Culture

Měli bychom uctívat rasisty?

Dec 11, 2015 Peter Singer

PRINCETON – Minulý měsíc, během mého kurzu Praktická etika, se několik studentů zvedlo a odešlo. Přidali se ke stovkám dalších v protestu vedeném Black Justice League (BJL), jednou z mnoha studentských skupin, které se po USA vyrojily jako reakce na zastřelení Michaela Browna ve Fergusonu, Missouri v srpnu 2014 a následné policejní zabíjení neozbrojených Afroameričanů.

Později toho dne okupovali členové BJL kancelář prezidenta Princeton University Christophera Eisgrubera a slibovali, že neodejdou, dokud nebudou splněny jejich požadavky. Tyto požadavky zahrnovaly “výcvik v kulturní kompetentnosti“ jak pro akademický, tak neakademický personál; dále podmínku, že studenti budou mít hodiny o historii přehlížených lidí; a také zajištění “místa kulturní podobnosti“ v rámci kampusu, které by bylo věnováno obzvláště afroamerické kultuře.

Požadavek, který si vysloužil celonárodní pozornost, bylo přejmenování Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs a také Wilson College, jedné z rezidentní kolejí školy. V jídelně koleje velké nástěnné malby Wilsona, kterou chce BJL také nechat odstranit. BJL tvrdí, že uctívání Wilsona je urážkou afroamerických studentů, protože Wilson by rasista.

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Peter Singer

Writing for PS since 2001
227 Commentaries

Peter Singer, Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University, is Founder of the nonprofit organization The Life You Can Save. His books include Animal Liberation, Practical Ethics, The Ethics of What We Eat (with Jim Mason), Rethinking Life and Death, The Point of View of the Universe, co-authored with Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek, The Most Good You Can Do, Famine, Affluence, and Morality, One World Now, Ethics in the Real World, Why Vegan?, and Utilitarianism: A Very Short Introduction, also with Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek. In April 2021, W.W. Norton published his new edition of Apuleius’s The Golden Ass. In 2013, he was named the world's third "most influential contemporary thinker" by the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute. He is a co-author (with Shih Chao-Hwei) of the forthcoming The Buddhist and the Ethicist (Shambhala Publications, December 2023).

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0 Comments on this paragraph, 24 Comments on this article

Peter Schneider Dec 18, 2015

Well, your constitution was written by "racists" and your capital is named after a slavedriver - maybe you should "rebrand" them so that they don't send wrong messages anymore?
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j. von Hettlingen Dec 15, 2015

Peter Singer supports protests led by the Black Justice League (BJL) at Princeton, which calls for the Wilson School of Public and International Affairs on campus be stripped of the name of Woodrow Wilson, because of his racism and efforts to promote segregation in the federal workforce. Singer is right that "history is full of deeply flawed people who did great things." With all their faults, flaws, mistakes and weaknesses, the public had throughout decades and centuries been able to humanise historical figures by separating mistakes from accomplishments. It is not appropriate to dwell on a binary image of black and white, because one will not be able to see gray shades.
We can't change history, nor should we sanitise it. Instead we should confront and acknowledge the shameful part of an individual's biography. Although Woodrew Wilson is widely remembered as a progressive Democrat who introduced many liberal reforms at home and fought for the extension of democratic liberties and human rights abroad, he harboured personal prejudice against black people. His policy of racial integration in the federal civil service was regressive and had wrecked the lives of tens of thousands of black families, and this legacy has been largely forgotten. Thanks to public awareness, Singer says, he owes his "knowledge of Wilson’s racism to the BJL."
Changing the name of a building or school will not have an impact on history. There is no satisfactory answer as to whether it is right to remember and honour the legacy of someone, whose deeply racist and white-supremacist views had been controversial. Even if we are blinded by Wilson's glorious legacy, we still need to learn his dark side and change our way of thinking about the person we revere. Time and viewpoints shfit from one generation into next, and trigger constant debate, which is essential to a country's future.
By associating Wilson's racist policies with the school's stated mission, the student protesters have already questioned whether Wilson's name will hurt the school. It may or may not, but an unbiased account on Wilson's legacy and controversial policies will help people understand human nature better. However, to remove a symbol or name associated with Wilson may start a journey down a slippery slope. Jefferson, Madison and Washington were slave holders, and their legacy may also come under scrutiny.
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Hiroshi Nagatsuma Dec 15, 2015

As Allan Bloom predicted affirmative action to allow black students enter universities without setting acceptance marks will damage the degree of universities in his book Closing of American Minds. These foolish students are the typical examples of that. But besides racial matters, I dislike Wilson. He had 3 sins. (1) LN , (2) Federal Reserve Act, and (3) 13 cease fire conditions to Germany after WWI. (1) gave bad impact on UN, (2) gave fatal financial misconducts, and (3) generated Hitler. If I were a Princeton university student, I would make a petition to get rid of his name on this basis.
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Christopher Goodwin Dec 14, 2015

SHOULD we honor racists (or any other despised OUT group) ? Well, yes, if they are in some way honorable.
Should WE honor racists (inter alia ?) Dunno, who are WE ? Why not think for yourself. Wilson, e.g. was honored in his time, by his supporters, party followers, etc. They did the naming, commissioned the mural, etc. Not you. You do not honor him, others did, way back then.
Should we HONOR racists & such ? Well, we tend to "go with the flow". In racialist times and places, that's what happens. Enjoy the irony. Send all complaints to the President, Clinton Hall, ... and wait for the joke to be appreciated. And there is a difference between honor and memorialisation.
Should we honor RACISTS ? In early 21st century USA, probably not. It might even be illegal: and if not now, then soon - who knows ? And, honestly, who cares ? But you cannot go around "cleaning up" those aspects of history that you find distasteful: shit happens. In this case, it happened some time ago. Protest, yes. Distance yourself from the Centenary celebrati0ons. But do not try to use this (past) error as a means to over react and create a new error, of "safe" (i.e. "thought free") spaces, which are a disgrace to any soi disant university that dares to establish them.
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Avraam Dectis Dec 14, 2015

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Excellent insightful column.

Having spent the last 19 years being poisoned by a stalker gang - while being unable to successfully engage the police or government and many of the racketeers clearly got rich without fear of arrest - I hope it will not be centuries until there is a Poisoned Irradiated Tortured American Justice Leage.
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lt lee Dec 13, 2015

The issus is not should, but would. Different generations have different tolerance on racism. Mr Singer has grown up in an US which is mostly white. The millenials grow up in an US which is getting more and more diversed. Would the millennials remove the mural honoring Wilson? I bet they would.
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Jorge Barroso Dec 13, 2015

Why BLM do not look at the Southern Manifesto signed by 99 Southern Democrats (yes, Democrats) that opposed the integration of the country? and let the history run its course. Please, BLM, read the list of the people that signed that and in lieu of attacking a 100 years ago President, go and look for the more near discriminators. You will be surprised, and doubt that you will call to delete those names. The fact is that you have not read the history of the USA, and --surprise!-- you are part of a non-learned mob. When you get your title, you will be permitted to sue ALL of discriminators (Democrats included), not before.
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Art Chen Dec 13, 2015

We are practicing the practices of totalitarian regimes? St. Petersburg to Leningrad. New regime revert back to St. Petersburg.
- lt lee Dec 13, 2015
  
  What if Wilson accepted Japan's suggestion and added "race equality" to the League of Nations constitution?
  One obvious consequence: Japan would not occupy China's Shandong penisular. There would not be May fourth movement in China. And China would not turn to communism.
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Judith Zinis Dec 13, 2015

I agree with Professor’s Singer for the most part; however, the article commits more rooms to Wilson’s accomplishments than to the devastating effect he had on African-American lives. Here in lies the rub: more space to the white oppressor and less voice to the oppressed.

Judith Zinis
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Randy James Dec 13, 2015

Should we allow hypocrites and demagogues to dictate the content, time & place of political discourse?

The fascism of the BLM initiative is the most egregious since McCarthyism. It ua founded on the Orwellian repetition of a lie: that Michael Brown was a martyr, and 'Ferguson' an iconic turning point at which a systemically oppressed minority took a violent stand against injustice.

In fact, it was a day on which an opportunistic national media used unsubstantiated hearsay to incite a mob, and create an excuse for rioting and looting. Worse, in spite of the subsequent refutation of the entire false narrative, the media continues to legitimize references to that incident as a sort of "Rosa Parks Moment" in the fight against "contemporary systemic racism" in 21st-Century America.

Having lived through a time in the 50's and 60's when systemic racism was a reality, I watched it wither and die over the 70's and 80's, only to be resurrected by our current President, who's carefully crafted inferences and omissions in response to high-profile but statistically insignificant incidents, have legitimized racism, bigotry and violence on the part of his "base".

Faced with factual realities which expose the fraudulent BLM narrative, the narcissists who feed off class and identity warfare, are doubling down by trotting out a whole new list of ideological conceits, opposition to which makes opponents eligible for the projected label: "racist and bigot".

That said, the most encouraging thing I've noticed on-line, and in particular on YouTube: African Americans vigorously calling out the BLM crowd as frauds and racists -- and i'm not just referring to comments posted, I'm talking about real people, identifying themselves and speaking directly into a camera.

Bottom-line, the fascist and tyrannical leaders of the Left in this country, having been given plenty of rope over the last 4 decades, finally found a way to hang themselves with it: by making a mockery of themselves to the remaining adult citizens in this country, of every color, from sea to shining sea.
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Max Isert Dec 12, 2015

Lincoln and his legacy would have to be re-considered, considering his support of the American Colonization Society: '' Dr Magness said the book would change readers’ views of Mr Lincoln. Amid sharp political division, he is repeatedly championed by modern-day politicians, including Barack Obama, as a great unifier.

“Looking back from modern perspectives, we see colonisation as a very bigoted idea,” said Dr Magness, of the American University in Washington.

“So it’s a tough issue to integrate in to Lincoln’s story.

“It’s a tough racial issue, and it raises a lot of emotional issues. It doesn’t mesh well with the emancipation legacy, and it doesn’t mesh well with Lincoln’s image as an iconic figure.”'' - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/8319858/Abraham-Lincoln-wanted-to-deport-slaves-to-new-colonies.html

I think we have to be very careful with this historic and cultural cleansing, that is currently going here in the United States, another example is Roosevelt Hospital in NYC: ''In an interview this week, Mr. Roosevelt, a 53-year-old venture capitalist, said: “It was one of those moments when you go in expecting one thing and what you get back is so completely different that your ability to fundamentally process what’s happening is nonexistent. You’re in shock.”

Once the shock wore off a bit, Mr. Roosevelt and his mother wrote messages to Mount Sinai objecting to the change. But it is a fait accompli.'' - http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/05/nyregion/mount-sinai-sheds-roosevelt-name-as-hospital-moves-on.html
- Max Isert Dec 12, 2015
  
  ''Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.'' - https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Santayana
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J R Dec 12, 2015

Nothing for or against Wilson - but why are we focusing so much effort on a historical figure from 100+ years ago? Where's the huge impact on daily life today? What about all the racists, bigots, and neo-fascists in our headlines and political discourse right now? Where's the outrage over modern demagogues that already hold power and important platforms today, but are seeking more? Does anyone realize that human slavery and trafficking is still a big (though less overt) problem now? Why is there nothing about figures who are actively mistreating African-Americans and other racial, ethnic, and religious groups in 2015? Where are our young people and college students in protesting current assaults on our national values and defending civil liberties for all persons? Why spend so much time and angst over a dead man from a century ago - how is this better than directing collective efforts on something that will actually make a signficant difference in all of our future lives? It all seems like so much navel-gazing, and taking our eyes off the ball.
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R Richard Schweitzer Dec 12, 2015

Singer writes:
"I have taught at Princeton for 16 years, and I have admired some of Wilson’s foreign-policy positions for much longer; but I owe my knowledge of Wilson’s racism to the BLJ."

Which indicates the nature of the "closed" minds at many post-secondary institutions.

There has been much written about Wilson's positions in the literature of the past 10 years describing the "Progressive Movement." There are Wilson's own attempts at scholarly writings (disclosing, inter alia, the German academic influences which support totalitarianism).

But, today's "Idealists" do not want to read, hear, or discuss ideas or facts from "the other side" of the current political or social philosophies.

It is all out there. The broad swath of academia just doesn't want to accept its existence. It may tarnish the silver of U S liberals.
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Curtis Carpenter Dec 12, 2015

I'm sick to death of identity politics of every flavor. It blinds us to the humanity that we all share, and forces every conversation into a contest between "us" vs. "them."

No one seems capable of using the phrase "On balance,..." anymore.
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Mike S Dec 12, 2015

Wonderful piece. Given the sense of entitlement raging through elite American Universies, your only alternative is to remind your students that they are occupying the land of the indigenous Delaware People and thus will need to vacate so as to right what is obviously without irony an historical atrocity. Further, since Princeton's enormously generous financial aid and scholarship provisions are funded by the Ill gotten gains of white male oppression and American imperialist economic policy that are the source of Princeton's enormous endowment (sorry, is that a microagression?), to paraphrase Tom Cruise in Risky Business, "Hey, looks like Illinois State!". Or they could just act like adults and consider the extremely flawed nature of an accomplished individual. Churchill firebombed 100,00 civilians in Dresden and we still like HIM. Personally, I'd suggest following the lead of MIT and just number the buildings. They seem to be less distracted from the actual business of education there.
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Alex Leo Dec 11, 2015

Yes we should be speaking honestly about history and personalities. Constant re-assessment and re-evaluation is good, it helps us better understand ourselves, our own values and priorities, not the ones we declare out of political correctness.

Then you will discover that there isn't a single great person, most of them found their way to fame and power with a lot of force, cunning, luck. So, nothing wrong with renaming, but who do you rename after - good luck finding consensus today.

As for this particular issue, why are the students silent about MLK? He plagiarized his dissertation as proved by an independent commission in 1991, heavily borrowed for his speeches, had indiscriminate sex with mostly white or fair skinned women and used a lot off violence against them? If he were a white man and his "dates" were black women, he would be in jail and off the books, let alone having a National Holiday named after him, despite everything he did to promote equal rights.
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Douglas Knauer Dec 11, 2015

Pete, you got it right when you said history full of deeply flawed people who did great things. This budding desire to have only angels as our heroes is going to leave a lot of people disappointed. No one is an angel. I also find it mildly ironic that the BLJ group that wants to remove Wilson's name for his racism is insisting on having a special space set aside for blacks only. None of us are angels.
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hari naidu Dec 11, 2015

The moral of the story is to be found in State Departments Annual Human Rights Report on China, India, Russia & other countries. This duality of moral predicament is manifested more glaringly in party politics in US Congress, specially by Southern Reps.
The word *tolerance* doesn't resonate with those who want to practice racial intolerance; e.g. Donald *Duck*!
American fascism is not far from manifesting itself, if crusaders like Trump are allowed free pass by the media.
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Michael Public Dec 11, 2015

At a certain time in history nationalism/tribalism etc was a force of good. Take how the Hebrews were 'the chosen people' and so on. Since 1900 or so, it has changed so that all raising up of national interest are a force of evil. Since Wilson existed well into the modern era, his racism exists in a time when it should already have stopped. I for one support his removal.
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Walter Gingery Dec 11, 2015

I fully agree that an appreciation of Wilson must take into account his racism.

I would also respectfully suggest that we be charitable in that appreciation, understanding that no one is perfect, ourselves included.

A century from now, when the accounts are drawn up and rendered, what, I wonder, will be the judgment on the leaders of today? Can the members of the BJL acknowledge that it is, to a certain extent, beyond their control?

Perhaps people of that time will be more interested in the effects of global warming, and cast judgment based on whether one did or did not eat meat.

Amid the turmoil following WWI, the idea for a League of Nations loomed large as a noble and significant contribution. Perhaps we of today take it too much for granted and misprize it?

All anyone can do, it seems to me, is struggle for the right, with the limited vision accorded to mere humans. Wilson's contributions deserve to be viewed in that light.
- Ibad Ahmed Dec 11, 2015
  
  By far the most balanced view I've seen thus far. Eugenics was regarded as a rational line of investigation by many progressives of that era; a notion that leaves us aghast today. I am sure that in a few decades from now, our descendants will feel the same way about us. This does not mean that we would not have done some good things in our time, just like Woodrow Wilson got some pivotal things right in his own.
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Petey Bee Dec 11, 2015

Perhaps making a requirement to teach our future leadership classess history, examined honestly and critically. Our great schools are capable of it. When I attended a top 10 US university, there was no requirement for history at all (science and tech nerds, who do well in our society, are happiest when ignorant). This is in contrast to the public ed. Policies in NYC in the 80's, which emphasized the history of racial strife as integral to the US, and taught the necessity of universal respect for those unlike you. A place like the city would not funcion otherwise. Is it "PC"? You bet. It would do our society a lot of good if our best educated classes, and voters in general, had a fuller picture of the more difficult subjects*. The problem of whose name to put on pur great schools would resolve itself automatically, then.

*note - I'm specifically not talking about professional government and law people. They are fully aware already, they just have the training and mental discipline to compartmentalize away the difficult issues. Its not fair to expect them to do otherwise.
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