Yale Distances Itself From Psychiatrist Aruna Khilanani over Racist Speech

June 17, 2021

Yale University now appears to be distancing itself from a psychiatrist who said during a School of Medicine talk that she had fantasies of "unloading a revolver into the head of any White person," saying in a statement that officials found her remarks "antithetical" to the institution’s values.

Dr. Aruna Khilanani has been facing criticism after making the controversial comment during an April 6 virtual speech at Yale’s Child Study Center titled "The Psychopathic Problem of the White Mind." In it, the New York City psychiatrist also said that "White people make my blood boil" and "White people are out of their minds and they have been for a long time," according to audio posted on the substack online platform of former New York Times opinion writer and editor Bari Weiss.

"After the event, several faculty members expressed concern to the Yale School of Medicine’s Office of Academic and Professional Development and the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion about the content of the talk," Yale said in a statement released over the weekend.

"Based on these concerns, School of Medicine leaders, including Dean Brown and Deputy Dean Latimore, in consultation with the chair of the Child Study Center, reviewed a recording of the talk and found the tone and content antithetical to the values of the school," it added.

Khilanani opened her speech by noting that she is going to "say a lot of things, and it will probably provoke a lot of responses, and I want you to just maybe observe them in yourself."

She said people of color can feel "intense rage and futility" when trying to talk to White people about race.

"We spend our time patiently explaining their attacks, as they deny," Khilanani said. "We are calm, we are giving – too giving – and then when we get angry, they use our responses as confirmation that we’re crazy or have emotional problems."

Khilanani then said five years ago, she took action and "White-ghosted most of my White friends."

"I had fantasies of unloading a revolver into the head of any White person that got in my way, burying their body, and wiping my bloody hands as I walked away relatively guiltless with a bounce in my step," she added. "Like I did the world a f------ favor."

Following Khilanani’s talk, Yale University posted a video of it online alongside a message that it "does not condone imagery of violence or racism against any group."

"In deciding whether to post the video, we weighed our grave concern about the extreme hostility, imagery of violence, and profanity expressed by the speaker against our commitment to freedom of expression," Yale said in its statement. "We ultimately decided to post the video with access limited to those who could have attended the talk – the members of the Yale community."

When Fox News asked Yale on Monday why Khilanani was invited to speak at the university in the first place – considering the title of her speech – a spokesperson responded with a link to its statement released over the weekend.

On Friday, Khilanani tweeted, "Lol Looks like everyone is a in a tizzy! About fantasies dreams. But not actions."

She then said on Saturday that her comments were taken out of context, according to the New York Times.

"Too much of the discourse on race is a dry, bland regurgitation of new vocabulary words with no work in the unconscious," Khilanani reportedly wrote in an email to the newspaper. "And, if you want to hit the unconscious, you will have to feel real negative feelings."

"My speaking metaphorically about my own anger was a method for people to reflect on negative feelings," she added. "To normalize negative feelings. Because if you don’t, it will turn into a violent action."

Source: Greg Norman, “Yale backs away from psychiatrist who said she fantasized about shooting White people,” Fox News, June 7, 2020, URL: https://www.foxnews.com/us/yale-psychiatrist-said-fantasized-about-shooting-white-people