The Dean of the University wrote, in substance “The persistent violence against people of color in this country needs to end, and as an institution with a founding principle dedicated to education for “any person,” we as a community have a responsibility to speak out and act to uphold those principles when we see injustice.” I responded as follows:
Dean __________,
I am jbgusa, Arts and Sciences 1979, and write in response to your email of June 3, 2020. By coincidence, that would have been the ninety-fifth birthday of my father, jbgusa Sr. Engineering 1947.
I cannot agree with the self-flagellation of your letter and similar correspondence from clergy and academic leaders.
This is eerily similar to the armed takeover of the Student Union Building in April 1969. As those familiar with University history know , the surrender to “demonstrator” demands caused many professors, particularly in Government, to resign. Any surrender or accommodation to violence has that result; constructive people of quality flee.No decent human being can stomach the brutal killing of George Floyd. However, there have been similarly brutal killings, of people of color far less flawed as citizens than Mr. Floyd.
David Dorn, a black retired 77 year old police officer who was trying to protect a pawnshop from looters comes to mind. Where are the protests? After all he was also black. The minority communities wind up being far more severely injured than the "racists."
Remember, Mr. Floyd was killed by four Minneapolis police officers, not by ________ University.