PROBABLY ISN’T FUN TO SEE THAT VIDEO RUNNING OVER AND OVER AGAIN. THIS WAS YOUR HOUSE. THESE ARE EFFECTIVELY YOUR BROTHERS. WHAT DID YOU THINK WHEN YOU FIRST SAW THAT VIDEO? >> THEY’RE NOT MY BROTHERS. THE GUYS IN THAT VIDEO ARE NOT MY BROTHERS.
MY FIRST REACTION WAS COMPLETE DISGUST AND SHOCK. I WAS DEEPLY OFFENDED AS A BLACK MAN IN GENERAL BUT I WAS DEVASTATED ALSO HAVING BEEN IN THAT HOUSE FOR FOUR YEARS AND PUT MY OWN BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS IN CULTIVATING A CULTURE THAT WOULD NEVER DO THAT.
SO I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN THE TIME SINCE MY BEING THERE TO THIS WEEKEND OR WHENEVER THIS VIDEO WAS ACTUALLY TAKEN OR MORE IMPORTANTLY WHENEVER THE SONG ACTUALLY WAS CREATED OR GOT INTO MY CHAPTER. I DON’T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO
THE CULTURE OF MY HOME, BUT THAT IS NOT MY HOME. THAT IS NOT SAE AND THEY ARE NOT MY BROTHERS. >> JUST TO BE CLEAR, WHEN YOU WERE A MEMBER OF THAT FRATERNITY, WHEN YOU LIVED THERE, DID YOU EVER HEAR ANYTHING LIKE THIS? DID YOU HEAR THIS SONG?
>> I NEVER HEARD AN INKLING OF THIS SONG OR WHISPERING OF ANYTHING LIKE THIS. I TRUTHFULLY BELIEVE THIS WAS NOT GOING ON AT LEAST IN THE FOUR YEARS I WAS THERE FROM ’01 TO ’05.HOUSE. WHAT’S THE CONVERSATION BEEN LIKE ESPECIALLY WHEN I READ THAT
YOU ALSO SAID THAT ONCE YOU SAW THIS VIDEO, IT WAS DIFFICULT FOR YOU TO LOOK IN THE MIRROR. YOU HAVEN’T DONE ANYTHING WRONG. WHY? >> THEY ARE WEARING THE SAME LETTERS I WORE. THEY HAVE THE SAME PIN WITH THE SAME SYMBOLS AND THE SAME MOTTO
THAT I HOLD DEAR TO MY HEART. AND I DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY’VE DONE WITH IT. WHEN I LOOKED IN THE MIRROR AS AN SAE THINKING OF WHAT I SAW ON THAT VIDEO, I COULDN’T LOOK AT MYSELF STILL CLAIMING TO BE THERE. THAT’S WHY I HAD TO WRITE WHAT I
WROTE AND SAY WHAT I SAID BECAUSE I CAN’T ASSOCIATE WITH IT BECAUSE THAT HIT TOO CLOSE TO HOME. IT’S NOT THE NATIONAL FRATERNITY I’M UPSET WITH. IT’S MY CHAPTER. THEY INJURED ME. I WANTED THEM TO UNDERSTAND THAT, YEAH, THAT SONG IS OFFENSIVE TO MILLIONS OF PEOPLE
DIRECTLY TO AFRICAN-AMERICANS BUT THAT’S OFFENSIVE TO EVERYBODY ELSE WITH ANY DECENCY IN THEIR HEART AT ALL. ON TOP OF THAT, THEY OFFENDED SPECIFICALLY ME BECAUSE I WALKED THOSE HALLS. I LIVED IN THOSE ROOMS. MAY PICTURE HANGS ON THE WALL. I HELD OFFICES IN THAT HOUSE.
THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT ME. THAT’S NOT OKAY. THEY NEEDED TO KNOW THAT WASN’T OKAY. AND ALL I COULD DO AT THAT THAT GO FAR ENOUGH?WN >> NO. I DON’T CARE WHO WAS SINGING THE SONG. I KNOW EVERYONE — IT SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF PEOPLE WANT TO IDENTIFY
THE INDIVIDUALS IN THE VIDEO BUT THAT WAS SUNG IN UNISON. AND EVEN PEOPLE WHO MAY NOT HAVE BEEN SINGING ON THE BUS, NOBODY STOOD UP AND STOPPED THEM. THAT SONG KEEPS GOING. THEY DIDN’T SING THE SONG FOR THE FIRST TIME THAT NIGHT SO THAT ENTIRE HOUSE HAS ACCEPTED
THE CULTURE THAT ACCEPTS THAT SONG AND THOSE WORDS AND THAT
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