Politically Incorrect UChicago Pogroms Draws Mixed Response

By Stephen Lurie

April 19, 2013

Since its first post earlier this week, new Facebook page Politically Incorrect UChicago Pogroms has caused quite a stir. Having already sustained heavy criticism and support from a variety of campus voices—and changing its name 5 times—the future for the viral page is unclear. Despite, having garnered 285 posts as of Thursday afternoon, few in the community know much about the mysterious origin or operation of the site.

Presented as a forum for students who wish to safely and anonymously announce their wish to persecute a wide variety of ethnic groups, some herald the site as a much needed resource on campus. One post, user 148 for example, stated: “I’m really glad something like this now exists. I have never before felt comfortable voicing my desires to terrorize minorities, but I can now.” The administrator of the page seemed to voice support for this sort of speaking out. In a statement the administrator noted, “There has been a culture of political repression on this campus for far too long. Everyone’s voice needs to be heard, especially if that voice is organizing the coordinated destruction of a people and their cultural sites.”

There are certainly critics of the site, too. Third-year Jonathan Chu has been a particularly vocal opposition on the site. “Are you fucking kidding me?” Chu told The Dealer, “How does anyone think this is a good idea?”. In spite of relative silence from University officials on the issue—besides asking the site to change its name from “Lynching” to “Pogroms”—there has been widespread condemnation elsewhere. The US Congress managed to pass unanimous resolutions calling for the closure of the page, prioritizing the ballot measure over remaining gun legislation.

Controversy aside, the details of the page are still opaque. A source told The Dealer on condition of anonymity that the page chooses user submission based on a complex algorithm. The source said that the submissions most likely to be selected will be those with the highest quotient of vitriol per sentence.

As of now, a pogrom has yet to take place on campus but tensions are running high. As a preventive measure, a forum hosted by The Moose Party will take place at 10PM on Saturday evening, tentatively titled “Everybody Chill.”