Miscellaneous

Max Karson: First Amendment Champion or Fucktard II

Max Karson, our favorite First Amendment douchebag, is back in the news this week. Last year, some may recall that -- the day after the Virginia Tech shootings -- Karson, when asked about how he felt in one of his University of Colorado classes, stated "if anyone in here says that they?ve never been so angry that you wanted to kill 32 people, you?re lying," and that he was "angry about all kinds of things, from fluorescent light bulbs to the unpainted walls, and it made him angry enough to kill people." Karson was also reportedly asked: ?Would you kill all of us?? His response: ?No. Not all of you.?

Karson -- who has a history of free speech douchebaggery -- was suspended but, apparently, he made it back, because this year he's a student editor for the college newspaper. This week, he wrote a column for the paper which, once again, prompted an apology from the school's administration. The piece in question was titled, "If it's war the Asians want ... It's war they'll get."

In his commentary, Karson called for all Asians to be rounded up for a "reformation" that involves forcing them to drink, dance and eat bad sushi.

"They hate us all," Karson wrote. "And I say it's time we started hating them back."

The piece, which was rife with Asian stereotypes, obviously offended a large segment of the student population. It was, as the administration wrote, "a poor attempt at satire."

I see where Karson is coming from, and I even appreciate his testicle size, to an extent. He has a history, dating all the way back to high school in Massachusetts, of writing or saying horribly offensive things and using the First Amendment to excuse them; his father, an attorney, always saves the day, too. And while I applaud the sentiment, I don't know why the dude has to be such a tool bag to get his point across. It smacks of sophomorism and that sort of misguided shock wankery that attention whores indulge in (I oughtta know).

But there are better ways to defend the First Amendment without being a racist jackass or terrifying half your classmates. And I'm hoping that Karson eventually uses his obvious writing talent toward something positive, rather than trying to make a stupid point that doesn't need making in the first place.

Full post as published by Quiz Law on February 25, 2008 (boomark / email).