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Tuesday, February 11, 2014

What would Judge Cunningham say?

The LA Times picks up a story about an anti-Asian flyer - possibly from the Daily Bruin's earlier coverage - that has provoked student protests.  You can find the Times' story at:
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-ucla-police-black-judge-racial-profiling-20140203,0,4010058.story

Faithful blog readers will know that we are tracking the sad tale of LA Superior Court Judge David Cunningham III who was caught driving while black in Westwood by UCLA police and has filed a $10 million complaint against the university.  The good judge is a past head of the LA Police Commission.  There was no apology from Murphy Hall.  There was just a vague statement that we are sad that Judge Cunningham feels bad.  But everything that was done in the traffic stop was said to be on the up and up.

What would Judge Cunningham make of the following excerpt from the LA Times article on the prompt response by the chancellor to the anti-Asian flyer?

...UCLA Chancellor Gene Block has asked campus police to investigate the matter, according to a statement released Monday. Block has expressed “his disgust and frustration” over the flier and pledged that the campus will “combat racism and bigotry so that the campus can be the welcoming, respectful environment our community deserves.”...

We don't know what Judge Cunningham would say.  But in defense of the university, we do have some idea about what Ralph Waldo Emerson would say.  Something about consistency being the hobgoblin of small minds, perhaps?

Note: The earlier Daily Bruin coverage of the anti-Asian flyer can be found at http://dailybruin.com/2014/02/10/rally-protests-incidents-of-discrimination-on-ucla-campus/  The Bruin article notes an incident a few years ago in which an anti-Asian video was posted on YouTube by a UCLA student.  At that time, the chancellor immediately responded via his own Youtube video:



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