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VIDEO — Gibson’s Bakery v. Oberlin College: Identity Politics on Trial

VIDEO — Gibson’s Bakery v. Oberlin College: Identity Politics on Trial

To understand the case, you need to understand the history of social justice warfare and complicit administrative reactions. My lecture for the James Wilson Institute held at the Hillsdale College center in D.C.

http://jameswilsoninstitute.org/events/show/gibson-s-bakery-v-oberlin-college-campus-identity-politics-on-trial

On November 1, 2019, I gave a lecture for the James Wilson Institute, titled Gibson’s Bakery v. Oberlin: Identity Politics on Trial. The lecture was held at the Hillsdale College center in D.C.

JWI delivered a special treat for attendees, Gibson’s Bakery cookies!

photo by WAJ

Fortunately, the video was not yet running so there are no images of me wolfing down the cookies double-handed style.

The cookie order was accompanied by this note from Lorna Gibson (David Gibson’s wife) with some of the other items sold at the store.

photo by waj

photo by waj

The video of the lecture is below. I don’t have a transcript.

I covered my theory of why you cannot understand the reaction to the shoplifting arrests unless you understand the history of social justice warfare at Oberlin College, and weak and complicit involvement of the prior administration. I then walked through various incidents we have covered, particularly The Great Oberlin College Racism Hoax of 2013, that predated the Gibson protests. I also spent a lot of time talking about Oberlin College’s perplexing and offensive demonization of the bakery and the Gibson family, both before and at trial. I discussed some of the evidence in the case, but my job was not to argue for or against the verdict, but to understand it.

The lecture was followed by a question and answer session that covered not only the case, but some of my experiences at Cornell.

Here you go:

[Featured Image Courtesy James Wilson Institute]

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Comments

UnCivilServant | November 11, 2019 at 9:25 pm

Thanks for reminding me, it’s probably cold enough that they’ll ship chocolates now.

Great video. Prof. Jacobson is a speaker that is very enjoyable and easy to listen.

I think individualists miss the point on socialism vs capitalism when they emphasize the demise of USSR, Venezuela, Cuba, etc., in the comparison. Drs. Hayek and Friedman both work to show the weakness of freedom as its strength:

Without freedom, narrow,y defined, Gibson’s would not exist. It exists here in the USA, where else in this common world. In What other country, I want an example, can a small business go against the government and BY GOD WIN?

Is not Oberlin as close to a governmental institution as liberal colleges can cheek? Cheek to cheek they are, because they suck at that government teat, smiling like milk-clabbered lips they don’t.

We all suck that clabbered teat. How to ween ourselves, what to reject from the feeding trough, that is the Shakespearean question.

In case the video doesn’t show up in your browser, here’s the Youtube link …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMGyYFk98DQ

Free Gibson cookies? Is Oberlin going to submit this as evidence of “white privilege”?

Okay, I don’t have time this morning to watch the whole video so I’ll finish later this afternoon. But I will say this. This is a perfect example for why we have hearings rather than just submit written testimony in seeking justice. You can post all the links that you want on blogs and only get so far in persuading people. There is so much information to digest in this case and so many important points to make that it is hard to “read the words but not hear the song”.

This video takes over an hour to provide what is really just an overview. But we can “hear the song” because of the calm, civilized way it is presented with touches of humor. Now I WANT to click on those links to revisit past blog postings.

It’s an object lesson regarding the insanity of what is going on in Congress these days. “Hearings” to “investigate” are held in secret by a corrupt cabal spitting out transcripts to the rest of us leaked to the NYT or other propaganda outlet bypassing Congressional process.

Thus the American public’s most important business is conducted in secret by the most dishonest people you can imagine. There is no hope for a society that conducts its most important government business this way. The “ring of truth” I am hearing is that our government is hopelessly corrupt. We are not being protected. We are being raped.

I suppose in a sense it’s “identity politics on trial,” but as a former professional journalist of the vanishing old school, I see it first and foremost in terms of defamation.

Trust me, I have no sympathy with the motives of that mob or the college. None, zero, zilch. I know what defamation is, and paid close attention to it as a reporter. That’s what this was, and I know few people more merciless than me when it comes to libel and slander.

I know why Oberlin engaged in it, but my background makes the motive secondary to me. That college defamed the store. No matter why they did it, neither Oberlin nor anyone else — conservative, liberal, or otherwise — would ever want me on the jury in this sort of case.

I am sorry to report that this morning (11/16/2019), Dave Gibson passed away. I know no further details, but his cancer is the likely culprit.

I am sure that all of us who have posted on LI in support of the Gibsons extend our condolences to the Gibson family. In my case, sympathy for the family is particularly intense at this time because it is my college that chose to launch a vendetta against the Gibsons.

/s/ JD Nobody, OC ’61.