Ah, liberal arts colleges. So the authors of a Reed “humor” publication called the Pamphlette recently published an article accusing Lewis and Clark staff of “rounding up and gassing all the Jews on their Portland, OR, campus,” reports Inside Higher Ed. Cue the most absurd round of hand-wringing about whether or not the Pamphlette should be censored, and whether it matters that Lewis and Clark recently had to deal with swastikas in the bathrooms. There was even a huge discussion session of the incident, reportedly.
One editor, answering for the group, said that the intent of the article was to satirize a column in Reed’s student newspaper that “argued that satirical Holocaust denial enables real genocide. We found this claim ridiculous, and that the goal of our article was to satirize this notion by driving it to its logical extreme.”
Meh. I’ll buy that. But I’m not sure I buy the editor’s repeated argument that the publication was “never supposed to leave the campus.” If that’s the case, then one might question its point. Ah. I see…
Perhaps the saddest quote in the whole article is the conclusion, expecting a “higher standard of intellectualism” from Reed. I totally understand the need to express outrage, but really? If anything, this story will probably help with fund raising from ex-Reedies who celebrate the college as a place to push boundaries, albeit in this case, in a rather unimaginative and self-satisfied way.
When it comes to college students joking about the holocaust, you still can’t beat Princeton… http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html…
“”We really got to the root of why exactly we found this offensive,” he said, ”and had a very intellectual exchange over all.””
Intellectual exchanges. The best way to back down.
If a story about Reed doesn’t come off as at least a little bit condescending, it’s not really a story about Reed.
Sweet, the Mercury has a Likudist news editor.
“If that’s the case, then one might question its point.”
I dunno, to be read on-campus? I give you a failing grade, see me after class.
For a little perspective on this incident from a week ago (so slow, New Media?), one should produce the article in question, along with an estimate of the offending publisher’s circulation.
What, you mean two college kids printing off a dorm computer don’t maintain records of circulation numbers?
That is the true outrage, Mr. Reporter.
You think that the whole controversy will ignite people to give money to Reed? Are you serious? The incident has gone all over the Jewish community, and my family has personally spoken to big donors who will not give money to a school whose parody publication writes anti-Semitic trash. The Pamphlette is ruining Reed’s reputation.
“Big donors who will not give money to a school whose parody publication writes anti-Semitic trash.”
The whole controversy started with a column that satirized Holocaust DENIAL; a student wrote a bizarre letter to the other school newspaper accusing the Pamphlette of “enabling genocide” by, again, satirizing Holocaust denial. The Pamphlette’s response was gold.
Ariel Sharon is a war hero, not a criminal.
Down with the Magyar Garda.
Nigdy nic twojemu bratu nie pozycalem, Solidarnosc!
Leslie, if you actually cared about Reed’s reputation, you’d make an effort to have constructive discussions about the things that upset you, rather than simply getting enraged and hurling hyberbolic accusations.
It’s not unreasonable to be offended by things printed in the Pamphlette. But it *is* unreasonable to spew such vitriol at its editors, both at Reed and all over the internet. There are many better ways to express your anger — as it is, the only person who might actually damage Reed’s reputation is you.
I damage Reed’s reputation? That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard all afternoon. The real people who damage Reed’s reputation are the Editors of The Pamphlette, who trivialize the Holocaust. The whole Jewish community is aghast about The Pamphlette, and many Reed students are disgusted.
I have talked to various Reedies, many of whom thanked me for speaking up, and told me that they didn’t feel safe voicing their opinions. Why didn’t they feel comfortable? The answer is that they didn’t want to be publicly mocked by The Pamphlette and its editors.
I have also talked to Reed staff members and alums, and they can’t believe the Pamphlette. It’s so easy to scapegoat me for being outraged. You expect me to have a personal dialogue with the editors of The Pamphlette? I am not going to go face-to-face with people who so disrespect my heritage.
I care about Reed’s reputation. But I don’t care so much as to blindly shield the community from the anti-Semitism that masquerades as satire in The Pamphlette. My loyalty is to my family, and I have family members that were killed in the Holocaust. Get a sense of respect for Jewish heritage.
Unacceptable. You cannot claim Jewish heritage (many of us have that, too) as justification for your actions.
The Pamphlette was willing to have a dialogue with you, as they did with some of the only students who stepped forward.
You ignore the large number of Reed students who are shocked and embarrassed by the reactions to this situation.
Once again, for the millionth time, this all started with your claims that satirizing Holocaust DENIAL was “enabling genocide.” That is an astounding claim. You have never acknowledged or explained this logical inconsistency. You cannot continue to distort the facts by insisting that the editors of the Pamphlette are anti-Semites.
For the last time, your claims of anti-Semitism do not correspond with the facts, and in fact, YOU are the are who is trivialzing the real problem of global anti-Semitism.
It seems that everyone realizes that this issue is NOT newsworthy except Leslie Zukor, who continues to push her false and inflammatory belief that The Pamphlette is staffed by anti-Semites.
I love how you say “everyone realizes”, as if the people here were representative of the entire community. What you are saying discounts the Reed students, staff members, alums, and members of the Jewish community who agree with me.
Many of these people are too scared to speak up, because their names will be dragged through the mud like mine has. But they do tell me privately, through email, and after the Reed Forum, how they agree that The Pamphlette’s jokes were out of line.
The claim that trivializing the Holocaust creates the climate where genocide can happen again is not my own. It is that of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, a group which I cite in my original Quest article.
Satire at the expense of the Jews is trivializing the Holocaust. Like it or not, the jokes people tell are very indicative of the kind of community we have. Sadly, people are way too callous and flippant to treat the subject with the delicacy that it demands.
When I was younger, I never understood why sensitivity training existed. However, now I understand. I truly have empathy for my ancestors and my own heritage. That is why I care so much about this issue. My ancestors died in the Holocaust.
Some Reed students act like context will explain everything. In reality, it doesn’t matter in what context the satire was written; it doesn’t change the offensive nature of the article. Just because it’s a joke doesn’t mean that it isn’t offensive or painful.
The bottom line is that I said that The Pamphlette was offensive to me and my heritage. Satire or not, it still was hurtful. If I express my displeasure about the article, you would think that The Pamphlette would refrain from hurting the Jewish community. The bottom line is that they don’t care.
Why won’t you address my points, Leslie?
1) Why do you insist on ignoring the fact that this situation started because of the Pamphlette’s satire of Holocaust DENIAL? You said that this “enabled genocide.” You continue to avoid this. Do not hide behind an organization that is making a very different claim from yours.
2) You are offended by the above comment with the word “everyone,” at the same time you claim to speak for the Jewish community. Let’s not play the identity politics game, particularly when one of the Pamphlette’s editors is Jewish. Does that matter to you? Do you really want to speak for an entire diverse community?
3) The “context” here absolutely matters. This college has failed you if you truly believe that context is unimportant.
I would love to have an honest discussion with you, but this is impossible if you continue to make wildly inaccurate statements about the situation, refusing to address facts that I will gladly document for you, in case you’ve forgotten or overlooked them.
Having Jewish heritage and/or relatives who were killed in the Holocaust doesn’t make you representative of “the Jewish community.” Many other people can also make both those claims and still hold very different opinions.
Saying “my relatives were killed in the Holocaust” is a cheap and disrespectful way to use that tragedy for your own rhetorical purposes. The Pamphlette editors used the Holocaust for their half-baked attempt at satire — you’re using it in an attempt to shame strangers into agreeing with you.
It’s a pity you can’t see how that looks to others.
Thank god the Pamphlette had at least the sense to steer clear of the whole Vesuvius thing…
“the goal of our article was to satirize this notion by driving it to its logical extreme.”
And what is so logical about the extreme to which you took the subject of the Holocaust? 13 million people were systematically murdered. You grandparents or great-grandparents fought the Nazis. I’m sure they appreciate your brand of satire. I’m also sure they’d give you a swift kick in the pants too.
Hey reedgrad, your comment makes all of Reed College sound like a school of neo-Nazis. Maybe we should take that as a fact. OK, so why don’t we just do a little satire on how Reed College was raided by Zionist commandos and burned to the ground. Editors of the Pamphlette were put trial, found guilty and immediately executed, never to spread their lies and hateful propaganda ever again. Better yet, why don’t we just do it for real? Hey, it’s no big deal joking about murdering innocent people, how much worse could it be by even hinting at retribution? Sound like fun?
Well, manicdrummer, you don’t seem to think it’s a big deal joking about burning Reed College to the ground and killing the Pamphlette editors.
reedgrad’s comment sounds nothing like neo-Nazi thought. Seriously, do you honestly think that? If saying “Having Jewish heritage and/or relatives who were killed in the Holocaust doesn’t make you representative of “the Jewish community”” (which it doesn’t, and I notice you have zero counter-argument) sounds like neo-Nazism to you, you’re living in some demure dream-world there.
Unless you’re making some abstract attempt to parody Zukor’s objection to the Pamphlette article satirizing Holocaust Denial. In that case, good job!
Not having read the original article or anything else, I can’t really comment on that, but I heard that the jerk store had a special on hateraid yesterday and it looks like you guys have had a little too much. Your BHC is probably way over .08
@lazukor: “Satire at the expense of the Jews is trivializing the Holocaust.” Someone better tell Mel Brooks this, because he’s seems to have made a career out of trivializing hte Holocaust.
Leslie, I’m embarrassed by the spectacle you’ve helped to create. If you’re going to play into a victimization fantasy, at least do it intelligently. You make Reed look doubly bad.
The person I blame is Adriel Hsu-Flanders, he sent the article to LC and I find him directly responsible for this catching attention off-campus. I am disgraced to go to school with someone who has no regard for the reputation of this community. Yes, we have our problems, but his self-righteous activism is possibly the most off putting aspect of this campus.
Oh, come on. The Pamphlette published an article in which they idiotically NAMED an institution less than five miles from Reed. It would have gotten out in about five seconds, regardless of whether Adriel sent it. The fact that he manned up at the forum and came forward is an action deserving of respect. He was not inflammatory, not antagonistic, and not an idiot. Certain of the Pamphlette editors were and continue to be. Everybody chill the fuck out and play nice, puhleez.