President Jonathan Lash's Email to Hampshire College

Dear Hampshire College Students, Staff, and Faculty,


A few days ago, the American flag on the Hampshire College Campus was
raised again to its full height after being at half-mast to mourn the
recent tragedies in Boston. This somber moment has been an impetus for us
all to consider the powerful symbolism of the flag, particularly on this
campus. In the strong Hampshire College tradition of rigorous questioning,
critical thinking, commitment to social justice, and resistance to global
systems of oppression, it is the responsibility of this institution to
consider carefully the symbols we choose to represent our community. As an
institution and as a community of individuals, we mourn the devastation of
the events in Boston and the terrible loss experienced by those affected.
We also aim to turn a critical eye to the presence of the American flag on
the Hampshire Campus, and how it is mobilized by state forces in such
times of mourning in order to justify further violence.

After much consideration, a decision has been made to once again lower the
flag to half-mast and to turn it upside down.  This is a two-fold
statement: it is a reclamation of mourning, and it is an act of resistance
against the symbolic violence of the American flag. The tragedy in Boston
hits close to home, and many of us feel it deeply.  This act is not
intended to undermine that loss, but rather to mourn all lives lost to
violent acts.

Following the events in Boston, President Obama placed an executive order
that all U.S. flags be lowered to half-mast until sunset on April 20th.
To lower the flag only when the ideal of an untouchable America is
threatened privileges those calamaties over the many that also affect
members of the Hampshire community and the world.

 We at Hampshire now ask: why does the state decide when we mourn?

In times of tragedy, the American public is urged to combat terrorism with
patriotism.  The flag is upheld as a seemingly benign rallying point of
unity and pride, but it is also  used to cultivate American exceptionalism
and perpetuate racist oppression.  The state strategically brings certain
acts of violence into the public consciousness and excludes others to
create a culture wherein continued state violence is condoned.Under this
vision of the American flag, violence directed at runners at a sporting
event is considered terrorism, while the murder of 175 children in
Pakistan and Yemen over the past ten years using military drones is
sanctioned by U.S. policy.  The Hampshire community upholds that all
violence and all murders are tragic and deserve to be mourned.

The flag and the state which it represents inhibits its citizens from
developing cross-national and cross-cultural solidarity by deeming some
people worthy of mourning while deeming others terrorists or criminals.
Following 9/11, the state channeled public fear into violent “Wars on
Terror” and state-sanctioned Islamaphobia in the name of national
security.  Following the recent events in Boston, there have already been
numerous violent hate crimes committed against brown and Muslim bodies in
the name of patriotism and security.  This flag is mobilized in the
process of justifying such acts to enforce the notion that the people it
claims to represent are deserving of security and nationhood while
"others" are working to destroy their safety.  By turning our flag over,
we are mourning the deaths in Boston along with all those deaths wrought
at the hand of state violence.

We are mourning for Kimani Grey, for Trayvon Martin, and for the 110 Black
people murdered by the police in the year of 2012 alone.
We are mourning the over 112,000 civilians murdered in Iraq and the over
16,000 civilians murdered in Afghanistan in the U.S. "War on Terror".
We are mourning for the over 270,000 farmers in India who have committed
suicide since 1995 because of exploitative, U.S.-centric, neoliberal
policies.
We are mourning for the fourteen people who died in West, Texas last week
because of corporate oversight, and for the more than 50,000 people who
have died in workplace accidents in the past year.

Hampshire College is a community that prides itself on its diversity.  Our
students represent a plurality of experiences and identities, each with a
unique relationship to the American flag and what it represents.  The
Hampshire College administration and I will take greater steps in the
future to support all students, regardless of race, class, immigration
status, place of origin, or religion.  As an act of respect and solidarity
for all those who are marginalized and oppressed by the state which this
flag represents, it has been decided that following these few days at
half-mast, the American flag will be removed from our campus permanently.

I urge other institutions to follow in Hampshire College's footsteps.

Please forward this e-mail widely.

President Jonathan Lash
Hampshire College
Office of the President
893 West St
Amherst, MA 01002
413.559.5521 (P)
413.559.5584 (F)

http://www.iraqbodycount.org/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21077458
http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/category/projects/deaths-in-police-custody-2/
http://www.blackyouthproject.com/2012/07/every-40-hours-a-black-person-is-killed-by-the-police/
http://beforeitsnews.com/u-s-politics/2013/04/hate-crimes-against-muslims-rising-after-boston-bombings-2446408.html