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Take a deep breath

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CDATA, Florida, George Zimmerman, shooter, Texan, Texas, Texas Student Media, The Daily Texan, The Daily Texan, Trayvon Martin

The Daily Texan's publication of an editorial Published 28 Mar 2012 at 9:56 AM cartoon on the topic of the By Doug Warren media coverage surrounding the shooting death of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin has sparked its own swirl of controversy. The Texan newsroom has been besieged with angry emails, phone calls and in-person visits from students, alumni and news media from near and far.

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The cartoon is admittedly flawed because it spelled Martin's first name incorrectly and it used a phrase ("colored boy") that is offensive and could have been avoided ("black teenager.") However, it is not inherently racist and its message, to these eyes, is to avoid the simple answers being propagated by the media in this emotional, controversial case that touches on the flaw in the American system that has existed since before the country was founded -- racism. I understand the outrage sparked by the Martin incident, but I trust I won't risk the anger of the mob when I point out that no one has been charged or convicted in the case thus far. The alleged shooter, George Zimmerman is claiming self-defense under a "stand your ground" law that is on the books in Florida and various other states, including Texas. Where is the outrage over such an absurd law, which has been promoted across the country by the National Rifle Association? Who is angered by gun laws that allow "neighborhood watch" cop-wannabes like Zimmerman to walk around armed? The newly minted civil rights activists and self-appointed media pundits might want to ask themselves what is more inherently racist -- a poorly executed student cartoon or the fact that the African-American student population at the University of Texas at Austin (6 percent) is only half the percentage of the overall population of AfricanAmericans in the state of Texas (11.8 percent.) Or take a look at the number of African-American males who have been shot by members of the Austin Police Department in recent years. And the discipline that was meted out to the officers involved. There is plenty of anger to go around. But before we castigate student cartoonists and student editors at the Texan, I would urge everyone to take a deep breath. The Texan staff is learning -- to do their jobs and about the impact that their work has on the members of the community they serve. They're also finding out what it's like to be in the glare of the media spotlight. Having been there myself, I can assure you, it's a lesson that won't be lost on them. Beyond that, if we all tone down the rhetoric, perhaps we'll all learn something.
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3/28/2012 3:11 PM

Take a deep breath | The Daily Texan

http://www.dailytexanonline.com/blog/talking-texan/2012/03/28/take-dee...

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A. The non-investigation of the killing of Trayvon Martin is the key source of anger in the populace. If Zimmerman had not been taken at his word by the Sanford Police Department this would be a non-story. B. The Stand Your Ground Law has also been a topic of discussion since the killing of Trayvon Martin has made national news. C. The mismatch between black students at UT-Austin and the black population of the state is a constant subject of discussion at least in the black community at UT-Austin. These aren't "newly appointed civil rights advocates" there are organizations and students who've been thinking about and helping the black community for years, I'd suggest you reach out to some of them. D. The killing of unarmed black people in Austin has also been a constant topic in the black Austin and black UT-Austin community for years, when I was a student there a couple of candidates in the police academy seeked me out in order to ask what they could do to better the relations between APD and the black community. Please do more thorough research before wading into contentious issues with a self-righteous posture.

This post could be a case study in how to give a crappy non-apology. 1: Apologize for some truly minor aspect, rather than the huge offense. 2: Counter-attack by claiming that people are ignoring the real issue. 3: Further counter-attack by claiming that the people impacted by the offense are better off spending their energy else where. Kudos. 1

The cartoon is admittedly flawed because it spelled Martin's first name incorrectly and it used a phrase ("colored boy") that is offensive and could have been avoided ("black teenager.")

Where is the outrage over such an absurd law, which has been promoted across the country by the National Rifle Association? Who is angered by gun laws that allow "neighborhood watch" cop-wannabes like Zimmerman to walk around armed?

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3/28/2012 3:11 PM

Take a deep breath | The Daily Texan

http://www.dailytexanonline.com/blog/talking-texan/2012/03/28/take-dee...

The newly minted civil rights activists and self-appointed media pundits might want to ask themselves what is more inherently racist -- a poorly executed student cartoon or the fact that the African-American student population at the University of Texas at Austin (6 percent) is only half the percentage of the overall population of African-Americans in the state of Texas (11.8 percent.) Or take a look at the number of African-American males who have been shot by members of the Austin Police Department in recent years. And the discipline that was meted out to the officers involved.

Publishing this concurrently ignorant and condescending piece was as bad a decision as posting the original cartoon, and really serves to further show that the DT has a serious editorial oversight issue that must be addressed. I think Mr. Stanton points out the flaws in logic and tone of this article well, so I won't rehash. I dont know whether Mr. Warren is affiliated with the DT in any way or if this is just another ill-advised opinion piece, but as a UT alum and former avid supporter of the DT, I could not be more disapointed with the DT's staff regarding its handling of this issue. Sad day.

So let me get this straight. You publish a blatantly racist cartoon, and the paper's response is basically "chill out". These are our supposed future leaders? God help us all.

Firstly, we ARE outraged with the entire case on Trayvon Martin and all the avoidance towards putting Zimmerman away for his blatant crime - if not, this topic wouldn't even be a problem for us as a Black community and the cartoon would not have even been printed. Let's be serious here. To bring up the fact that we are a small percentage of this campus is beside the point here. You are trying to divert the attention from the fact that YOU allowed this RACIST "opinion" out to the campus. We, as Black students and Black community leaders have been taking a stance on these issues that you claim we are not worried about. We are outraged because this is something that hits close to home and is relevant at the point of time. Don't dare try to make it seem as though this is a minute problem amongst the other problems going on. Any issue that arises is a big issue when it deals with racism, whether blatant or hidden. As an adult, I would think that you would be more privy to the fact that racism on any level is wrong. By making this seem as it is a lighter topic than it is, only shows how you feel on the topic, as well. As an advisor, maybe you should think more on how you address tender issues such as this. I must say, The Daily Texan needs to do way better and this advisor needs to be put out.

I'm in agreement with Chill Chad Stanton, you should do more thorough research of these topics you speak of. Growing up in Austin these topics you say that no one is addressing are constantly addressed. Maybe you should have talked to some of the "newly appointed civil rights advocates" and you would have found out that they are not so new and have been speaking on these issues.

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3/28/2012 3:11 PM

Take a deep breath | The Daily Texan

http://www.dailytexanonline.com/blog/talking-texan/2012/03/28/take-dee...

Even if the writers at editors at The Daily Texan are students and are still learning, shame on them for thinking the use of the word "colored" was appropriate to use in our socio-historical context and in the context of the death of Trayvon Martin. Any student who claims that they "colored" is not a highly offensive buzz word is lying. After using that word, how in the world is that cartoon "not inherently racist"?

and* that the word "colored"*

Dear Mr. Doug Warren, Racism, whether as institutionalized as our education system, or as blatant as the killing of Trayvon Martin, are ALL equal causes worth fighting for. Seeing as though you are not aware of the demographic statistics of the university, (African American students make up roughly 4.3%, not 6% of the student body) you have no place to warn us of what issues are are "more inherently racist" than the other, until you further educate yourself on such issues.

Translation: "Calm DOWN, black people! We'll let you know what is racist and what isn't!"

Here, let me translate this for you non-journalism folks: We suck, but other people suck more so go bother them! In the meantime we'll be running more front page articles about Mack Brown or the latest pan-hellenic event instead of addressing the issues that we suggested you are a bad person for not caring about more, like the inherent unfairness of UT enrollment policies, rising tuition and housing fees, a shitty graduation rate for a supposedly "top tier" university, and just about anything else even remotely relevant. Go Horns!

Thanks for your worthless non-apology! It can be really hard to just up and admit you did something stupid, so I'm glad to see you kept up the fine tradition of sidestepping any ownership of the debacle and threw it back in the faces of the people calling you out for the racist cartoon you allowed to be posted. Bravo.

That has got to be one of the most ham-fisted attempts at deflection of guilt in the history of print. We all knew The Daily Texan was a joke, but this is inexcusably dumb. This: "This post could be a case study in how to give a crappy non-apology."

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3/28/2012 3:11 PM

Take a deep breath | The Daily Texan

http://www.dailytexanonline.com/blog/talking-texan/2012/03/28/take-dee...

"The newly minted civil rights activists and self-appointed media pundits might want to ask themselves what is more inherently racist .." It's not a contest, genius. There aren't different levels of racism where something's just a LITTLE racist and something else is BIG-TIME racist. There is just "racist." God, I love it when an explanation is just as clueless as the thing that sparked the explanation. BTW, Sharpton, Jackson, etc. aren't "newly minted", and neither are many of the others speaking out. Sheesh...

Doug Warren: Instead of making excuses for your students, you should have used this as an opportunity to helpn them understand all of the problems with that cartoon. The fact that it is racist and all of the racist things you mention does not excuse the variety of reasons that the student showed a lack of class and sensitivity. Until you defended it so weakly, you could've stood on the fact that student newspapers have the same rights and protections to free speech as all media outlets. I am glad she did it! Too many people are in denial about issues of race. These are all the reasons her cartoon is offensive that you clearly missed!! It makes no difference if he was handsome, sweet, or innocent -- a teenage boy is dead for NO reason! The fact that she called him colored is more than word misuse!! She has issues with race that are loud and clear. Lastly, to even jokingly blame this issue on the media is ludicrous! The media didn't kill him and the media didn't fail to investigate, nor did the media fail to charge the 'big bad white man' -- or whatever race/ethnicity he is!!

Don't they teach y'all about logical fallacies up there to the Journalism School? We're not talking about outrage at the Dirty Harry laws, we're talking about the brain-exploding stupidity of that cartoon. Stick to the subject, Dougie.

The author of the cartoon under question is clearly a racist (or just a member of the College Republicans). This is not surprising, for after all we are in Texas. 1. "Trayvon", not "Treyvon". No need to pile on though. 2. "Colored" is a terrible term stemming from the pre-Civil Rights era. Again, this has been covered so no need to pile on. 3. Zimmerman is not white. He is Hispanic. Supporters call him "white" because they hate black people more than they hate Hispanics. After this incident, they'll continue supporting harsh immigration laws and Sheriff Joe Arpaio. 4. Zimmerman is indeed "big" and "bad". He is "big" since he considerably outweighed Trayvon. He is "bad" since his criminal record is much worse than that of Trayvon's. Also, he has been recorded saying "f*cking coons" in reference to Trayvon. If you believe his excuse that he was referring to a racoon, you are an idiot. 5. Trayvon is indeed innocent. He was not carrying any weapons (aside from his hoodie). He was just minding his own business. Zimmerman provoked the situation, even though the 911 dispatcher explicitly told him not to confront Trayvon.

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3/28/2012 3:11 PM

Take a deep breath | The Daily Texan

http://www.dailytexanonline.com/blog/talking-texan/2012/03/28/take-dee...

Honestly, this would be a great cartoon for making fun of racist people, Fox News, and Republicans if it weren't for the label on the book.

Texas is home to racists and/or bigots? No, really? Next thing you know, I'll hear everything's bigger there!

I think it's time to make more calls. How many journalist need to be fired before they understand that white people making fun of black people and calling it satire is NOT funny. Would you do that to any other minority group and expect them not to react? and then you mask it as an apology by citing other statistics? This is so wrong and morally bankrupt. This is exactly why race is still an issue in America and I am tired of explaining this to white people. Racism breeds hatred and intolerance. Period.

The existence of larger injustices doesn't invalidate the feelings of readers. You could play Oppression Olympics all day to justify the status quo. "All these newly minted civil rights activists are getting up in arms about the racial gap at UT, but there's 10 million people starving in Darfur! Why aren't they protesting about that?!" The outrage over the Stand Your Ground law and whatever other stuff you mention to try and distract us is out there, and you won't have to look very hard to find it. But THIS issue happened under your watch and you need to provide some real answers for it rather than talking down to your readers. (Seriously, this article is hella patronizing.)

When the populace is done condemning the Daily Texan for use of the word "colored," can we pretty please begin an assault on the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People? Those racist, backwards bastards!

Very sorry to learn that in addition to the problems of the Sanford, Florida police department not investigating the death of Trayvon Martin thoroughly, the "Stand Your Ground" laws in some states that have been pushed through by various corporate lobbies, and the fact that all parents of black kids have to teach them how to conduct themselves safely in an unfair world -- now we also have the sad case of a "mob" of some sort "besieging" the UT Austin student paper with angry e-mails. Woe is you. Life sure is unfair!

Just one question for you, Mr. Warren: Did you see this cartoon before it was published?

Well stated.

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3/28/2012 3:11 PM

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