A question for the staff at SmilePolitely: Are Dan’s opinions about the nature of cultural houses his own, and do they also reflect the opinions of the editorial board and Smile Politely on the whole?

Sorry, disregard my above comment.  It’s hard to tell sometimes who’s an editor, and who’s just a regular contributor around here. Mea culpa!

For the record, anything I write under my own name is my own opinion. Anything under the “Smile Politely Editors” name has the blessing of the editors at large.

Dan,

I think Jay-Z’s #3 question is a good one - despite his retraction.

Rob, writing under his own name, got a disavowal note from the editorial staff at the end of his column. (He got this despite the fact that, like your column, it was very clear that his column was his own opinion and not that of SP at large.)

Rob wrote some things that, doubtless, make folks uncomfortable. But that could be said of a whole heap of things written on SP (mostly - ahem - by Rob). I wonder at what point the editorial board thinks it warranted to let everyone know, in case they weren’t sure, that they didn’t agree with the opinions of a columnist.

And, if you ever wonder who’s an editor and who’s not, you can always click the “About” tab at the top of the page. Thanks for bringing it up, Jay-Z, because some of those are out of date. We’ll get right on it, which is to say, I’ll email the webmaster and ask him to do it.
Dan’s point is well-taken, though, because we’re individual humans with different opinions, and generally, what one of us says shouldn’t be extended to the whole editor group or whole website, disclaimer or no. For example, I really like unicorns, and I’d hate for Dan or Smile Politely to have their reputation sullied by extension.

You’re cherry-picking another writer’s material for your own agenda. 

I’ve taken free salsa classes at La Casa and am grateful for it.
 
Yet, I agree with Rob that these houses are meant to remind minorities (and by extension, the public) of our differences. 

Without guessing Rob’s thought-process or vantage point based on the color of his skin, how can such a statement cross ‘the’...or any line?

Fantastic piece, Dan.  In general, its very easy to decry cultural houses as being despotic if you’ve (a) never stepped foot into one and/or (b) never experienced how intimidating it can be to attend a predominantly white, upper class university as a minority.  In truth, cultural houses can be a safe haven for the populations that they explicitly work with while serving as emissaries for those populations to the community at large.  The easy thing to do is to criticize them.  The harder thing to do is to engage with them.  If you’re curious, intimidated or skeptical of these places, then challenge yourself by going there and learning something new.  And if the thought of this causes you some discomfort, don’t be afraid.  That’s just how empathy feels in its beginning stages.

I wouldn’t look to the Libertarian Party as the exemplar of libertarian values. 
 
I want to force people to behave in a certain way, yes: I want them to obey those laws designed to protect me and others from them.
 
Whether it’s their noises, their pets or their feces—I’m happy for them to do it in their own homes. But not mine.
 
I think that’s fairly libertarian. But if it’s not, I still want it done.

Dan: Thanks for the clarification, I’ll keep the differences in mind in the future.  When I said to disregard my comment, I had clicked through your profile and erroneously assumed that since you were an editor, you were speaking as as an editor and for SP as a whole.
 
As tmcdade pointed out, the whole reason for my question was that Rob received a disclaimer while Dan did not.    Without taking sides regarding cultural houses, I wanted to start a conversation about the practice of disavowing some pieces while not adding that text to others.  I think a consistent application of disclaimers is best, but that’s something for the SP staff to consider.

That’s a good point Jay-Z, and in this case, timing was the issue. “The line” that I felt was crossed was one of cultural insensivity. When we ran Rob’s piece, I wanted to make sure our readers knew that some of the editors thought it crossed that line. But then I decided to run my own piece in response, so the disclaimer was probably no longer needed at that point.
And yes, Tony, I plead guilty to cherry-picking to make a point. How else am I going to find things to complain about? And it is hard not to, given the breadth and depth of interesting things that Rob says here on SP.  I would consider it an honor if and when Rob (or you or anyone else) does the same to me.
But if Joel tries to slip by one more friggin pro-Unicorn piece, I swear by Grabthar’s Hammer, I will stab something.

As Rob’s editor, I pretty much grant him the freedom to speak his mind. Couple of times I have made some suggestions, but generally, I let it ride.  The reason I made a note at the bottom there was precisely because of some of the issues that have been raised here. I wanted to make sure that there was no question that this was ROB’S OPINION, and not something that Smile Politely necessarily agrees with.
 
In our original “manifesto,“ we proclaimed that Smile Politely would be a home for wayward writers in C-U that wanted a place to sound off and be heard. And we were hoping that people would engage with us, and that our readership would grow, and that we would be a place where people would come to be heard (and hopefully not go Anonymous).
 
I think we’re there. Or at least, on our way.
 
At least people comment on our site. Just sayin’ is all.
 
So, while I might have my own feelings about Rob’s opinions regarding the cultural houses (lukewarm — but I get his “point”) I am honored to have him writing for us.
 
And if you are just starting up with us here, and happen to love Illini basketball, just wait: I would argue that Rob is the most depthful and important beat writer on Illini B-ball in the entire world. That’s right. THE WORLD. He makes Paul Klee look like a writer for the UHS Echo.
 
So, yes. Rob. Love him. Hate him. Sure. But we couldn’t ask for a finer voice in that his is truly his own.
 
Carry on.

I think Seth is pleased that I’m detracting attention from him in the local category Most Reviled Opinion Writer Completely Unknown by Anyone Over Fifty.
—
Remember when criticizing Paul—he does have editors/publishers who make him toe a particular stylistic line. The unfiltered version is much funnier, and far more high-brow.

Perhaps, but I gave up on the Sniffer. He broke Thad Morrow’s unforgiving heart. And I still feel bad. And I wish I could do the whole Tod Satterthwaite differently, too. I made his wife mad at me, and we were once friendly. So, yes, Rob. Perhaps so.
 
As for Klee. Yes. Good point.
 
Still, though…
 
 

Excellent post as always, Stuart.
 
More people have read Dan’s post than mine. You’d think people would have to read mine to understand his.  
 
But maybe they don’t want to. Maybe they are not concerned with interpreting my meaning (which is that grouping peoples by continent seems a rudimentary approach to ethnology. Chinese and Japanese are different. So are various “Yugoslavians.“ And Afrikaan-Americans are a lot different from Imported-Americans.)
 
Two contrary positions in this thread: 
 

1. Dan: these houses provide a respite from white people
2. Melissa: white people should go  check them out

 
BK’s comment shows that people can make outcasts based on race OR culture, and that culture isn’t necessarily something you’re born with.
 
Hillel and Newman are privately funded, yes? Hence, they can do what they like, short of breaking the law. 

“race row” does have a certain Disney World Epcot Center feel to it. I suppose that makes it more convenient to get all your world culture at once. 

I asked the white people, and they disagree.
 
Just kidding. Who has time to ask all of the white people? Besides, I can just assume what they’ll say.
 
Actually, I forwarded the link to the Ruling Council of Whiteness for a formal statement. (Because I am something of a loose cannon, I no longer get the monthly newsletter Maintaining White Hegemony. But because we all think alike*, I suspect the Council will be able to coordinate a statement in no time. And I’ll pass it on.)
 
*Except that the Italian faction can be a little unruly at times, and the Germans are sticklers for following procedure, so we have to make sure we dot all the I’s—oh, and we’re having trouble communicating the concepts to the Scandinavians, who still aren’t sure what we mean by “non-whites.“