Discussion:

Discussion for article #234113

Rule of thumb: If someone asks you to re-enact any part of a Martin Lawrence movie, just fake a seizure. Let your hosts argue with the EMTs. It’s easier than trying to reason with anyone making that request.

In this day and age if any organized group of people are doing something and someone says “And then all the people dressed like the KKK enter over here…” shouldn’t a serious discussion ensue about the affair? Outside of filming a movie or educational film or staging a play where it’s a legitimate plot device maybe the default group consensus should be “Nah, let’s do something else.”

The group who dressed as Klansmen were part of a group of 20 players, some of whom were black.

In that team photo, I see only one face that definitely appears to be black, and maybe two others that could possibly be, but the photo is too indistinct to tell for sure. So how many black players could there have been dressed up as Klansmen?

I thought the John Roberts SCOTUS said racism is pretty much “over.”

I know, I find it highly improbable that any black man would want to dress up as a KKK member (outside of Mr. Cleavon Little) as a joke. I counted at least four black men on that team.

“For Christ and His Kingdom.” Spare me, you pukes.

Maybe the anger was over mocking the Klan.

donned Ku Klux Klan robes and hoods for a skit that was part of a team-building activity

Makes sense. Because nothing screams team unity more than the KKK!

Didn’t anyone say “Uh, guys, maybe wee need to rethink this??” Not even one person?

Looks more like plain old stupidity than racism, but neither has any place at any place that calls itself a college.

(BTW: Wheaton is a pretty extreme fundagelical school.)

I dunno. These are young guys in Illinois and many of them may not even fully grasp the gravity of the KKK’s reign of terror. And they were making fun of the KKK. Still, one of the funniest sketches I’ve ever seen involves a black man dressed up as a member of the KKK. It was Dave Chappelle’s Clayton Bigsby, a skit about a blind, white supremacist who doesn’t know he’s black.

Not so sure on this one… by treating the subject as sacred ground (oooooh, don’t do that, it might be misunderstood) it gives too much credit to the nuts who participate in the KKK for real… they should be mocked on a regular basis.

Might also be good for people to understand the context of something before issuing universal condemnations, otherwise you might end up on the same side as the KKK.

Best comment!

KKK, no no no. That’s enough said.

Is it in the air this week, is Selma driving them crazy like Miss Daisy?

donned Ku Klux Klan robes and hoods

Costume rentals??? What?

Indeed. My first thought was, that’s a mighty white looking football team for this day and age.

I bet they’ll get special attention from African-Americans on opposing teams in the future.

That seems to be the running joke nowadays.

This is the problem with parody and satire… Not everyone gets it. I remember reading once that a lot of conservatives liked Colbert because they did not understand his character was really mocking O’Reilly. They thought Colbert’s character was really Colbert, a right wing guy who mocked liberals.

Having said that, it is one thing to mock a conservative fool and another thing entirely to parody an organization responsible for genocide, murder, maimings and beatings, lynchings, etc. unless you know the context and satire will be clear to everyone including all descendants of its victims.

Well of course it is. Wheaton is hardcore fundamentalist Christian, so the students are mostly of Northern European descent, like Jesus was.

A group of football players at a “Christian” college in Illinois donned Ku Klux Klan robes and hoods for a skit that was part of a team-building activity, the Chicago Tribune reported on Friday.

Fixed that punctuation for you, TPM.

Everyone portrayed in the story seems to be exercising a stunning sense of moderation, perspective and common sense. I was shocked & gladdened to hear that no one was suspended. No protests were organized. No one got fired or expelled. It seems like the principal & peripheral people involved all recognize that while the optics are poor, overreacting to a possibly ill advised comic skit would do far more harm than good.