Word: kerrigans
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Despite protests from fellow students who saw the flags as symbols of slavery and oppression, neither Kerrigan nor McCormack budged. So Jacinta T. Townsend '92, a Cabot House resident, decided to hang a swastika from her window, hoping that the University would compel her to remove it. Then, she thought, the University would also have to force Kerrigan and McCormack to remove their flags...
That makes the brouhaha over the flags and the swastika an issue of sensitivity, not free speech. Kerrigan and McCormack claim they are not trying to offend anyone by publicly displaying their flags. But they do offend many students who cannot help but associate the Stars and Bars with slavery and oppression. Townsend's response to their insensitivity is equally insensitive. All three have espoused lofty principles. But none of them seem to care about their fellow students' feelings...
Members of the Harvard community should constantly remind Kerrigan and McCormack that their Confederate flag stands for much more than Southern pride. They should tell Townsend that there are better ways to react to a Confederate flag than to offend members of a fellow minority group. The Black Students Association and Hillel did just that, issuing a joint statement condemning the symbols and deftly avoiding an unnecessary Black-Jewish confrontation over the issue...
...that a healthy dose of free speech will cause all the world's Confederate flags and swastikas to come tumbling down. But vigorous debate just might do the job at Harvard, if members of the Harvard community follow the lead of the BSA and Hillel in helping those like Kerrigan, McCormack and Townsend understand how a symbol can hurt...
...Kerrigan, McCormack and Townsend may not be racists. But their symbols represent everything The Crimson despises in the human spirit. Their public display should not be condoned. Kerrigan, McCormack and Townsend should clean up their act--not because it's the nice thing to do, but because it's the right thing...