BLM protests at Sigma Chi house in San Jose
 

Hundreds protested outside the SJSU Sigma Chi house yesterday over the suicide of a Black Sigma Chi member 12 years ago.

Protesters claimed, without citing evidence, the deceased was actually murdered and the death covered up as part of an elaborate conspiracy.

What's your opinion? Is BLM correct and Sigma Chi should be shut down? Or does this unfairly penalize men who were 6 and 7 years old when the incident occurred?

The protesters cite evidence of an unexplained cracked skull. You'd do better without all of these unfounded editorializations. I don't see how it's a legitimate question as to whether Sigma Chi would be shut down or if that's really in controversy. So this is kind of a silly OP. I'm not really sure what the OP had in mind.

Could be that Sigma Chi is an obsession like KKG was to PT:

:confused:

I think it's just an attempt to stir isht. Maybe get some folks talking about how ridiculous this protest is and maybe he hopes there will be some folks who take offense to that contention and something blows up. But that's just me.

Hmm ... I don't believe a cranial injury is evidence of an elaborate conspiracy, I think it's only evidence of a cranial injury.

But it's been awhile since I took Evidence so I may be wrong.

Do you think Sigma Chi should be shut down?

I doubt you ever took Evidence, because sufficiency of physical evidence is not what that class is remotely about.

But as for the possibility of an "elaborate" conspiracy, my own grandfather's murder was almost successfully covered up by local officials trying to protect locals in rural Oklahoma. They would have been completely successful had my family not come from a place of privilege and power at the time.

I don't think your question is a serious one. No response necessary.

Interesting!

What do you think the motive was for Sigma Chi to allegedly murder one of their own members and then conspire with the San Jose, California police to stage it as a suicide?

I don't doubt there are all sorts of conspiracies that are theoretically possible - the Sigma Chi house murders, 9/11 truth, JFK third gunman etc - I just remain personally unconvinced. Though I have an open mind to compelling evidence.

I don't have a dog in the hunt, but if it is claimed that there cannot possibly be a coverup, I'm saying it's possible.

Yes I suppose many things are technically possible.

I mean it's not proscribed by the laws of physics that 9/11 was an "inside job" as conspiracy theorists believe. So too, I suppose, it's physically possible Sigma Chi organized the murder of one of their members in 2008 and then organized a coverup with coconspirators in a major metro police department. I personally find that improbable in the absence of evidence to the contrary IMO.

(Keeping in mind that absence of information is not proof of a conspiracy.)

All things are technically possible. And I'm guessing the family is more than simply speculating here, showing up with protesters more than a decade after the fact. If they're going to spend that kind of time and energy, I'd hazard a guess that it's probably based on more than nothing.

And honestly, if you don't think a major city's police department isn't capable of mucking up an investigation, then you've spent no time dealing with law enforcement investigations.

If you're going to try and personally attack me and make me out to be some sort of a crank, I'll give that attack its due response. I can see that meme you think you deleted.

Understandable.

From my perspective, as someone who believes science is real, I always try to keep Occam's Razor in mind. The likelihood of an elaborate conspiracy between Sigma Chi and the San Jose PD to murder SJSU students is less probable than an individual person committed suicide.

I understand that some family members of Vince Foster are among proponents of the idea that Hillary Clinton murdered him. And while I respect their opinion, I don't believe being a family member gives one any special investigatory power. I don't believe Hillary murdered Vince Foster or Sigma Chi is assassinating its members.

This one? https://media.cbs8.com/assets/KFMB/i...1_1140x641.jpg

That was directed to the conspiracy theorists from the article, not you. That's why it was a new post and not part of my reply to you. It was simply deleted because the image was too wide for the post dimensions, not as any kind of coverup.

I don't think anyone here is out to "get" you. I'm certainly not, anyway.

LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL LLLLLLLLL

I'll be the judge of that. Thanks.

Ok.

Anyway, back to the topic.

It appears the family filed a half billion dollar lawsuit against Sigma Chi in federal court in 2015 which was dismissed a few weeks later. However, they represented themselves as every attorney they approached declined to take the case.

They're running a GoFundMe but have only raised $1600 in the last three months.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2015/02/...complaint/amp/
https://www.gofundme.com/f/justice-f...ory-johnson-jr

Again, just because attorneys won't take a case which looks like a financial boondoggle from a case evaluation standpoint doesn't mean it didn't happen. They'd have to prove that there was some error in the forensic analysis, and that error not just suggests, but screams a different outcome.

I have to guess a lot because the particulars of the forensics are extremely vague by all public accounts.

And speaking as an attorney, we don't decline cases like this because we think our potential client is right. We think about the resources we're going to have to put into the case vs. what we can get out of it unless we have some sort of grant money or outside backing.

That said, if you think police labs and forensics are fool-proof, and that all experts on behalf of the State tell the truth, give this a read:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joyce_Gilchrist

The galling thing is that she didn't die in prison.

Agreed.

Conversely, just because the parents of a suicide victim claim he was the fulcrum of a vast conspiracy, doesn't mean he was.

I don't believe Sigma Chi should be shut down over incredible rumors and with no due process. Others are free to disagree.

Okay. You've belabored that point for a bit now, entertaining a non-issue as if it were an issue. Is this some sort of poor Tucker Carlson impression?

I thought we were having a discussion of mutual interest. If I misinterpreted your ongoing engagement and comments in this thread, I apologize.

There's enough to unpack here without creating new controversies from whole cloth. Will a fraternity be shuttered for potential bad behavior over a decade ago? Nope, never. Not even worth discussing.

I do find it problematic that supporters of BLM would choose an issue such as this to attach themselves to, especially when asking for such harsh action for something which happened over a decade ago.

As with anything, they ought to pick their battles. These Sigma Chi students could have been allies and now, by being attacked for something which likely didn't happen, which in no way are they connected with other than occupying the same real estate as those accused, are alienated.

And as someone who supports the aims of BLM, incidents such as this, and the apparent bent on eliminating Greek Life in general, alienate people who would otherwise be supportive.