The debate around Black Lives Matter can get heated, to say the least, with reason quickly giving way to emotion. If anyone can bring a degree of logical precision to an issue that is embedded in notions of crime, policing, and justice, however, then surely it’s an expert in the Law. You would think that a student of Law would exercise a similar degree of rigorous thought. However, a recent exchange between students and their professor bears out the truism that a little learning can be a dangerous thing.
At an unnamed Law school, an anonymous group of students challenged their professor for choosing to wear a Black Lives Matter t-shirt on campus, an act which they thought was racist, inappropriate and an act of “indoctrination” which “alienates and isolates all non-black groups.” The students also rather pompously added the statement “We are here to learn the law” (in boldface, in italics, and underlined). The professor, exhibiting both the wisdom of Solomon and the meditative calm of a sniper, analyzed, dissected, and destroyed the students’ argument, even taking the time to comment on the quality of its writing. The complaint and response (including the rather brilliant put-down “Premise: You know more about legal education than I do. Critique: You don’t.”) can be read in full below.
