Pres. Wright at Convocation

Riner’s speech today should, of course, be contrasted directly with President Wright’s Convocation speech, now also available online .

Key lines from the speeches:

Riner, in reference to the violence in the aftermath of Katrina:

“We have the same flaws as the individuals who pillaged New Orleans. Ours haven’t been given such free range, but they exist and are part of us all the same.”

Wright, in reference to the violence in the aftermath of Katrina:

“The world is in good hands – and if terrorists and the venal, the cynical and the selfish, get the headlines, they do not represent us, so long as we insist that we will not allow them to do so. They surely are not the majority of humankind.”