Professor cries 'racism' after backlash for wishing Queen 'excruciating' death

[Floyd R. Turbo]

A university professor who wished the Queen an “excruciating death” blames the backlash she’s received on racism.

Uju Anya, a black applied linguistics professor at Carnegie Mellon University, said it is “telling” that she and other people of colour are being slammed for their negative opinions about Queen Elizabeth while videos of Irish people “doing the Riverdance” is laughed at.

“I see it for what it is: racism,” Anya told the Guardian.

“Not only that, I’m a black woman who’s very vocally left-leaning who speaks very openly on anti-racism, critical race theory and queer rights,” she continued. “Put it all together, and I’m definitely the juiciest target to rally internet hate.”

https://vancouversun.com/news/world/professor-cries-racism-after-backlash-for-wishing-queen-excruciating-death/wcm/105a575a-ac13-4cad-8305-dc681f6c0584

[Deminpenn]

1. I dunno

Maybe she should recognize that her tweet was just tacky and inappropriate and that's why she's getting blowback and criticism.

[hlthe2b]

2. Unfocused resentment and anger, no matter how righteous will not get most people to listen/learn

Add violent imagery and most will turn away. Provocateurs are not those who effect real change or understanding, something this time of reflection following the Queen's death would seem to afford an opportunity.

Call me naive but it seems to me she missed an opportunity to educate on these issues--something I think is critically important. I get longstanding anger and resentment, but hers is not the way.

[Deminpenn]

3. Agree

And I think there has been discussion about the cost of British colonialism at times during this 10 day period of mourning.

[leftyladyfrommo]

4. That was an absolutely horrible thing to say.

Some people have to respond viciously to anything they disagree with. I put nasty people on ignore either figuratively or literally. I don't want to waste my time with hate.

[malaise]

6. True but those were words

What the British did to us was deeds.

Muta speaks for me

[leftyladyfrommo]

8. A whole nation is in mourning. Couldn't they at least

have the decency to wait until after the funeral?

[malaise]

10. No

I don’t wish excruciating pain on any animal (including humans), but those who inflicted and continue to inflict excruciating pain on the Irish and black and brown folks of this planet don’t get to tell us what to say or when to say it.
Reminds me of NRA hacks and their politicians bawling when people discuss gun legislation after slaughters in schools, etc.

Evil people, dressed up in pomp and splendor don’t control our thoughts or feelings. Eff all royals everywhere on the planet. The fairy tales don’t work for us.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

13. There is never a bad time to speak the truth about oppression.

[Tree-Hugger]

14. +1 nt

[malaise]

21. Correct

[WhiskeyGrinder]

5. She's not wrong.

[Happy Hoosier]

11. I can't say I agree here.

I can see opposing the British Monarchry. I can even see being a crass jerk about and making noise during her funeral events (I think it IS crass and rude, but I understand the motivation).

But to actually wish excrutiating pain on someone in final moments? There are people who des4erve it perhaps, but Liz II? It just seems grotesquely out of whack to me.

And while this professor has a right to say it, people have a right to push back. If someone wants to say something ugly, they can't be surprised if there is a strong opposite reaction.

[RobinA]

28. She's Dead Wrong

There's nothing racist about calling a despicable comment a despicable comment.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

29. She's not wrong that she's getting racist comments and that the tone of the pushback differs

from that directed at other commenters along racial lines.

[prodigitalson]

35. She's like Gandhi nt

[bamagal62]

9. I read a good bit

of the thread. Regardless of her opinions, her language was inappropriate, especially for a college professor. As someone connected with CMU, I was embarrassed while reading it. She could have educated others without being vulgar.

[BlackSkimmer]

12. This. nt

[WhiskeyGrinder]

15. Her language was just fine for someone who lost a home and family members in a genocide done in the

queen's name. And she's right, the white Irish expressing the same emotions aren't getting nearly the pushback. And when people have a bigger problem with wishing "excruciating pain" on someone who will never feel it than the actual crimes of the crown, worrying about decorum more than context and content, that's a great way ensure the systems that perpetrated those crimes are never held accountable.

[malaise]

33. Perfectly stated

Thank you

[Hortensis]

42. Agree. Except I'd substitute vicious for vulgar. We should suspect

that people's words reflect their character and their potential.

[Sympthsical]

16. *paints giant target on herself*

*is targeted*



A professor, huh? So is Common Sense 101 not a thing at some universities?

[sarisataka]

17. There's free speech

And then there's my free speech.

TBH I found her replies to be more offensive. There were some who criticized the words she used (not her or her right to say them) and her response was personal attacks and insults.

[prodigitalson]

18. You mean like...

Link to tweet

[JI7]

25. WTF

[RobinA]

30. Now There's Some

entitlement. An embarrassment to CMU.

[GusBob]

32. I dont get that reply

Is that a '"your mama" thing

Who smells like what?

[prodigitalson]

34. applied linguistics? nt

[BannonsLiver]

38. Classy.

🙄

[Dr. Strange]

45. She seems like a nice person.

[GusBob]

19. Her posts were childish and uneducated

bad look for a college linguistics professor

[GenXer47]

20. I love her

Sorry but we need more of this. I'm Team Anya all the way! Context:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/sep/14/uju-anya-queen-nigeria-colonialism-empire

[JI7]

31. The fault for what happened looks to be the elected govt's

[Dorian Gray]

23. She's right

In that a lot of the Irish backlash against the Queen didn’t warrant the same angry response.

Her words were harsh and she went all in with the fighting. A lot of Irish Twitter had undercurrents off humor to express their anger. That can soften it. But I also think society accepts white anger easier than black anger.

[gratuitous]

24. Anyone ever seen a movie called "A Time to Kill"?

Anyone upset about Professor Anya's comments remember their reaction to the movie when Samuel L. Jackson retorts, "Yes they deserved to die, and I hope they burn in Hell!"

Were you mortified by Jackson's line? Elated? Was his comment over the line? Was it wholly justified?

[sarisataka]

26. Excellent movie

I'll have to watch it again, it has been a few years.

As to that line, I would say I understand. I cannot condone extra judicial action but it would be difficult to condemn.

I found the closing argument scene to be the most poignant.

[BannonsLiver]

40. Remind me again what the men in in the movie did to elicit that reaction?

Oh yeah, that’s right, they raped his child and dragged her around until she was dead. Totally the same thing here.

[Solly Mack]

27. Yeah, Professor, don't kneel - you might offend some people.

I don't celebrate colonialism either. Nor do I celebrate genocide, slavery, forced labor, theft of natural resources, to include land, or forced assimilation.

The diminished power of a monarchy changes not the damage caused by that monarchy. The figurehead of said monarchy still represents the monarchy, the entirety of the monarchy, regardless of how little power they now hold.

The generational damages caused by slavery in America didn't simply go away after the American Civil War.

The generational damages caused to the First People of America didn't either.

The diminished power of the monarchy does not change the generational damages caused by the monarchy either. It merely spreads the guilt.

It takes a lot of gall to tell those oppressed by white supremacy/colonialism/misogyny/homophobia how they should feel about the oppressive history they have suffered.

It is just another form of being dismissive of the harm done to those who have suffered at the hands/policies of the dominate culture.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

36. ALL OF THIS.

[BannonsLiver]

37. Sometimes when people say stupid shit it causes them problems.

Last edited Thu Sep 15, 2022, 12:38 PM - Edit history (1)

That seems to be the case here. I read an article where she dismisses the English treatment of the Irish. Gee, I can’t possibly imagine why that would be.

[Celerity]

39. why are you posting articles from the RW Vancouver Sun? RWers PostMedia w/ National Enquirer links

https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/vancouver-sun/






https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmedia_Network

The creation of the Postmedia Network effectively concentrates more than 90 percent of all Canadian dailies and weeklies in one company, a fact lamented by J-Source, a Canadian media watchdog, in a 2015 online article.

In 2016, Godfrey took a $900,000 bonus during a time that Postmedia laid off staff company-wide.

In October 2018, it was reported that CEO Andrew MacLeod had declared the company "insufficiently conservative." That resulted in Kevin Libin, who had played an active role in defeating a union drive at the paper earlier that year, taking charge of all political reporting and analysis in Postmedia newspapers to ensure the newspapers became more "reliably conservative."

[Floyd R. Turbo]

46. Why are you reading it!

[Celerity]

47. because I saw it posted

[treestar]

41. Did the Irish say anything quite so horrible?

Not everything is racism - POC can sustain no criticism without it being racism?

Putting all this stuff personally onto the Queen is awful, too. Centuries of history don't rest on any one person alive today. Nor should anyone today play victim for the sufferings of those long dead at the hands of those also long dead. The world was a more barbaric place the further back you go.

[Initech]

43. Twitter really needs an "are you sure you want to tweet this?" button.

It might make some people think twice about posting hateful shit like that.

[maxsolomon]

44. No one deserves an "excruciating" death.

I watched my mother-in-law die an excruciating death, and she certainly didn't deserve to suffer in pain for months. No one does, a peaceful death is a mercy.

I'm certainly sympathetic to Anya's anti-colonial positions, but I don't hold personal animosity to QE2. It's not worth it; she wasn't a malign sociopath like Putin or Trump.

It was just an poorly-considered statement all around.