We have some of Life's Adages in conflict here. There are these:

1. "Never judge a person by the dumbest thing he has ever said."
2. "Man is the sum of the things he has done."
    A. "...and the things he has had done to him." (codicil)

Those 2 1/2 are in conflict with the ribald, admittedly gay-insensitive lesson below:

"Professor, why are you so distraught?"
"I am a tenured professor at Harvard..."
"Yes..."
"...a Nobel Prize winner..."
"..Yes."
"...a happily married father of two wonderful, accomplished children..."
"Yes..."
"...I suck one dick...

There is realpolitik wisdom in that last for the deeds we have done, the sayings we have said, even the thoughts we have thunk are not accorded equal weight in the "sum" that is our equal.

"We'll never have a nigger in SAE,
"We'll never have a nigger in SAE,
"You can hang them from a tree..."

There are many things you cannot do in life, things of such heft, of such overwhelming weight, that they are likely to outweigh most if not all else you have done. You may not get caught murdering a person and not be judged for the rest of your life for that; you may not get caught punching a pizza delivery woman once in the arm when you are 54 years old, as I did, without being punished and be visited with opprobrium. You may not get caught embezzling or cheating. And you may not sing that song or anything remotely like it.

We do judge, we must judge for if we do neither then we render the world a moral monochrome in which "I'm okay, you're okay," and nothing is not okay. There can be no good without evil. The contrast is the thing.

The scholars at Oklahoma University who sang that song on a bus have tied a tin can to their tails and likely for the duration of their lives it will rattle and bang behind them. Their fraternity has been suspended, the president of the university wants them expelled, they will be punished and likely for a very long time indeed. It is not the only thing they have done in their lives but it is accorded weight surpassing all else they have done so far combined and expulsion and opprobrium at least are proportionate to the gravity of the offense.

We offenders must stand unbowed and unflinchingly judge ourselves as we are judged by others, we must self-inflict punishment, we must agree with our punishment. It is hypocritical of us to enforce justice upon others and commit the injustice we enforce. Hypocrisy is a lesser evil, however. We offenders murder, batter, cheat, lie and steal. Our victims are usually individual. However when we do not stand and accept judgment, when we explain or minimize or justify, we commit a greater crime and that against judgment itself, against humankind whose collective conscience equals God. When we stand bowed and explain, we paint the universe with a palette of gray.

We must agree with the wisdom of scripture via A. Lincoln,

"Woe unto the world because of offenses; for it must needs be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh."

And,

"The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether."

We offenders must judge: others and ourselves. We must paint with the blackest black to reveal the purity of the white. Thus only do we reinforce the collective conscience of mankind.