400 White Students at Ole Miss Shout Racist Slurs, Burn Obama Sign - But Don’t Call It a ‘Riot’
About 400 Ole Miss students gathered soon after news reports named Barack Obama the winner of Tuesday’s election for what school officials and most in the media called a “protest,” but what looked and felt more like a riot to observers.
Reports of students shouting racial epithets and of Obama signs being burned were verified in a statement by the University of Mississippi and by students who posted photos and videos of events to Twitter and Instagram live from the scene.
Here’s how the New York Times described events:
“The university’s chancellor, Dan Jones, said, ‘All of us are ashamed of the few students who have negatively affected the reputations of each of us and of our university.’ No one was injured, and no property was damaged, but Dr. Jones said the campus police were investigating.”
Adding…
“Mr. Obama lost to Mitt Romney in Mississippi by a wide margin. But after Mr. Obama was declared the winner in the national race, 30 or 40 people began protesting on the campus, and a rumor spread through Twitter that it was a riot. ‘The gathering seems to have been fueled by social media, and the conversation should have stayed there,’ Dr. Jones said.”
Other reports from the Associated Press and the local Clarion-Ledger had a similar tone: Apologetic, dismissive, and sympathetic towards Ole Miss.
Which begs the question: What if it would have been 400 Chicanos shouting slurs at whites and burning Romney signs? Would the New York Times and AP have called it a riot?
It’s a safe bet they would have.
Mainstream media outlets clearly went out of their way to cover for Ole Miss, something that wasn’t necessary, nor their duty as sources of information.
Photo via the Jackson, MS Clarion-Ledger