These homemade cracker packets are all over the path between Lerner and Low. Explain.
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Bwog Staff on
Apr 11, 2006 
89 Comments
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89 Comments
@bobbyd this is the funniest thing i have ever read on the internet. bar none. if this is a hoax by the b&w, pure genius. keep up the good work and keep us alumni proud.
@yeah, right Yeah, obviously they would fake a hate crime and risk disciplinary hearings to get more traffic…
Though I must say, conspiracy theories are fun!
@Sleuth How could we have been so blind?
I know who created this carepackage of hate!!!
Has anyone noticed the name of the poster, Bethany Milton? Initials BM.
I see on the paper plate ‘BM’. Hmmmmmm. Interesting.
As if getting her name attached to the story wasn’t enough, she had to include her own initials on the package itself!
A lot of people have been talking about how the swastika is backwards. Has anyone else tried reflecting the image?
A right-facing swastika followed by ‘BW’ is clearly visible (try it!).
BW, now what could that be? THE BLUE AND WHITE.
Everyone, not just Jews, should be offended that we were tricked and our emotions manipulated (assuming the swastika was just to grab attention, not actually indicative of real hatred by Bethany Milton or the BW staff) in order to draw extra attention and traffic to this site.
They are what is wrong with humanity.
@glassman EVERYONE IS MISSING THE POINT: The BWOG is publishing antisemitic propaganda. The BWOG uses columbia funds. BAN THE BWOG AND ITS USE OF OUR MONEY. And most importantly, ban Bethany Milton.
@Errr.... What?
@word Yes, this is absurd.
@this entire thread... …is making me want to switch out of the humanities asap
@blargh ha! so there.
Also, I think this “verify your humanity” test to post is biased against color-blind people. I’m calling it in as a bias crime.
@McFister Man oh manischewitz
@markeros IF YOUR NAME IS
***MARKEROS***
PLEASE STOP POSTING.
YOUR COMMENTS ARE BORING YET YOU KEEP WRITING MORE AND MORE. STOP!
@markeros
That was hateful.
It’s cause I’m Jewish, isn’t it?
@Joey crack Jewish girls are beautiful . This makes me mad just for that.
@Trief I ate bread this morning.
Bias crime?
@yes without a doubt.
@juanathan man, i used to think columbia was like it was portrayed in the admissions manual, with people of all colors holding hands in a circle and singing the soundtrack to the lion king. Now I can’t even walk down the goddamn steps without stepping on some matzoh-hate crime. Good thing I lied on every question in my application, or I’d feel guilty about a school like this accepting me and giving me a degree.
@hmmmm The swastika, from what I can see in the picture, is clearly backwards. Logically, there’s no way a professed ‘neo-nazi’ would make that mistake. What’s more interesting, however, is the visible comment: “Holes Everywhere.” To the same extent, why would a racist idiot like that go through all the effort of buying jewish food and making some complex item when they could just write random things all around campus. Lastly, the spots where the items were discovered are highly, highly visible locales. Right now, with out any other information, it would seem that these bundles of hate are promoting some sort of awareness for the “holes” on campus – e.g. how easy it is to spread hate.
@Judge Holmes What’s the possibility that SHOCC planted these to bring attention to themselves?
Oh, and as a Jew, I find the whole thing rather amusing; probably because it took place within the friendly confines of our precious campus gates. Nothing like watching panties in bunches over possibly innocent leafleting, which as we learned last semester in PrezBo’s Free Speech class is perfectly legit.
@If someone... Was a card carrying honest to God member of a British Neo-Nazi party does anyone REALLY think they would decide it would be a swell idea to attend Columbia for their education? I mean really? They probably wouldn’t even be allowed into the united states at this point.
@Curious So, anyone know how the thing got there though? I saw one like that a month ago, but it didn’t look like a hate crime so I ignored it.
@IR statement I guess that rules out the Lerner–>Low path as a “safe space”. But seriously, how do we know that this wasn’t just made by a rabid fan of the emerging Indo-Anglo-Israeli alliance? The swastika was backwards, duh!
@swatikas... can be drawn both ways, if the Neonazi with the marker is ignorant enough. Not so improbable, then.
@Fdiclemente Allowing these rascals to get away with this leaves everyone exposed, not only Jews. Standing up to people or groups like this is the only way to put an end to what may become a large problem. As Columbians, we need to stand tall and support each other instead of segregating each other by race or relegion. When it comes down to it we are basically the same and if anyone should be targeted it should be the racist scum that has invaded our institution. Stop them now b4 they act as termites and crumble our foundation.
@Wooo, I agree! I’m off to Mr. Garrison’s Death Camp of Tolerance!
@Fdiclemente Hey, If it exists, sign me up. A little bit of understanding and tolerance is what this world really needs.
@Stop Coke on Columbia's Campus http://www.swastika-info.com/en/startpage/usa/1069618500.html
@Chris Colombo “Dear Student,
The Dean of Student Affairs office noticed a photo posted on a blog operated by the student publication, the Blue and White, that alleges a bias incident took place on Columbia’s campus. Public Safety has been notified and is conducting an investigation. At this point, we are not able to independently confirm this incident.”
@But, seriously, don't drink Coke. http://xroads.virginia.edu/~class/coke/coke2.html
@Come on Wow, another addition to the shocking spree of hate crimes that have rocked our fair campus. Columbia is practically Berlin in 1936! Next thing we know it, mobs of anti-Semitic frat boys will be burning the Hillel and violating the purity of our long-skirted Jewish women!
@wtf what the fuck is that supposed to even mean?
@Come on What the hell do you think it’s supposed to mean? It means that certain groups on campus–and I’m thinking about the J-o-o’s–are too sensitive to allegations of hate, forgetting that they actually enjoy a very privileged position on campus. And I’m Jewish, by the way, so don’t waste your time accusing me of being anti-Semitic myself.
@Um, is that you, Uncle Tom? I’m not agreeing or disagreeing with your position, but your own identity is irrelevant ( at least as a form of justification) in the point you’re making.
@Come on Not in the least bit. Why would I self-identify as a Jew if I were an anti-Semite?
@Because (1) You could just as well hate yourself, or (2) hate a particular type of Jew different from yourself (say, Orthodox).
@um.. What a spurious argument. Do you even know what anti-semitism means?
@Don't worry, you love jews 1. It’s not an argument, per se. I’m making no assertion of your beliefs. At best, it’s a hypothetical conjecture that intends to clarify. For all I know, you could be so anti-anti-Semitic that it makes my eyes roll. I don’t care.
2. Yes, I do know.
2a. The simple route: “discrimination against Jews as a religious, ethnic, or racial group” can be perpetuated by a Jew.
Drop the second possibility (from post 60), the only point is that your presupposing one can’t hate themselves, and have yet to prove otherwise, beyond calling my “argument” “spurious.”
@Come on Your definition of “anti-Semitism” is wriggling around here. Is it discrimination against all Jews, or just against some? I’m a Jew, and I proudly identify as such. This invalidates your suggestion that I hate myself. The only possibility left is that I dislike certain TYPES of Jews, which may or may not be anti-Semitism–you don’t seem to really be sure. In my opinion, for a secular Jew to dislike religious or Zionist Jews is anything but anti-Semitism. Maybe you should make up your mind as to whether or not you agree.
@Let's be clear Two main points.
1. My original claim:
Where you claimed your own Judaism as absolution of anti-Semitism, I asserted that being a Jew does not mitigate hypothetical anti-Semitism. The actual statement you made, in my opinion, was not anti-Semitic. Your lack of anti-Semitism should stand on the merits of the statement before the final sentence. The issue I took was with that sentence, where you appealed to not being an anti-Semite because you’re Jewish. The point was (1) there’s no need to bring that up if the post is in fact not anti-Semitic, or (2) if you had said something clearly anti-Semitic, then your Jewish identity would, to use my original phrasing, be “irrelevant” (ex: a black person who uses the N word offensively can still be offensive to another black person, as Dave Chapelle was to his grandmother, to whom he apologized, according to his entertaining interview with James Lipton.)
2) What you’re talking about now:
What you’re raising (dislike of a type of Jew), obviously requires nuance and is certainly not blanket anti-Semitism (we would need to distinguish if it was anti-Sephard, anti-Orthodox, etc.). Please look back to when I said in post 79, to “drop the second possibility”, which claimed you may dislike only one type of Jew. That was an agreement that dislike of a particular type of Jew is not properly encompassed by the term ‘anti-Semite’.
Once again, the claim was, and was only intended to be, regardless of the original statement, that, hypothetically, one’s Jewish identity is of no consequence to a possible bias (or lack thereof), since that identity is either encompassed within the object of that suspected hatred, or rather tangentially linked to the object (group, religious sect, etc.) of hatred. So, don’t worry, no one’s calling you an anti-Semite, simply, there’s no need to reference your own identity, because, above all, it’s poor argumentation and would have little effect if an expressed view was in fact offensive or prejudiced.
@Nork Saying it’s not a swastika, and concluding that this does not represent a hate incident, is an act of stupidity on a level that really should have prevented you from attending Columbia in the first place.
@nbf Considering that vandals and anti-semites aren’t known for their subtlety, there is a good chance that this is a botched swastika. But why to conclusions on the strength of a single photograph without even pausing to consider other possibilities? Ignorance of the religious symbols of others proves nothing, especially in a city with tremendous diversity and its fair share of Buddhists, among whom might well be some spontaneous, hole-worshipping cracker-givers. Not likely, but, lacking other evidence of specific anti-semitic intent, why jump to conclusions? Especially since, if they were haters of even the lowest caliber of intelligence or commitment, they might just be familiar with the correct rendering of their preferred symbol.
@Sniglia Umm, because it’s also Passover? It’s very clear this is a bias incident.
@nbf It could be a Buddhist holiday, which are quite frequent and scrupulously observed by adherents.
They could be part of a larger trend of placing the packets, once instance of which happened to coincide with Passover.
Something is “clear” when there is independently verifiable evidence to prove it, not when one feels personally offended because a certain symbol and a certain date which both hold meanings to you coincide, purposefully or not. It’s not wrong to have a strong emotional reaction to a symbol closely resmebling one associated with horrible things, but it is wrong to assume that you’ve been targeted.
According to lore, some years ago a British dignitary was visiting the campus and treated to an orchestral performance of our Alma Mater. The dignitary was understandably horrified, since the tune is the same as “Deutschland Über Alles,” but that doesn’t mean the orchestra was biased or that the offense was deliberate. Be concerned, be offended at a possible lack of sensitivity, but don’t automatically conclude anything from the strength of a single photograph that has references to holes, an unclear acronym (if it is that at all), something resembling motzah but which is in fact a common snack food, and a Buddhist symbol that resembles the Nazi swastika. Nothing is “clear” at all, especially not from a single photograph.
@blargh well, if you think we’re stupid for recognizing that it’s a Buddhist symbol, maybe we should also be allowed to insult you and call you stupid for not being culturally sensitive enough to know about what goes on in India.
@nbf That is not a swastika, at least in the sense associated with anti-semitism; notice how it points counterclockwise, as opposed to that used by the Nazis, which pointed the other way. The symbol depicted there is a Buddhist symbol with origins in India (I think). No one can say how it was intended, but, barring other evidence besides that photo and the garbled writing on it, the symbol is not as conclusively offensive as something saying “UFCK THE JEWS” or “IKKES MUST DIE.”
@please... you’re trying to say that in 2006 a swastika clockwise or counter-clockwise (you think these assholes have a clue?) doesn’t categorically represent a nazi (or neo-nazi) sympathy?
@Did you guys know That Coca Cola used to use a backwards swastika as an advertising symbol? Before all the Hitler unpleasantness, of course. Email me and I’ll send you a picture of Coca Cola’s Jew hating cola ad.
So now this photo is being used as proof of another “bias incident.” Fantastic. Also, what about all that “Holes everywhere” stuff written all over the plate. Maybe they want to throw Jews in holes? Maybe they don’t like all those annoying holes that they put in mazoh. It’s probably that last one.
PS: to all you “That’s definately a piece of mazoh on that plate” people, have you ever seen a piece of mazoh? They’re sold in 1’x1′ squares. I’ve never seen a piece as rectangular as the one on that plate. I’m just saying, is all.
@Not exactly “They’re sold in 1’x1′ squares.”
That’s only grocery store machine made matzoh. Many also (or instead) eat hand made circular matzoh.
If anything, I’d say it doesn’t look like Matzoh purely because it’s thicker and doesn’t have Matzoh flat-like consistency (notice the visibly different layer within, exposed at the broken end). It looks like just a good ‘ole cracker.
@Not exactly “They’re sold in 1’x1′ squares.”
That’s only grocery store machine made matzoh. Many also (or instead) eat hand made circular matzoh.
If anything, I’d say it doesn’t look like Matzoh purely because it’s thicker and doesn’t have Matzoh flat-like consistency (notice the visibly different layer within, exposed at the broken end). It looks like just a good ‘ole cracker.
@nbf That is not a swastika, at least in the sense associated with anti-semitism; notice how it points counterclockwise, as opposed to that used by the Nazis, which pointed the other way. The symbol depicted there is a Buddhist symbol with origins in India (I think). No one can say how it was intended, but, barring other evidence besides that photo and the garbled writing on it, the symbol is not as conclusively offensive as something saying “UFCK THE JEWS” or “IKKES MUST DIE.”
@McFister Thanks, but again, a backwards swastika? Curious, but how is this a hate incident?
@oh, and also... It’s not funny. There’s a reason Carlos Mencia is lame.
@McFister So, apparently this is being treated as a full-fledged ‘hate’ incident. So, what does it actually say? Backwards swastika does not a hate incident make.
@too much credit the fact that its a backwards swastika does not mean its not anti-semitic. it just means the douchebag who made it doesn’t know the difference. it means the same thing whether its backwards, forwards, ,upside-down pink, covered in glitter, who cares. it’s a swastika and that doesn’t belong at our school.
@bobbyD right, just like a right-side-up and upside-down cross mean the same thing. ditto for US flag. you’re saying the intent behind a symbol doesn’t matter, just the viewer’s interpretation. i hope you never play sudoku, or you’ll see hundreds of forward and backward swastikas all overlapping each other.
if he’s a douchebag because he “doesn’t know the difference” what does that make you for knowing the difference, but not caring?
@Goinkus This is reprehensible and not a joke. If anyone knows more about these ‘care packages of hate’, please contact the Office of Public Safety.
@McFister How do you know it wasn’t meant as a joke?
@the OED reminds us: “joke, n.
1. a. Something said or done to excite laughter or amusement; a witticism, a jest; jesting, raillery; also, something that causes amusement, a ridiculous circumstance. “
Just because I meant it as a joke when I punched your pregnant mother in her belly, doesn’t absolve the act of its ethical and legal complications.
@i mean Who’s to say this was necessarily done by CU kids?
@sw word
[what is all this ‘comment too short’
business anyway?!]
@quiqui saying “jews suck” and “we hate jews” isn’t propaganda… that implies some kind of organized, large scale dissemination of information… boredatbutler is just a bunch of jackoffs acting like morons for mild entertainment.
@homo sapien why is b@b full of anti-semitic propaganda (e.g. ‘jews suck’ ‘we hate jews’, etc)? what is columbia coming to?
@jesus all you people making fun of shocc: do you really think it’s not a serious issue that there’s neo-nazi propaganda being strewn about columbia’s campus? that people scrawl homophobic and racist messages on walls? throw beer bottles at people from frats while yelling slurs? i mean, they may have some demands you disagree with, but that doesn’t mean they’re entirely useless or what they’re saying is completely invalid!
@Saladin Is a couple of crackers and a paper plate really a sign of some endemic hate problem? It’s trash, throw it away and don’t give them the satisfaction.
@what?? that’s definately matzoh and that’s definately a swastika.
@Saladin Is a couple of crackers and a paper plate really a sign of some endemic hate problem? It’s trash, throw it away and don’t give them the satisfaction.
@call SHOCC Let’s boycott the path from Lerner to Low.
@nonaryan swastikas are uncool. nazis go back to europe.
@race hate criminal race hate crime alert! race hate crime alert! race hate crime alert!
@bwog on a concrete bench… there was also one resting on the edge of a recycling bin and one on top of a hedge.
british neo-nazis! fess up!
@strange I wonder exactly where this picture was taken, cuz the “path between Lerner and Low” is like cobblestones, College Walk, and the steps…
@re:strange The path between Lerner and Low? Wouldn’t that be…The Street Where You Live?
(sorry…)
@eliza no, silly. that’s lerner and lowE.
@moph actually, it is “Low”–http://www.columbia.edu/about_columbia/map/low.html
@no no it’s lowe. as in lerner and lowe. who wrote the street where you live. doof.
@markeros Actually, it’s Loewe.
And, good GOD! Didn’t we Stop Hate on columbia’s campus last week? Right before we took Back the Night? Or was it after? Did we Stop Hate and Take Back The Night on the same day?
Protesting against hate without saying word one about the economic, pseudo-religious, and ideological roots of hate is like being the American Cancer Society and REFUSING to spend $ one on finding the environmental and dietary CAUSES of cancer.
What is the point?
Do the “anti-hate” people really think that the most dangerous haters are the ones making matzoh frisbees with arts and crafts supplies?
Do they really think that the most dangerous racists are the ones wearing swastikas and white robes?
Or is it just safer to hate hate? (and more fulfilling too!)
And those of us who refuse to join the kitsch parade by declaring our dislike of “hate” and our love of “freedom” and our position against violence against women and children…are we haters? If we’re not for SHOCC, are we against them? The way the Zionists think anyone who doesn’t think Israel excretes sunshine and lollipops is an anti-Semite? The way anyone who dislike Bush and his cronies is anti-American?
What if all the self-aggrandizing energy of SHOCC went into actually trying to change the parts of the system that breed and encourage hate, rather than the vague, illusory spectre of hate itself.
And hate is not the opposite of love, indifference is.
Oh, and for the record, I hate hate and I’m pro-freedom and I think Israel has a right to exist and violence is bad.
@mat who is that? that’s kind of unbelievably clever.
@well Bwog, get on top of this! Get active! Send your news-foraging minions. Don’t let Spec beat you to it.
@hmm very creepy.
@ugh disgusting
@nazis apparently BM stands for british movement, the british neo-nazi group…
@EE Um, Bwog: That’s not just a cracker. More to the point, that’s matzoh bread.
Somebody call SHOCC.
@I saw one I saw a package liket that, also with a swastika on it, a couple months ago on a bench on campus… weird
@semioticist is that a swastika on there?
@If you think that's a "Peace and Love Swastika," you're an ASSHOLE! Guys: since the swastika was adopted by Hitler’s regime, it took on new meaning, and it will NEVER mean “peace and love” and all that other stuff EVER AGAIN (at least to the Western mind, and ESPECIALLY to us Jews). So the person who placed these symbols was a dumb Nazi redneck who wrote it backwards… whoops, so what? It was done on PASSOVER! Get your heads out of your asses!! Whether or not it was just provocative performance art or a true expression of hate we do not yet know. But I do have to say: if you think this is a symbol of Peace and Love, then YOU’RE AN IDIOT ASSHOLE!!