[justaguyonline]

Never heard of this incident before, very interesting.

What I found the most interesting was the fact that the original arrests happen the day after the election of Trump. That actually explained a lot to me about why a young man who was the student treasurer of the college would do something like this and why the campus would react they way they did. (though college students tend to shoplift a lot more than you'd expect in my experience)

Unfortunately, people have a way of acting out their anger and fear about things that are to big or to far away for them to touch on their local communities. Sometimes twisting parts of them them into mistaken effigies of larger events or people they truefully have no connection to.

[liability]

The fact that students from Oberlin shoplifted frequently at that shop, and more often than not those caught doing so were white, should have been enough to at least get cooler heads to prevail a few days later. But rather than the situation cooling down as time went on, the libelous rhetoric accelerated. When the school started doubling down, that was not the day after the election. So I don't really buy the election outcome hypothesis/excuse.

[gyc]

The article also pointed out that the university was also prepared in a few days after the protests to announce they had not renewed the contract of a minority faculty member who had made some wildly anti-Semitic statements, and that the protests may have been amplified to distract from that.

[PopePompus]

But one would hope that the college officials, who were fully adults and had years of experience dealing with the Gibson family, would try to temper passions rather than throwing fuel on the fire.

I hope Oberlin has to pay every penny the jury awarded, though I doubt it will.

[justaguyonline]

And I hope in the future that we all do what Oberlin should of done here. To take a step back when the news makes us angry or sad, when we hear about someone far away violating principles we hold dear. By being angry in the here and now we inevitably hurt structures and people that have done nothing wrong and efforts to direct that energy back towards the violators often do the same to whatever distant place they live in.

I think it's important to note that the biases Oberlin showed are something we can all do if we're not careful.

[luckylion]

> By being angry in the here and now we inevitably hurt structures and people that have done nothing wrong and efforts to direct that energy back towards the violators often do the same to whatever distant place they live in.

How do we hurt "structures and people" that have done nothing wrong by, for example, being angry at Oberlin's administrators in the here and now?

> I think it's important to note that the biases Oberlin showed are something we can all do if we're not careful.

We can all do any number of things, but to be this committed to knowingly being wrong out of tribalist ideology, that's not that common.

[TMWNN]

By "To take a step back when the news makes us angry or sad, when we hear about someone far away violating principles we hold dear", justaguyonline is referring to Trump. Presumably, were Trump a resident of Oberlin, justaguyonline would say that any number of acts against the bad person are justified because he's living locally, not far away.

[xibalba]

> ...explained a lot to me about why a young man ... would do something like this

I see no facts presented in this article that align with your claims. This is pure speculation and ideological projection on your part.

This kind of overwrought rhetoric is exactly the problem with what went down at Oberlin. Start and stop with the facts: a man attempted to shoplift from a liquor store. When caught, he and his companions physically beat the clerk.

[dna_polymerase]

While I agree, that there is nothing in the article about it: The coincidence of this and the election (which I didn't know about before), at least provides one possible explanation as to how people robbing a store can paint the very owner of said store as racist, especially since they also assaulted him.

If I recall correctly, times were heated after the election and many people (especially on the left) were pretty outraged at the prospect of living in a more racist America for 4 years.

Other than that, you are right: Facts people, stick to the facts.

[Vaslo]

There is never an excuse to steal or hurt because you are sad or enraged.

[goatinaboat]

the day after the election of Trump. That actually explained a lot to me about why a young man who was the student treasurer of the college would do something like this

Sorry, maybe I am being stupid today, but can you explain your reasoning here?

You seem to be saying there is a causal link between a particular candidate being elected and an underage minor shoplifting, stealing alcohol, and assaulting a shopkeeper? Further you assert the former justified the latter?