially charged death threat.

--John Ensslin, The Rocky

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/new...demonstration/

[Alex Linder]

Women and coloreds don't get free speech. A White male thing, itz. Liberals - they just hate it.

I went through a similar thing 20 years ago this spring.

There is nothing new under the sun, as even the kikes who cobbled the Bibble noted.

[M. Kraus]

Charles Gilford III, one of the three leaders of the CU student government, said he respects freedom of speech but that it was no excuse for publishing the column.

This is where we are at now: The First Amendment is an "excuse", but only when it doesn't offend a non-White.

"We shall overcome" constitutionally protected freedoms.

[Alex Linder]

[I feel for this kid. Life's too short to take shit from jews, niggers, WASP liberals, and idiot women, let alone gooks and mexcrement.]

Max Karson

Max Karson (born April 19, 1985) is an opinion writer for the University of Colorado-Boulder student paper Campus Press. He was suspended on April 17, 2007 for remarks he made about the Virginia Tech massacre, but the suspension has since been lifted. In February 2008, Karson once again was the center of controversy after publishing a piece titled "If it's war the Asians want ... It's war they'll get" in the University of Colorado's student newspaper, the Campus Press. Karson also has written two self-published underground newspapers: The Yeti (while attending CU Boulder) and The Crux (while attending Amherst Regional High School).

Contents
[hide]

* 1 The Crux controversy
* 2 The Yeti controversy
* 3 Controversial remarks regarding Virginia Tech Massacre
o 3.1 Arrest and suspension
o 3.2 Arraignment
o 3.3 Post-release developments
* 4 Controversial column about Asian students
* 5 External links
* 6 References

The Crux controversy

While attending Amherst Regional High School in Amherst, Massachusetts, Karson was suspended four times for distributing The Crux on school grounds. Teachers were offended by the newspaper when Karson wrote satirical articles about racism, homosexuality, masturbation, and sex acts between students and administrators.[1] The American Civil Liberties Union of Western Massachusetts defended Karson's right to publish and distribute The Crux arguing it was protected under the First Amendment, and by a state law passed in 1988 protecting students against administrative censorship (which was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier the same year). The law protects all speech that isn't proven to be libelous, obscene or causes a disruption to classes.[1] The administrators had argued the graphic material in the magazine violated the school's handbook's definition of obscenity as it described "nudity or sexual conduct in a way that most members of the community think clearly offensive". Karson argued that since the information was satirical, it was not intended to arouse the reader, and therefore was not obscene.[2]

On October 8, 2002 a committee representing the High School voted 8-1 in favor of changing a policy requiring students to submit material for approval to school officials prior to distribution. Under the new policy prior submission was no longer required, but was "highly recommended". All of Karson's suspensions were retroactively overturned.[1]

The Yeti controversy

After graduating from high school, Karson attended Colorado State University for a semester, following which he was out of school for two years. After his hiatus he enrolled at CU Boulder, and began publishing the underground newspaper, The Yeti. Though Karson claimed his writing was intended to be satirical, many were outraged by it, labeling it misogynistic and racist.[3]

The University of Colorado Board of Regents and Vice Chancellor Ron Stump began receiving complaints. On October 19, 2006, Stump called Karson in to his office, verbally reprimanded him, and later told reporters he was "reviewing whether or not The Yeti is protected free speech".[4]

Stump's remarks were published in the Colorado Daily,[5] the Daily Camera,[6] and Salon.com.[7] This caught the attention of the Judd Golden, head of the Boulder ACLU, and Peter Boyles, a Denver-based talk show host. Golden wrote a letter to Stump expressing that the university was taking action that repressed free speech, and Boyles had Karson on his radio program.[8] Stump was eventually forced to concede satire was legally protected under the First Amendment.

Controversial remarks regarding Virginia Tech Massacre

On April 17, 2007, during a discussion in a Journalism class, held in the Hazel Woodruff Gates Cottage that houses the Women and Gender Studies Department, Karson allegedly made several comments interpreted as threatening by other students.[9] As paraphrased by Commander Brad Wiesley of the CU Boulder Police Department, Karson said he "would be capable of killing 32 people" following with "if anyone in here says they've never been so angry that you wanted to kill 32 people, you're lying".[10] Wiesley also told reporters "He [Karson] said that there were things about CU, the fact that the classroom walls were unpainted and the lighting in the classroom, were all things that were making him mad enough to do something." Wiesley continued "He [Karson] was admittedly angry about the 'mindless droves' on campus." Furthermore, when discussing ways to prevent events like the Virginia Tech massacre in the future, Wiesley said Karson talked about the "faults of the 'institution' and how someone could be driven to kill 32 people because of the injustices of universities".[11]

An anonymous professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication told officers that Karson is "a student whom the department has had multiple problems with" and that he had "threatened his classmates."[12]

Arrest and suspension

Later, Karson received a phone call from vice chancellor Ron Stump asking him to come to his office to answer questions. Immediately after Karson left Stump's, he was handcuffed by two police officers, and taken away to be questioned.[12] Police told reporters that students reported Karson's comments at 1 p.m. (April 17, 2007), only a few hours after the class discussion occurred.[9] Following an investigation, Karson was booked at the Boulder County Jail around 7 p.m.[9] Karson was charged with one count of interference with staff, faculty or students of an educational institution—a class three misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $750 dollars and six months in prison—as his comments were portrayed as a threat.[11][13]

The arrest report regarding the discussion and remarks made by Karson claimed the 30 students in the class were discussing the Virginia Tech massacre, and things became “heated” when Karson “claimed to understand what would drive someone to kill, especially on a college campus”.[12]

University of Colorado spokesperson, Bronson Hilliard, later confirmed Karson had been “issued a summary suspension pending the outcome of a judicial-affairs review”. The suspension bans Karson from campus unless he has an appointment with university administrators or police.[9]

Arraignment

Following a day of incarceration in the Boulder County Jail, Karson was arraigned April 18, 2007, with Judge Noel E. Blum presiding.[14]

Karson's defense attorney Dan Williams, arguing that Karson has no criminal record, asked Blum that Karson be released on a personal recognizance bond for which Karson's father would co-sign, making him liable for its amount should his son fail to appear in court. The prosecution asked that Karson be issued a surety bond, requiring him to contact a professional bondsman to post bond upfront, arguing the remarks made during the class discussion were violent. The judge agreed with the defense, and set the bond at $1,000. Karson's father agreed to pay the bond.[15]

As conditions of the bond, Blum told Karson he was not allowed to drink liquor, possess a weapon, could not visit the CU Boulder campus, and must undergo pre-trial supervision. These conditions upheld the suspension and prohibition decision by university administrators pending a review by the university's Judicial Affairs Department.[15]

Post-release developments

Karson created a satirical video in which he himself is shot and posted it on YouTube.[16] Following its initial posting, the video was marked as private.[17]

Other students attending the class in which the comments were made have remarked that they didn't feel threatened by Karson's statements [18].

Max Karson's father, Professor Michael Karson of The University of Denver, has been very supportive of his son, and expects the charges against him will be dropped. He believes his son was only trying to argue against the demonization of Seung-Hui Cho stating "It's comforting to think he [Cho] was possessed, but Max was just saying we're all capable."[12] Michael Karson added the massacre doesn't change anyone's First Amendment rights.[9]

According to a text message Karson sent to a friend on the day of the massacre, he had planned to write an issue of The Yeti about how he could see "where he [Cho] was coming from," and thought he would be expelled for writing it. A Facebook community, "Free Max Karson," has been created to discuss his arrest. [19]

There was a pretrial conference held for the case on May 30, 2007.[20] On June 15, 2007, CU Boulder officials lifted Karson's ban from campus, though they claimed Karson had violated the University's code of conduct. The decision was upheld by a Boulder County judge on July 6, 2007. The charges were dropped in August 2007.[21]

Controversial column about Asian students

On February 18, 2008, the Campus Press, CU Boulder's official student newspaper, published a column by Karson titled "If it's war the Asians want ... It's war they'll get," in which Karson describes racial tensions on the CU campus, including the statement "[Asians] hate us all. And I say it's time we started hating them back" and called for Asian students to be captured and "hog-tied."[22] While Karson has refused to discuss the column publicly, student editors released a statement apologizing to those hurt by the column and labeling it "satire."

CU chancellor Bud Peterson issued a public apology to the Asian community, according to the Daily Camera newspaper.[23]. Peterson also noted that "while [Karson's] column is unquestionably protected under the First Amendment, the sentiments he has expressed are wounding and damaging," and called for a review of the incident by university leadership.

As a result of the controversy surrounding Karson's column, Paul Voakes, dean of the CU School of Journalism, said, "I'm confident that the current crop of editors has begun to develop a new, more nuanced understanding of the delicate balance between absolute free speech and journalistic social responsibility. I also want to apologize on behalf of the school for the upset that our student publication has created."[24] The Campus Press staff agreed to undergo diversity and editorial-writing training, as well as establish a Student Diversity Advisory Board composed of non-journalism majors who "represent a broad swath of interests on the campus," which will provide editors with regular feedback.

The University of Colorado's student government also voted to condemn Karson's column and a second piece published in the Campus Press. "Both articles perpetuate ignorance on our campus," according to the resolution.

[NS Cat]

I read somewhere that "we shall overcome" was actually a slogan chanted by communist revolutionaries overthrowing the governments of nations.

[melcur]

Chinks are among the most racist people on earth, they hate niggers with an intensity that even we WNs can't muster.

[Elisha]

If it's war the Asians want...

It's war they'll get

Max Karson

Issue date: 2/18/08 Section: Opinion

Since I transferred to CU last year, I've noticed some tension between the white students and the Asian students. There's never any outright conflict, but I notice little things. Like, Asians always seem surprised whenever I talk to them. They stare at me for a few seconds as though I must have made some mistake, and once they realize I'm intentionally speaking to them, they aren't always thrilled.

On the other hand, white people are quick to ridicule Asians. They have no problem with making demeaning remarks about their looks, mannerisms, and accents-things they would never say about black people.

So when an Asian refuses to make eye contact with me or dismisses me with a one-word sentence, I just say to myself, "Max, Asians are not evil cyborgs. They're human, just like you. And if you were a minority student in a sea of walnut-brained business majors and skiers, you'd be crabby, too."

But last week, I had an epiphany.

After my friend and I finished working our abs at the Rec Center, we decided to head upstairs to tighten our buns on the StairMaster. As we walked down the hallway, a rubber ball bounced out of one of the racquetball courts and landed at the feet of an Asian in front of us. He picked up the ball and leaned over the railing of the court nearest to him.

"Hey, that's not ours," I heard a guy call up from the court. The Asian stared down at him for a moment, and then held the ball out to him. "That's not ours," the guy said again.

Then another voice called out from a different court, "Hey, does anyone see a ball up there?"

The Asian looked over, confused.

"I think it goes to that court," I said, pointing to the one nearest to me.

The Asian stared at me blankly for another second, and then he looked back down into the court next to him and offered them the ball again.

"That's not our ball," the guy called up.

"Excuse me," I said. The Asian whipped his head around and scowled at me. "I think it goes to that court."

He paused a few seconds, and then he said, in a perfect American accent, "Okay," and tossed the ball into the court next to me.

That's when it hit me.

The Asian was so jaded by his experiences with the whitebread, brainless tree sloths of CU that even though three people had explained to him that he was trying to return the ball to the wrong court, it was inconceivable to him that we might be right.

And when he looked into my eyes, it wasn't just irritation and disgust that I saw-it was hate. Pure hate.

I'm such a fool for not realizing it sooner. I can't tell you how many times the Asians have treated me like a retarded weasel and I've forgiven them. But now I know that Asians are not just "a product of their environment," and their rudeness is not a "cultural misunderstanding."

They hate us all.

And I say it's time we started hating them back. That's right-no more "tolerance." No more "cultural sensitivity." No more "Mr. Pretend-I'm-Not-Racist."

It's time for war.

But we won't attack their bodies or minds. We will attack their souls.

The first step, or "Phase 1," is to find them all. Anyone who is interested in signing up to volunteer can do so by e-mailing me. Next Sunday at noon, we will all meet at Farrand Field. Each volunteer will be issued an extra-large butterfly net.

The hunt will then begin.

When I blow my whistle, we will scatter in every direction and catch as many Asians as possible. Make sure to pay special attention to the Rec Center, the UMC, the math and engineering buildings and Lollicup. If you're not sure if someone is an Asian, give them a calculus problem to do in their head. If they get it right, net 'em.

Captured Asians will be dragged to my apartment on the Hill and hog-tied. Once they're all secured in my living room, "Phase 2" will come into effect.

The Asians' reformation will begin with a 100-round beer pong tournament. They will listen to "It's a Small World" on repeat while they play.

When the tournament is finished, the Asians will then be forced to eat bad sushi from Hapa-with forks. When all the sushi is gone, they will be permitted to sleep for four hours, but the entire time I will shout through a megaphone, over and over, "Why didn't you make enough Wiis?!"

In the morning, the Asians will arrange themselves in rows, if they haven't naturally done so already. I will stand in front of them and hold up a card with the name of an emotion on it such as, "sad," or "surprised." The Asians must then make a facial expression to match the word on the card. Any Asian who remains deadpan or makes the wrong face will be tickled until they pee. When all Asians make the correct face at the same time, the game will end, but then they will be yelled at for being conformists.

The Asians will then be allowed to play "Dance Dance Revolution." However, the game will be rigged so that the Asians will receive no points, regardless of how robotically they dance.

Any Asian who tries to escape will be butterfly-netted and sent back to my apartment for another "Phase 2." Anyone caught speaking any language other than English will be kissed on the lips.

Once the Asian spirit has been broken, "Phase 3" will begin. Before we let the Asians go, we will go to their homes and redecorate them in a traditional American style. We will replace their rice cookers with George Foreman Grills, their green tea mochi with fried Snickers bars, and their rice rockets with Hummers. And booster seats.

When "Phase 3" is complete, the Asians will be released.

Now, I understand that this plan may upset some of you Asian readers, but the only other way to make peace would be to expel you. If you're smart, you'll turn yourselves in now, and it will all be over in a few days.

Besides, look on the bright side-we're not going to put you through anything we haven't put ourselves through, and we all turned out fine.

Contact Campus Press staff editor Max Karson at [email protected]

[Endlösung]

It really pisses me off when people who are not Americans are in America protesting against America.

Fuck chinks and the jews they rode in on.

[Elisha]

Originally Posted by Alex Linder

[...]EARLIER STORY[...]
The students also were upset about a column published a day earlier titled "No hablo Ingles," or "I don't speak English."

No hablo ingles

Try speaking English, this is the United States

Lauren E. Geary

I've been biased against the Spanish language ever since I was tortured by my Spanish teacher from kindergarten to fifth grade. My private school felt that we needed to start foreign language at a young age, and that it would somehow help us succeed later. Since kindergarteners can't exactly pick between Spanish, Italian, Latin, French or another language, it was decided for us.

Continued

[jackumup]

Q) What do you call a fat chink?
A) Chunk! get it chunk

VNN's not going to suspend for that joke, are they? I mean, I really like asian people, even though their eye's are so slanted they look constipated but, they make a great pork fried rice and jackie chan is f-in funny especially when he's paired up with that little colored boy man it's hilarious. So please VNN don't suspend me for expressing my freedom of speech, I really do love asians.

Q) What do you call a gook with a small penis
A) one hung high! get it?

[Sean Gruber]

That kid's a talented writer - his article would not be totally out of place in a P.J. O'Roarke book.

What morons he is surrounded by.

This country is SHIT. Universities are shit, the law is shit, and the population is shit. Common sense isn't common.

The article does have some serious informational content. Asian racism against Whites is an interesting subject we don't read much about - that's the real reason his column was censored.

In other words, he - in a funny, satirical, mock savage, but truly gentle, way - discussed race frankly and openly. He pointed out others' attitudes, indicated his own. And isn't that what all the Multi-cult people constantly beg us to do? "Have a dialogue on race"? "Start the discussion"? "Talk about it"? Wasn't the recent movie "Crash" praised because it frankly showed people clashing and yelling over race, and even included ugly scenes? While this kid merely wrote a funny article?

What hypocrites the Multi-cult are! "Talk about it ... but don't talk about it!" "Bring it up, discuss your feelings openly ... but we'll call the feds if you do!"

SHIT, I say.

[Alan Ackerman]

remember in high school, the geeks who wrote for your school newspaper? They are the same geeks writing for your college newspaper, only the mediocre geeks didn't make it to the next stage of geekdom. The higher you go, the geekier you get, but TV has to have pretty babes, so pretty babes aren't geeky, they just read the shit geeks write for them.

[Vox Populae]

Only further reinforces the notion that all other races are encouraged to organize, represent themselves, split off and form their own society and take action against whites while at the same time whites will be forced to fracture and not allowed ANY type of group organization or representation. Any questions?