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Anarchists for Affirmative Action
At the L.A. Times, Crispin Sartwell has a good column on affirmative action for conservative professors:
That the University of Colorado is raising $9 million to endow a professor of conservative studies is rather delicious in its ironies. It smacks of affirmative action and casts conservatism in the syntax of departments decried by conservatives for decades: women's studies, gay studies, African American studies, Chicano studies and so on.
Furthermore, the idea of affirmative action for conservatives seems gratuitous. These other groups may be oppressed, but conservatives run whole wars, black site prisons, sprawling multinational corporations. In fact, if these other groups are oppressed, it's conservatives who are the oppressors, which may render faculty meetings a bit tense.
Well, yeah. The overwhelmingly liberal consensus among professors at elite universities is not obviously a problem for anyone other than aspiring conservative academics. You have to have a weirdly romantic view of university life to believe that students readily absorb the political biases of people they see for a few hours a week or the sociology readings they're half-skimming while watching Two Girls One Cup. If there is any reason to hate on liberal universities, it's surely for the sense of victimization they inspire among crazed, wild-eyed packs of Michelle-Malkin-quoting 17-year-olds who attend CPAC. But Sartwell makes the best case I've seen for the institutionalization of token conservatism:
If you've been taught that conservatives are evil idiots, then conservatism itself justifies a decision not to hire or tenure one. Every new leftist minted by graduate programs is an act of self-praise, a confirmation of the intelligence of the professors...
So as my liberal old professor Richard Rorty said, referring to Allan Bloom, conservative Platonist: "Let a thousand Blooms flower." And if they take root in endowed chairs of conservative thought and policy, that's at least pretty funny.
bbbb|5.30.08 @ 12:49PM|#
Irrational Crazy Supporters
Crazy Pastors
Hillary Blogs
Obamas resume
Want to know the difference between Clinton and Obama
supporters
This and more on…
http://sensico.wordpress.com/
thoreau|5.30.08 @ 12:52PM|#
You have to have a weirdly romantic view of university life to believe that students readily absorb the political biases of people they see for a few hours a week
What are you talking about? Every week I convert my students into a
well-disciplined flock of disciples who uniformly agree that
sub-diffraction optics and blood vessel biophysics are the most
important topics in all of physics.
With my awesome indoctrination powers, it's only a matter of time
before the entire scientific community agrees with me. Take that,
people who disagree with me! I'm converting the masses, biatch!
x,y|5.30.08 @ 12:52PM|#
You have to have a weirdly romantic view of university life to believe that students readily absorb the political biases of people they see for a few hours a week or the sociology readings they're half-skimming while watching Two Girls One Cup.
I can't remember a single apolitical person I started college with
who became a conservative or libertarian by graduation. Plenty of
them became fairly liberal, though.
Also, for those not familiar, Two Girls One Cups = NSFW.
MikeT|5.30.08 @ 12:56PM|#
If there is any reason to hate on liberal universities, it's surely for the sense of victimization they inspire among crazed, wild-eyed packs of Michelle-Malkin-quoting 17-year-olds who attend CPAC.
Because speech codes, the ambient political correctness that runs
roughshod over student and faculty rights, and those sort of things
are not reasons to truly hate what the left has done to most
universities...
J|5.30.08 @ 1:02PM|#
I know I've said this before, but I went to what I would imagine is a typically liberal university. I don't know anyone that changed their view from centrist or conservative more liberal, or to more conservative positions. The only people I knew ended up a bit more libertarian.
J|5.30.08 @ 1:04PM|#
Actually, I guess I lied. I moved more pro-big government since I moved from anarchism to a minarchist view.
Episiarch|5.30.08 @ 1:06PM|#
I hate Johns Hopkins for making their Organic Chemistry and Molecular and Cellular Biology labs 6 fucking hours long every fucking week. It's a lot of hate that I'm still working on.
|5.30.08 @ 1:06PM|#
I can't remember a single apolitical person I started college with who became a conservative or libertarian by graduation. Plenty of them became fairly liberal, though.
I was somewhat conservative going into college. I was raised
conservative, but hadn't given't it much thought before college. I
ended up graduating radical libertarian. It was a much further
journey that a typical liberal-to-convervative conversion.
I teensy tiny bit of it was in reaction to goofy ultra-Leftist
professors, but mainly it was discovering the logical conclusion to
premises I already held.
Also, for those not familiar, Two Girls One Cups = NSFW.
It's also not safe for your retinas or fragile sanity.
thoreau|5.30.08 @ 1:06PM|#
the ambient political correctness that runs roughshod over
student and faculty rights
You know, I'm inside the belly of the beast, and I honestly don't
feel like a victim. I do feel like I could face potentially severe
consequences if I acted like a bigoted asshole. However, you know,
this is a job, and I accept that not acting like a bigoted asshole
is one of the requirements.
Yes, there are problems that need to be dealt with, situations
where people who aren't bigoted assholes nonetheless get in
trouble, and I won't try the old "a few isolated incidents" excuse.
However, while some of the problems are real, at the same time a
lot of the complaints turn out to lack substance. It's basically a
cage match between hyper-sensitive liberal PC and hyper-sensitive
conservative PC. The good news is that both camps are actually
quite small. The bad news is that one camp does have a bit more
power. Fortunately, however, that camp is smaller than most people
realize.
And the rest of us are just interested in teaching and
research.
dhex|5.30.08 @ 1:08PM|#
Because speech codes, the ambient political correctness that
runs roughshod over student and faculty rights, and those sort of
things are not reasons to truly hate what the left has done to most
universities...
with some exceptions, most of the people talking about this
seriously are whining pussies.
if you can't hang alone, where can you hang?
|5.30.08 @ 1:08PM|#
thoreau | May 30, 2008, 12:52pm | #
Take that, people who disagree with me! I'm converting the masses, biatch!
So a kilogram is no longer the base? Interesting.
|5.30.08 @ 1:12PM|#
Whoa. I don't concur. I don't see anything weird about lamenting
the liberal hegemony in academia. What's weird, is calling endowing
a professor of conservative studies "affirmative action". Is it
"affirmative action" to endow a professor of particle physics? AA
is about giving preference to qualities other than merit.
A rare miss for Ms Howley. Oh Kerry, why has thou forsaken me?
Episiarch|5.30.08 @ 1:12PM|#
Real ultimate power!
I thought the Death Star was now the ultimate power in the
universe.
thoreau|5.30.08 @ 1:14PM|#
Is it "affirmative action" to endow a professor of particle
physics?
Well, we know that particle physics, much like librul artz, is not
useful, so if The Market were in charge of this every physicist
would do optics, solid state physics, fluid dynamics, or
biophysics.
So, endowing a chair in particle physics is obviously an attempt to
subvert The Market, which is the true arbiter of merit.
DEMAND KURVE!
|5.30.08 @ 1:23PM|#
"You know, I'm inside the belly of the beast, and I honestly
don't feel like a victim."
That's cuz you've been "got at". They broke you. Its over now. You
may as just start campaigning for socialized medicine and
redistribution of wealth.
Abdul|5.30.08 @ 1:29PM|#
These other groups may be oppressed, but conservatives run
whole wars, black site prisons, sprawling multinational
corporations. In fact, if these other groups are oppressed, it's
conservatives who are the oppressors, which may render faculty
meetings a bit tense
Right, because whenever liberals were in office, there were no wars
or unjustified imprisonments. All oppressors are conservative--who
are apparently unstoppable--and all oppressed are liberal.
And this guy doesn't think he's been indoctrinated with pinko
professor babble?
|5.30.08 @ 1:30PM|#
with some exceptions, most of the people talking about this
seriously are whining pussies.
The big cause among the oppressed conservatives at my university
was...that the gay student group received the same funding as every
other student group. Sodomy's illegal! They're advocating crime!
Waa!
Still, some smug little asshole got his picture in some papers,
posing with the statue of George Washington with a gag over his
mouth.
Talk to the hand.
Taktix®|5.30.08 @ 1:31PM|#
I thought the Death Star was now the ultimate power in the
universe.
Episarch,
Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed.
The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power
of the Force.
Taktix®|5.30.08 @ 1:33PM|#
Still, some smug little asshole got his picture in some
papers, posing with the statue of George Washington with a gag over
his mouth.
joe,
At least take solace in the fact that College Republicans seldom
get laid.
|5.30.08 @ 1:33PM|#
I can't remember a single apolitical person I started college with who became a conservative or libertarian by graduation. Plenty of them became fairly liberal, though.
That's not because of Teh Liberal Brainwashing. It's because young
people tend to be "liberal" or "progressive" in American political
terms, because they think they can change the world, and because
redistribution of wealth generally favors the poor (generally, the
young) over the rich (generally, the old). So you get a belief
system where you can combine seeming like you're Doing Something
with getting goodies from the government - what's not to like? Add
in all the hot hippie chicks . . .
Besides which, student activism is a tradition going back
centuries. They generally aren't rebelling for social
conventions.
|5.30.08 @ 1:34PM|#
Not teaching, but in the belly of the beast also.
It's not so much an active hate on libertarians, but more of a
bemused reaction that someone they deal with on a daily basis could
not be exactly like them. Most don't even understand what
libertarianism is, and those that have some inkling just think we
are so sort of crypto-Republicans (like many liberals on this board
[cough, cough]).
As long as you don't defend Bush, they pretty much don't care what
you believe.
Episiarch|5.30.08 @ 1:34PM|#
Don't try to frighten us with your sorcerer's ways, Taktix. Your
sad devotion to that ancient religion has not helped you conjure up
the stolen data tapes, or given you clairvoyance enough to find the
Rebel's hidden fort...
(choke, gasp)
|5.30.08 @ 1:37PM|#
Taktix,
At least take solace in the fact that College Republicans
seldom get laid.
Except the ROTC d00dz. They, uh, they did ok.
|5.30.08 @ 1:37PM|#
Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed. The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force.
Don't try to frighten us with your sorcerous ways, Taktix®. Your
sad devotion to that ancient religion has not helped you conjure up
the truth about corn syrup, or given you clairvoyance enough to
find the hidden evidence about 9/11 . . .
|5.30.08 @ 1:39PM|#
My experience with academia is that the trust-fund commie
portion of the student body makes so much trouble that there's
rarely any need for the administration to step in and dirty their
own hands. And when they do, they're almost invariably less
competent at it.
Anyway, given my experiences with The Activisit Left (both student
and admin) as an undergrad (primarily through my politically
apathetic then-girlfriend), I was as pleased as punch when the
Missus decided to become a productive member of society rather than
a professor.
|5.30.08 @ 1:44PM|#
That's not because of Teh Liberal Brainwashing.
From personal experience, "political enlightenment" of any sort was
the farthest thing from the minds of my compatriots. I never
understood this perception that Liberal faculties are responsible
for hoards of mindless Liberal zombies.
Episiarch|5.30.08 @ 1:49PM|#
From personal experience, "political enlightenment" of any
sort was the farthest thing from the minds of my
compatriots.
Indeed. It's hard to be political when your libido is going "fuck
chicks fuck chicks fuck chicks fuck chicks fuck chicks fuck chicks"
all day. This applies less so to lesbians.
I never understood this perception that Liberal faculties are
responsible for hoards of mindless Liberal zombies.
Hordes. Hordes. It's not a secret vault full of
zombies.
|5.30.08 @ 1:51PM|#
You know, I'm inside the belly of the beast
It's just a matter of time before you unleash that inner Marxist.
Proletarian physics for the masses!
|5.30.08 @ 1:56PM|#
Proletarian physics for the masses!
Or just PC physics:
"BLACK HOLE! Think we all know what they are getting at! They think
black women are gold-digging whores, out to suck all matter in the
universe into a infinitely dense point! "Infinitely dense" is also
offensive to Women of Size!"
Someone Who Doesn\'t Want to L|5.30.08 @ 1:56PM|#
I started undergrad as an apolitical moderate, I suppose. I ended as an anarchist.
x,y|5.30.08 @ 1:57PM|#
I'd like to see the results of a study that follows apolitical students from the day they start college to the day they graduate. I suspect most of us who post here were not apolitical on day 1. I'm willing to bet that there's a statistically significant shift from apolitical to leaning liberal among the former types.
|5.30.08 @ 2:01PM|#
I'd like to see the results of a study that follows
apolitical students from the day they start college to the day they
graduate.
And how would such a study differentiate between those who simply
thought more about issues (my suspicion...almost all) and those who
were covertly influenced by the faculty (my suspicion...3)?
J|5.30.08 @ 2:04PM|#
I think that could be right, although I didn't see it. I would blame their fellow students though, not the professors. There are more of them, and combined with political student organizations, I think they are more likely to be changing the apolitical students than the faculty.
|5.30.08 @ 2:07PM|#
The overwhelmingly liberal consensus among
professors administrators at elite
universities is not obviously a problem for anyone other than
aspiring conservative academics. those wanting
to exist on campus for 4-5 years without being subject to arbitrary
witchhunts based on their extracurricular
activities.
Fixed that for you, Kerry.
And yes, I realize my experience isn't universal. It's not
completely isolated, either.
Brandon|5.30.08 @ 2:16PM|#
"I can't remember a single apolitical person I started college
with who became a conservative or libertarian by graduation. Plenty
of them became fairly liberal, though."
I started college apolitical and ended up fairly libertarian.
(There was some odd liberalish moments before I started studying
economics again, though).
Of course, I also had several (not-so-great) classes with Crispin
Sartwell, so maybe that's why.
|5.30.08 @ 2:18PM|#
I started college as a libertarian-leaning republican. I finished as a more libertarian-leaning republican. Yes, I seldom got laid.
|5.30.08 @ 2:18PM|#
Except the ROTC d00dz. They, uh, they did ok.
You know joe if you really want to have sex with Military men the
best way to get all you want would be to join the military.
|5.30.08 @ 2:21PM|#
As people become more educated, and have greater exposure to
people of different backgrounds, they are going to become more
liberal.
No, creationism, stereotypes about black people, hatred of gay
people, and such other mental shortcomings tend not to last too
long on a college campus. That's not a bad thing.
thoreau|5.30.08 @ 2:26PM|#
Die, capitalist photon pigs!
In order to contain the threat from free radicals like Happy Jack,
it may be necessary to get entangled in foreign conflicts.
|5.30.08 @ 2:27PM|#
It's stuff like this -- and joe's comment at 2:21 -- that reliably drives home just how unhelpful the whole "liberal"/"conservative" axis has become as a descriptor.
thoreau|5.30.08 @ 2:29PM|#
As people become more educated, and have greater exposure to
people of different backgrounds, they are going to become more
liberal.
On certain issues, quite possibly.
On economics, their views may go through various stages. Econ 101
is tailor-made for the cheapest form of libertarianism. This is not
to say that most Econ 101 students become libertarians, but for
anybody who shows potential for going in that direction Econ 101
provides a pathway, albeit a simplistic one. Studying economics at
a more advanced level hopefully moderates those views, and shows
one shades of gray.
x,y|5.30.08 @ 2:29PM|#
As people become more educated, and have greater exposure to people of different backgrounds, they are going to become more liberal.
I suppose they also become more comfortable with the idea of
spending/receiving other people's unjustly appropriated
money.
College: Not Just Diversity. Now with Jackbooted Thuggery!
x,y|5.30.08 @ 2:31PM|#
MP,
Not sure how they would do it. I'm sure someone who works in the
field (studies, statistics, etc.) could devise a decent model.
|5.30.08 @ 2:39PM|#
As people become more educated, and have greater exposure to
people of different backgrounds, they are going to become more
liberal tolerant.
I think this is what he meant to say, but:
a) that would imply that joe is capable of discerning the
difference between literal tolerance (of those that are different)
and on-campus "tolerance" in the form of speech codes and the
rigorous punishments for those who break them.
b) he'd still be wrong.
|5.30.08 @ 2:45PM|#
I meant liberal, in the oldest and broadest sense of the
term.
Which is going to move people away from right-wing ideologies.
J|5.30.08 @ 2:47PM|#
Actually, in support of joe, the few people that moved more libertarian I mentioned were moving in a socially liberal manner, not in an economically conservative one. I don't know anyone that got more economically liberal, however. Plenty that already were, though.
|5.30.08 @ 2:48PM|#
"If there is any reason to hate on liberal universities, it's
surely for the sense of victimization they inspire among crazed,
wild-eyed packs of Michelle-Malkin-quoting 17-year-olds who attend
CPAC."
WTF? Sometimes I wonder if Howley is someone's girlfriend. There is
a lot to hate on about the modern liberal university that has
nothing to do with Michele Malkin quoting 17 year olds, whoever
they are.
That being said, conservatives are a bunch of fucking weenies. I
had tons of lefty profs in college and most of them were decent
people and didn't care that I was conservative. The few that did
were even more fun because I drove them nuts and tortured them
every day in class. Yeah, I probably got lower grades for my
efforts, but who cares.
I had an old boss who was from neat Pittsburgh and a big Steelers
fan. We were in Texas at the time and a lot of people in the office
were Cowboys fans. He used to say in jest that "while it is
absolutely illegal, immoral and unethical, for me to discriminate
against you for your race, sex, or creed, it is absolutely ok for
me to discriminate against you based on your choice of football
team." He didn't mean of course but the truth is that he was right;
you can discriminate against someone for what they think. If the
lefty moonbats in the liberal arts departments only want to hire
other lefty moonbats, that is their right. The solution is not to
whine and demand affirmative action. The solution is to work to
undermine the monopoly that universities hold over learning in this
country. Form new universities and ways of educating people outside
of the university structure. Let the lefties have Harvard but turn
Harvard into the GM of the education business. Fifty years ago, big
liberal arts academics mattered in this country. They served in
high positions of government and people listened to them. Now, no
one cares what any of them have to say because everyone knows they
have nothing to say. Let them have the universities. They are only
hurting themselves.
|5.30.08 @ 2:55PM|#
As a former Cal student in polysci I can tell you that it is much easier to get an A if you pretend your a liberal. If you voice any right wing opinions you have to put in extra work for good grades.
|5.30.08 @ 3:10PM|#
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121184146283621055.html?mod=opinion_journal_federation
The above is a really good and fair handed description of the
modern university liberal arts department.
|5.30.08 @ 3:14PM|#
I went to the Univ. of Oregon, which was very leftist then just
as it is now. I was a vague mix of libertarian and conservative,
but I was mostly a raging mass of hormones. No one I knew really
gave a shit about politics, other than to crack a few jokes. The
political junkie/student government/activist types? No one liked
those assholes, whatever their stripe.
What has changed since then, if I understand correctly, is that
freshmen are required to take a bunch of courses of PC
"sensitivity" crap that we didn't have to do. If I had to do, I
would totally go into subversive mode.
In some of my history courses, I spoke up against the lefties a few
times, but most of the dirty looks I got from students were from
the regular folks who were more interested in attending a history
lecture than a bullshit political argument.
bachwards|5.30.08 @ 3:19PM|#
I kind of fear that a lot of the discussion about liberalism in higher education gets cut off too quickly because both those who think it's a problem and those who don't frame the issue as being strictly a matter of conspiracy and purposeful manipulation of students. The political beliefs of professors may still have a significant influence on students, even if they are not outlining syllabi to instill a particular belief system on the class. Jeffrey Friedman has explored some of the ways political biases may or may not matter in the classroom in a way that avoids the usual circling the wagons involved in this debate.
|5.30.08 @ 3:32PM|#
I agree with J, agreeing with me.
You see a lot of people become more socially liberal at college,
but not so much economically. People who come in as supply-side,
low-tax types are a lot more likely to leave that way than people
who come in as homophobes or racists.
|5.30.08 @ 3:33PM|#
"What has changed since then, if I understand correctly, is that
freshmen are required to take a bunch of courses of PC
"sensitivity" crap that we didn't have to do. If I had to do, I
would totally go into subversive mode."
I never had to take any of that crap either but I agree. My God if
you can't handle some beta male lefty teaching a freshman
sensitivity class, you have a lot more problems than having to go
to a BS class. If conservatives on campus really feel that
oppressed, they need to tell their profs to fuck off and stop
worrying that they might not get that summer internship with
Charles Swab if they get a D in history. It is either important or
it is not. If it is important you will stand up and say something
and take the consiquences. If it is not, then shut up.
|5.30.08 @ 3:36PM|#
"You see a lot of people become more socially liberal at
college"
It is called getting laid Joe. Free love is a hell of a lot more
attractive when you have the opportunity to practice it. Everyone
is socially more liberal in college. Then they get married and
"socially liberal" is just another excuse someone is using to try
to violate their daughter.
|5.30.08 @ 3:36PM|#
x,y,
I think these definitions get at the oldest, broadest definition of
liberal:
1. favorable to progress or reform, as in political or religious
affairs...3. pertaining to, based on, or having views or policies
advocating individual freedom of action and expression...5. free
from prejudice or bigotry; tolerant. 6. free or or not bound by
traditional or conventional ideas, values, etc.; open-minded
|5.30.08 @ 3:38PM|#
John at 3:36, that was teh awesome!
And I'm totally not just saying that because I have a daughter.
|5.30.08 @ 3:39PM|#
It is true Joe. I bet you are a hell of a lot less socially liberal now than you used to be and I don't blame you.
Abdul|5.30.08 @ 3:42PM|#
free from prejudice or bigotry; tolerant. 6. free or or not
bound by traditional or conventional ideas, values, etc.;
open-minded
Does this definition apply to professors who'll down-grade you for
writing a paper that supports a more conservative point of
view?
|5.30.08 @ 3:45PM|#
John,
I'm actually not more socially liberal that I used to be. I very
briefly dated a girl in college who gave me the nickname "family
man," if that give you any insight.
By "socially liberal," I was actually talking about the nookie, so
much as being free from prejudice, more open-minded culturally, and
more comfortable operating in a diverse environment.
|5.30.08 @ 3:46PM|#
Does this definition apply to professors who'll down-grade
you for writing a paper that supports a more conservative point of
view?
Uh, yeah, Abdul. THAT'S why you were a 2.5. Because you were
oppressed.
Abdul|5.30.08 @ 3:48PM|#
Uh, yeah, Abdul. THAT'S why you were a 2.5. Because you were
oppressed.
Another fine example of liberal tolerance--the ad hominem
attack.
I earned a much higher GPA when I learned the fine art of selling
out my ideals.
Abdul|5.30.08 @ 4:00PM|#
I very briefly dated a girl in college who gave me the
nickname "family man," if that give you any insight.
Dude, you two were related? Did you go to WVU?
|5.30.08 @ 4:12PM|#
If conservatives on campus really feel that oppressed, they
need to tell their profs to fuck off and stop worrying that they
might not get that summer internship with Charles Swab if they get
a D in history. It is either important or it is not. If it is
important you will stand up and say something and take the
consiquences. If it is not, then shut up.
Fortunately, most students are smart enough to realize that
anything dealing with politics that goes on at a university is a
tempest in a teapot, if I may engage in cliche.
The annual brouhaha over the conservative student newspaper at
Oregon was a prime example. What they managed to accomplish was to
be as irrelevant as the official newspaper, but with less humor. At
least the Daily Emerald managed to publish a very funny spoof on
Oregon State's newspaper every year.
|5.30.08 @ 4:15PM|#
Abdul,
Dude, you two were related? Did you go to WVU?
You can just come over here and clean up the win that's flooding my
dining room, young man!
Someone Who Doesn\'t Want to L|5.30.08 @ 4:30PM|#
Abdul:
Dude, you two were related? Did you go to WVU?
Nice one, bigot!
(Undergrads from WVU: B.S. Math, B.S. Chemical Engineering '94)
|5.30.08 @ 4:49PM|#
You can just come over here and clean up the win that's
flooding my dining room, young man!
Gee, joe just loves that West Virginia-bashing joke.
So much for ...
"5. free from prejudice or bigotry; tolerant."
... and ...
"By 'socially liberal' ... being free from prejudice, more
open-minded culturally, and more comfortable operating in a diverse
environment."
Yeah. Good job with that, bud.
DrStats|5.30.08 @ 5:18PM|#
Does Appalachia have more mental retardation, etc? In a 1974 paper tactfully entitled "The Geography of Stupidity in the U.S.A.," researcher Nathaniel Weyl notes that the three states having the highest white failure rate on the Armed Forces Qualification Test in 1968 were Kentucky (14.8 percent), Tennessee (14.2 percent), and West Virginia (13.4 percent).
B|5.30.08 @ 5:25PM|#
"In fact, if these other groups are oppressed, it's
conservatives who are the oppressors..."
What a bunch of total bullshit.
B|5.30.08 @ 5:28PM|#
"As people become more educated, and have greater exposure to
people of different backgrounds, they are going to become more
liberal"
Yet another load of total bullshit. As if spending more time around
blacks and hispanics is going to make me somehow more receptive to
income-redistribution schemes.
|5.30.08 @ 5:30PM|#
I didn't notice the part of requiring a stick up one's
ass.
I didn't either, because that's not the point. You already know
that, of course, because you're smart enough to know it. What
you're apparently not, on the other hand, is willing to acknowledge
your failings.
You should either (A) acknowledge that you're not perfect, and you
slip up just like any human being, and you'll try to keep
remembering that stereotyping people is not very open-minded; or
(B) confess that you're not actually interested in "tolerance" or
"being free of prejudice."
There's really no middle option here for you, including shrugging
it all off as "just as joke." Actually, especially not
that.
|5.30.08 @ 5:31PM|#
When I was in college, almost everyone berated me for voting for
Badnarik instead of Kerry. Yeah, it was a protest vote, but you'd
think these college students would be able to think outside a
2-party system.*
*psych
B|5.30.08 @ 5:38PM|#
"I didn't notice the part of requiring a stick up one's
ass"
Pointing out that you are a hypocritical dick joe does not require
a stick up one's ass; it only requires half a brain and a pair of
eyes. And if you are an example of someone who is supposed to be
more educated, then all of liberaldom must be a bunch of fucking
dunces.
thoreau|5.30.08 @ 5:39PM|#
John, I often disagree with you, but I salute you for this
statement:
"My God if you can't handle some beta male lefty teaching a
freshman sensitivity class, you have a lot more problems than
having to go to a BS class."
And here's a little tip: You know what that professor would really,
really, really, REALLY like to see? A well-written paper from a
freshman.
And to everybody who says "But it was well-written!" trust me, it
wasn't. Compare with something that you wrote as a senior and
you'll see my point.
|5.30.08 @ 5:56PM|#
Your sad devotion to that ancient religion has not helped
you conjure up the truth about corn syrup, or given you
clairvoyance enough to find the hidden evidence about 9/11 . .
.
Hokey religion and archaic weapons are no match for a good blaster
at your side.
|5.30.08 @ 6:23PM|#
Perhaps I should call the Waaaaaaaaaaaambulance for B and
Tom.
Tell you what, fellas, you want to make a joke about throwing up
green beer in the hall of a three-decker, you go on with your bad
self.
J|5.30.08 @ 6:25PM|#
B, my fellow 1 letter comrade, while joe might have meant
liberal fiscally and socially originally, the main thrust of being
just more socially liberal is not addressed by your response.
While I think my teachers were just fine with differing viewpoints,
sometimes I wonder if libertarian is "cool" enough to liberals that
it would get a pass even if my teachers hadnt been awesome.
|5.30.08 @ 6:28PM|#
joe | May 30, 2008, 3:32pm | #
I agree with J, agreeing with me.
You see a lot of people become more socially liberal at college,
but not so much economically. People who come in as supply-side,
low-tax types are a lot more likely to leave that way than people
who come in as homophobes or racists.
B | May 30, 2008, 5:28pm | # For the record, that's just
about exactly two hours later
"As people become more educated, and have greater exposure to
people of different backgrounds, they are going to become more
liberal"
Yet another load of total bullshit. As if spending more time around
blacks and hispanics is going to make me somehow more receptive to
income-redistribution schemes.
Way to represent for West Virginian intelligence, d00d!
|5.30.08 @ 6:32PM|#
I don't follow this place closely enough to know the nuts and
bolts of every lengthy debate that takes place around here.
But I do frequently see references to the specific weaknesses in
joe's method of argument (and the resulting frustrations for those
who engage him).
Now I know what they're talking about.
You're thoroughly odd, dude.
|5.30.08 @ 6:39PM|#
Tom,
Your 5:30 comment is even funnier if you read it in the voice of
Mrs. Garrett from The Facts of Life.
Someone Who Doesn\'t Want to L|5.30.08 @ 9:48PM|#
Ok I was just joking as far as the bigot line. I know I'm in the
top 1% (standardized testing woo-hoo) - I don't actually have to
have people step in and defend my home state.
And if I were serious, the person who actually makes the joke is
more culpable for the bigotry than the person who appreciates
it.
Mountain Mama.
Famous Mortimer|5.31.08 @ 12:08AM|#
Every time I read a discussion about Universites on here, I get
the strange feeling that Libertarians think that higher education
is one big trade school.
Somehow, the idea of the anti-status quo Libertarian bickering
about someone's chosen major like an elderly crank, seems a bit
comical to me.
Everyone should just major in Physics, and Medicine. Oh, and maybe
Law, but only if the information is used for tax evasion
purposes.
thoreau|5.31.08 @ 8:52PM|#
Mortimer-
Or engineering. Maybe certain types of business degrees, depending
on which libertarians you ask. Economics is OK if it's taught by
Austrians.
FWIW, I did indeed study physics, and now I teach it at a
university. However, I have a lot of respect for my colleagues in
other departments.
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