An Open Letter to the University of Tennessee About Social Injustice Done to Mimi Groves
An Open Letter to the University of Tennessee About Social Injustice Done to Mimi Groves
There are no second chances for Mimi Groves? UT should carefully weigh the social ramifications of rewarding acts of petty viciousness.
It is my understanding a college applicant named Mimi Groves is having her application offer to the University of Tennessee revoked on the basis of a short video where she flippantly used a culturally ubiquitous slur word that is often-depicted casually in song lyrics, TV shows and movies.
She was featured in a tendentious piece at the NY Times that attacked her character with oleaginous insinuations and dropped necessary context to place her actions with the broader cultural milieu. Furthermore, the piece deprived her of the common decency of being depicted as a complete human being, full of the impressionability of all youths, as well as her record of good deeds.
Many have pointed out that it is the intent that matters when it comes to such use of slurs. The late George Carlin did a famous routine illustrating this, incidentally.
"There is absolutely nothing wrong with any of those words in and of themselves," he said after rattling off many slurs publicly. "They're only words. It's the context that counts... It's the intention behind the word that makes them good or bad."
No intellectually honest person could infer from a casually used, widespread cultural reference that someone is a 'virulent racist.' Indeed, is it not the job of our colleges to take such bright young people and train them how to succeed in today's world?
Why are we now abandoning youths based due to minor perceived slights, when there are current University of Tennessee students like football player Jeremy Banks, who intimidated a female intern during a police ride-along by saying, "You don't wanna be an intern because where I'm from we shoot at cops." Banks was reinstated by the head coach Jeremy Pruitt after being cut in 2019.
Banks got his second chance for a much more egregious infraction. There are no second chances for Mimi Groves?
It would be also be remiss to neglect mentioning that the current President-Elect Joe Biden has said much more egregious racially insensitive remarks than Mimi Groves has ever been shown to have said. Again, it is the intent that matters.
While Groves was attempting to make a jocular remark to her friends in an effort at social bonding, Biden has implied that African-Americans are somehow not equal to other Americans. For instance, he famously said about then-future president Barack Obama that, "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy." Biden more recently remarked, "Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids.” He also told an African-American radio host during the campaign, "'If you have a problem figuring out whether you're for me or Trump, then you ain't black'."
Joe Biden has a lengthy track record of egregious racially insensitive statements, which he made both as an adult and a public figure. His reward? He has risen to the highest echelon of power in the United States.
Mimi Groves casually made an intentionally jocular remark that someone perceived as racially insensitive. What will be her reward? Dreams shattered and a betrayal of trust by a public institution that is funded by taxpayers to prepare young people for the real world?
It must be noted that no one motivated to heal racial divisions holds onto a video for years to exact revenge. It is a racially inflammatory act in-and-of-itself. A sensible person is well-intentioned enough to reach out to another receptive human being in order to potentially remedy the perceived insult. If you capitulate to such malicious actors by depriving their targets of humanity and justice, then you are only rewarding the most vicious kind of antisocial behavior.
I truly hope the University of Tennessee intends to remain a respectable institution. It will give Groves’ acceptance offer the full context it deserves, as well as carefully weighing the social ramifications of rewarding acts of pettiness and vindictiveness.
Thank you for reading this message, which will be shared on social media.
