Ryan Swanson, a student at the University of Mississippi, likes a banana. After eating one while attending a Greek Life event at the university, he unfortunately couldn’t find a bin. Being a conscientious chap, rather than leave the peel on the ground he put it in a tree.
This was later spotted by Makala McNeil, leader of one of the university’s historically black sororities. McNeil said that she and a friend were ‘all just sort of paranoid for a second’ after the sighting.
When word of the peel incident spread, it was decided to end the event at once. Alex Lee Arndt, a university official, explained that she ‘felt it was imperative to provide space immediately to students affected by this incident’.
According to local reports, some students left the event in tears, with McNeil noting that they ‘didn’t feel welcome’ and ‘didn’t feel safe . . . To be clear, many members of our community were hurt, frightened, and upset by what occurred’.
Swanson issued an apology ‘for the pain that was caused’ by his banana peel.
Less a case of ‘Leftie Lunacy’ than one of ‘Progressive Paranoia’ – and hardly the behaviour of an all-conquering army.
