NY Times Whitewashes Columbia Professor's Racial Assault

Only the New York Times could manage to avoid the obvious when reporting on the assault charges against Columbia professor Lionel McIntyre. Yes, they actually mention deep in the story that McIntyre like to engage in "race" discussions, but why do they avoid mentioning the fact McIntyre is black and he beat up a white woman?

A Columbia University professor has been charged with assault and harassment after an another Columbia employee accused him of punching her in the eye at a Morningside Heights bar Friday night.

The professor, Lionel McIntyre, 59, was arrested on Monday, three days after the confrontation. According to a police report, Professor McIntyre and Camille Davis, a theater production manager in the university’s School of the Arts, were having a discussion that “escalated in a verbal dispute,” and Mr. McIntyre punched Ms. Davis in the eye.

The encounter happened in Toast, a popular, noisy bar and restaurant on Broadway north of campus, where the chatter often runs to current events and politics. Professor McIntyre liked to engage fellow patrons on the subject of race, according to one regular customer, Daniel Morgan, who considers himself a close acquaintance of both Professor McIntyre and Ms. Davis.

A Columbia spokesman, Robert Hornsby, declined to say whether Professor McIntyre was suspended. “The university is not offering any comment,” he said.

That's it. No mention of the race of the suspect or the victim. Do you suppose if a white Columbia professor punched out a black woman the race would not be mentioned? What happened to "All the news that's fit to print"? Has it become "all the news that's fit to print unless it makes liberals look bad"?

Over at Inside Higher Ed, they also studiously avoid mentioning the race of the perp and victim.

Again, let's consider if the roles were reversed: You suppose there would be more coverage given to the story that what we can locate? Apparently this "hate crime" didn't manage to make it onto any New York television broadcasts and racial healer Al Sharpton hasn't weighed in. There haven't been any offers from the White House to host a beer summit, so I guess McIntyre isn't buddies with the president.

But know this much: If the roles were reversed there would be saturation coverage of this story nationwide and the perpetrator would have already been fired and charged with a hate crime.

Don't you just love double standards?