The day after the election, there were reports of a few racially-charged incidents at Baylor University. Apparently, a noose was found hanging in a tree on campus. Also, several students had a bonfire with Obama signs in a barbeque pit near the dorms. Finally, perhaps fueled by the first two incidents, a shouting match between what I have heard described as a group of white students and a group of black students resulted in police being called. No one was injured, but one student described the confrontation as being "filled with hate."
First of all, I do not think that burning Obama signs in a barbeque pit is inherently racist. I could potentially envision bitter and immature people burning Hillary Clinton signs if she had ended up as the Democratic nominee and eventual president-elect. These students may have had racial motivations for burning the signs, but this was not made clear. However, this does nothing to improve Baylor's image, or Waco's either, for that matter. Waco will be forever associated with the Branch Davidians, Daivd Koresh, and Mount Carmel. Waco citizens will have to deal with this stigma forever.
As for the shouting match between students, I do not know how it started or what was said, but tensions have been running high since the election. Campus police seem to have handled the situation well, and no one was hurt. Racial slurs may have been thrown around, but, consitutionally, we have the right to free speech. I will revere the right to free speech until I die, with one exception that I have mentioned before: speech that incites violence.
A noose hanging from a tree on the day after we have elected our first black president is not a prank or practical joke. It is a threat. Baylor needs to investigate this incident, and take swift and decisive action. The person who did this, if they are a student, should be expelled. The atmosphere around the Waco area has been tense enough for the past couple of days, and an incident like this could be enough to cause the situation to ignite. There is nothing funny about lynching, which has been a tragic part of Waco's not-too-distant past.
In 1916, Jesse Washington was lynched in Waco for the rape and murder of a white woman. Whether he actually committed the crime or not is questionable. In 1916, this did not matter. A trial was held and Washington was convicted. On his way to jail, he was swept away by a mob of Waco citizens. He was then hanged and burned to death. One person who was there later wrote:
The boy was beaten and dragged to the suspension bridge spanning the Brazos River. Thousands roared, "Burn him!" Bonfire preparations were already under way in the public square, where Washington was beaten with shovels and bricks.Fifteen thousand men, women, and children packed the square. They climbed up poles and onto the tops of cars, hung from windows, and sat on each other's shoulders. Children were lifted by their parents into the air. Washington was castrated, and his ears were cut off. A tree supported the iron chain that lifted him above the fire of boxes and sticks. Wailing, the boy attempted to climb the skillet-hot chain. For this the men cut off his fingers. The executioners repeatedly lowered the boy into the flames and hoisted him out again. With each repetition, a mighty shout was raised.
This incident has become known as "The Waco Horror."
This is what a noose hanging from a tree at a college campus in the South, in Waco, represents. Baylor needs to take a stand.
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