After I stated banal facts about human biology, I found myself caught in a DEI web, without the support to do the job I loved. The only way out was to leave it.
I would encourage everyone to read the book or listen to the audio book like I did. I have a high school diploma and do a blue collar job and am never the smartest person in the room even when I am in a room by myself and was able to follow along and enjoy it. It is common sense to us that boys are boys and girls are girls but she breaks it down scientifically and leaves no room for debate and that is what they are scared of.
Dean, thank you. I'm so glad you got something out of my book "T"! And FYI, my 14 year old son came to me last night and asked me if I'd be proud of him if he grew up to be a plumber. I told him that if that is what he loved to do, helping people with his hands and expertise & solving some of their problems, that's meaningful work and I would be very proud of him. If you like your career and maybe college wasn't for you, then you have more smarts than lots of doctors, lawyers and academics I know!
And obviously I'd love it if everybody bought my book. Thank you all for the support.
I am currently at a high end Caribbean resort and there is a group of 400 plumbers and supply house people and spouses on a corporate reward vacation. It is a group of nice, honest, successful, happy people. Less happy today as a lot are from Wisconsin and the Packers lost last night. My son left a five college town in Massachusetts last year with his three small children for a a better place to live. He was an essential worker and treated badly by the academic parts of that town. They stayed home, he worked. He has a Master electrician license in Massachusetts and Tennessee. He had my full support. He and his wife are so very happy they made that change and they are thriving. Your son has the right idea.
Dean, appreciate your comment. Seek wisdom versus simple intelligence. It is of far greater value to you, the people you love, and the world. It requires questioning for truth with humility and prudence. The merely intelligent run from the wise as the Sophists feared the Philosophers.
Wisdom is no longer a concept that is either sought, or acknowledged. Wisdom has been relegated to the ash heap of history. Committees, AI, and political solutions to everything has rendered the concept of wisdom a quaint, old and sad relic. OK Boomer, your experience is no longer needed. We have post modern methods of finding the truth today, and wisdom is not one of them.
Mike Rowe has said, "You can't be curious and not also be humble, you can't be courageous and be prideful." I think we are experiencing a time where this wisdom is being actively suppressed. I am glad to see someone exemplify this fundamental lifestyle.
Dean , the high school diploma blue collar person is the backbone of the country . Don’t ever forget that. Yes you are all taking a beating and being made to feel awful , but over the long term you will come out on top . Wisdom and life experience beats a textbook and academic dissertation nearly every time . The academics are circle jerking over their peer reviewed branding trying to hoodwink us all . They will ultimately fade and face a serious market correction .
Dean, the problem with so many people is they are educated beyond their intellectual means.
They took courses and absorbed some knowledge but they have no capability of organizing it into useful thoughts, something that doesn’t sound like gibberish.
My ninny of a canadian prime minister, Trustin Judeau is exhibit A.
Dean, my father and my grandfathers were blue collar guys and farmers. They were far from dumb. Don't ever sell yourself short over not having a college degree. Most of the degrees handed out these days are worthless in my opinion when it comes to measuring intelligence.
I have noticed that many of the worst bullies today are the same people who demand their safe spaces. They love engaging when they have a 10:1 or greater advantage . We saw this almost a decade ago at Yale when Halloween gate occurred and Dr Cristakis was surrounded in the courtyard. Many of these students have taken their show to DC and corporate America
“ … the worst bullies today are the same people who demand their safe spaces.”
Yes. We call them “crybullies.” And we respond to them directly. No mincing of words. That sort of hypocrisy doesn’t work with us. Or, as we say here in the South, “that dog don’t hunt.”
Unfortunately we have loonies who don't let us hunt with dogs. They even want to ban drag hunting. Because? Reasons. I am now willing to concede signing up as the 51st state is now a smidgen attractive. Brew proper beer and adopt a less fairy football code and I might thaw to the idea even more! :-)
"Crybullies" has made it to Swindon over here at least; I've heard that a couple of times on 'Lotus Eaters' in the last few segments I've watched. So appropriate; kudos to whoever thought it up.
That incident was terrifying. We have raised a generation of mixed up kids, and there is no telling how bottomless will be their pit of despair. I was aghast, and everyone MUST watch it. He has remained in the conversation as a rational and thoughtful actor.
They need a space to bully, oppress, and shout down anyone who they demonize without any restraint, question, or pushback. That's what their "safe space" is for.
Oh! You are so right! They love to fight when they're protected by their woke mob "friends." They will be the first to scream foul if they are alone and feel "triggered." Would any of these ___________ be worthy in a foxhole? I doubt it.
"In 1998, before I started studies for my PhD at Harvard, I spent nearly a year doing field research in Uganda on the behavior of chimpanzees. In retrospect, this work turned out to be useful in understanding dominance hierarchies at the school. "
Pan troglodytes wages war too; Pan paniscus is all for 'Make Love; Not War'; and we are oft times referred to as "the third chimpanzee". The comparisons are close enough for government work; closer actually, now government doesn't work!
Yep, pretty clear couple of sentences. Even if the situation at Harvard changes for the better, that quote will stick in the craw of Ms. Hooven's adversaries for the rest of their lives.
I like that. But you can't mock chimpanzees. They're pure. But students and faculty sleep walking under the stars of microaggression, trigger warnings, group think, and they're tossing out of non-adherents of the encompassing orthodoxy, now THEY we can mock..
Reading this just filled me with so much anxiety. Many of us are experiencing this, even in our personal lives. Family members taken over by DEI concepts; shout-downs by friends who are insistent on their position and do not wish to discuss varied ideas; self-censorship everywhere in public now. This is a sad state of affairs for our nation.
There are those close to me who have been bitten by the insect (far left ideology). I fall silent when I find myself on the receiving end of one of their tirades. One of my best decisions was subscribing to TFP. These so-called educators must be stopped from indoctrinating our children.
My son's father-in-law is a lawyer and he often civilly asks me how I can hold a certain position. We have great discussions. Other in-laws like to just "jab me" with their remarks. I'm a Colson Fellow and I read The Free Press so I can civilly "fight back" but it is exhausting at times. I try to keep the conversation on family matters that way we all get along.
Deb you are spot on. Too many on the left have gone into the deep end. After 2000, I had to deal with people who couldn't acknowledge that their candidate cheated and lied, and many still can't, which I find utterly insane. And now I have my kids generation steeped in utter giberish and nonsense. There has to be a center party created where BS, social engineering and liers are not tolerated. As far as I am concerned, The MAGA and DEI world is the same; I am right, you are wrong and that's the way it is. You are so correct, a very sad state of affairs for such a great country!
I totally agree. I see no difference between DEI and MAGA. And they both seem to be digging their heels in within the faces of Biden and Trump being forced on us. I am deeply saddened by the loss of some of my closest lifetime friends, with conversations reduced to shallow discussions about the weather because we simply cannot have real debate any longer. I’m watching the younger generations steeped in nonsense as well, and I am helpless to do anything about it. I used to think the concepts of all of this with the intention of destroying the USA from within were conspiratorial, but now I’m not so sure.
Deb, I need your help. Please give me your definition of "MAGA." To me, it means Make America Great Again, and I support whatever makes our wonderful country GREAT.
The literal meaning of MAGA is indeed Make America Great Again. Just as the literal meaning of DEI is Diversity Equity and Inclusion. No movement can be defined in a sentence or two, but having nice words in the slogan isn't what makes it a good one. I suspect you know this :).
Are you saying anyone who voted for Trump is extreme? I understand what DEI means and how, in the scope of this article, it represents a philosphy that isn't rooted in truth - men and women are not different - but what are you saying about MAGA. I am really asking. What does MAGA mean in your comment? There are extremist who are both sides of the isle, but does MAGA only mean extreme?
Perhaps my original comment was just a soupçon more snarky than I felt. But not much. I'm weary of the obligatory disclaimer by Democrats who feel like their side has gone a little too far. "I realize this is bad but really it's about the same as what the other guys do." No, it's not. I don't see how you can support DEI (or as many of us refer to it: "DIE") without supporting discrimination and lowering standards. The fact that so many DEI initiatives are done in secret tells me most of the true believers agree. They don't want the general public or corporate stockholders or their customers to know how much they're willing to sacrifice everything from profits to public safety in order to reach their political goals. Diversity is okay, but not as worthy a goal in and of itself as it's made out to be. DEI is inherently evil.
I'm hardly dyed in the MAGA but I voted for Trump twice and I'd be happy to vote for him again. And I have one of those hats somewhere. MAGA is millions of people with a variety of backgrounds and a range of political views (although not an especially broad range). Of course, some are bad. So what? Most are just fine. I suspect the OP doesn't even know anybody who has political views different from his own, much less talked to anyone and tried to understand.
What do you mean about the 2000 election having a liar and a cheater? I was just a small child in 2000 and know nothing about that election except Bush won and there was something that happened concerning Florida.
Bridge Master, I need your help. Like I asked Deb (below), please give me your definition of "MAGA." To me, it means Make America Great Again, and I support whatever makes our wonderful country GREAT.
MAGA is an ideology just like DEI. There are plenty of patriotic Americans who don’t need to dig our heels in for a man who doesn’t represent the majority of the nation - and I’m referring to both Biden and Trump. I don’t need to claim MAGA on a hat just like I don’t need to claim a shirt that says BLM. Two old farts who need to give way to younger leaders who can actually operate a smart phone.
Policies focused on your list certainly would help Make America Great.... Again. Again, meaning back to a time when patriotism was seen throughout the country, and there was much that united us.
Interesting. Although I'm not a Trump voter/supporter, I support all of these policies. I would suggest that Trump has not been consistent on all these issues or strongly supported every one of these issues. For the most part, he just doesn't go along with the left wing extremism on all of these issues. He has opposed free speech at times and wasn't exactly fiscally conservative - on the other hand, he has been much better than the opposition. As an aside, he also has supported destructive tariffs - he's not exactly a free market guy. I would consider voting for Trump but his narcissistic personality disorder is a serious problem affecting his judgement and ability to work others. I'm still deciding.
Trump is notably in favor of paying his taxes. He VERY much believes in merit, not nepotism. And he loves the perks that certain highly adrenalized cad-males take when they see what they consider to be an "attractive, hot, etc." female in the vicinity. Grab 'em. I'm worried, though, by that word "worship." You worship Trump's motives? Lovely.
I think what people are asking is: how do you define the MAGA ideology?
We all can define DEI as a political movement to provide reparations by another name by disregarding merit and accomplishment, and in so doing, providing spoils (financial and otherwise) to favored social demographic subgroups by discriminating against others, even though the disfavored may have better skills for the assigned task/role.
My 17 year old daughter and I were having a discussion, actually she was having a particularly bad day (OK, I have to do this every time: An Orthodox Christian priest can be married and have children if they are married before they enter the priesthood), and we were discussing the need for her to fulfill her academic obligations for an online class.
She was insistent that I was disregarding her "feelings" and I was equally insistent that her "feelings" while valid and important, did not affect the reality of the situation for her to actually meet the deadline for her project.
And then it hit me, my own daughter had succumbed to the "spirit of the age" by believing her feelings somehow create a reality. Amazing. To be sure, feelings are significant, but only in bringing the person information about what's going on inside them. They should never be allowed to "drive the car!"
The truth is our culture has accepted a mind virus that is debilitating whole generations IF we don't use the tools of wisdom to help our precious children overcome what will inevitably become a mental slavery for their future growth and maturity.
A very important observation, Father. A friend recently told me she thought empathy was the highest good. Empathy is about feelings. It has its place to be sure, but it’s no substitute for doing what’s truly best for someone, even if it makes them feel bad at the time. That’s what love looks like.
If I may, they or those youngsters today who promote the concept of empathy, generally mean "have empathy for me". they do not focus on empathy for others. the dad talking to his daughter is correct, reality and doing what is right, what you said you would do, is what counts at the end of the day. Safe spaces = weakness. Man up, show some sack and pull your heads out of your asses, I am fond of saying.
Re DEi and MAGA. I do not see the correlation, as others have said. DEI has been instituted into our culture and is poisoning our society and personal relationships. Jobs and careers of late are made or broken by DEI. MAGA is a broad philosophy, that has many components, but is not imbedded in our society and workplaces. MAGA is embraced by many folks who believe that America is a great country (still) and if we want to see that greatness in the future, we better speak up and do those many things that are required to make America Great again. People don't truly get fired from jobs if they support the concept of MAGA. What is true is that a supporter of America and its true (not rewritten) history and values, can be shouted down by DEI and ostracized and perhaps forced out of a position they hold, due to serious pressure from those who are offended. To me it is criminal or close to it, that this is occurring in America today.
Stand up for what you believe and know to be true. Don't let yourself be bullied by those who need to feel safe, or who feel marginalized, or god forbid, offended. I am not saying go out and pick a fight, but certainly don't turn your back on a fight if it comes your way.
I feel bad for the teacher at Harvard, but she will not be the last "victim".
You NEED empathy as much as logic and critical thinking to work out what is truly best for someone. You need all the legs of the stool; or it falls over.
Empathy is a good thing. It's just not enough. As you say, it's just one leg of the stool, not the stool itself. When it's in the driver's seat, it can prevent you from doing what's truly best for someone.
I think you are confusing empathy with emotion. I think empathy stimulates mirror neurons and you think into the other persons shoes. I'm autstic; I have to know the difference to navigate the world. You might notice I go off on one occasionally; that is me getting a little confused on the two.
Your daughter (like my kids) might benefit from Nick Saban's brief sermon on 'nothing.' We wake each day with... 'nothing.' No one owes us.... 'nothing.' Look it up.
When I go by the local high school, I cringe at their electronic sign that says "Always Be Kind". Ok, nice, however can we rotate that with some other motivational phrase, ie "Strive to Be the Best"
DEI was put on steroids by the death of George Floyd (he of the golden casket) when the entire country lost its collective mind in a paroxysm of race bullying and saccharine guilt and public self flagellation. And just as we suspected - and as the FP exposed yesterday - the entire Floyd charade was just a pack of lies by the hyenas who run our media. Time to roll back DEI. the trans garbage, the climate racket and all of the scams of the Left that are intended to weaken America and destroy our beloved nation.
It is. But what's not hilarious is that the leftist jackals were so willing to give up Chauvin to the howling mob to appease them. And still the savages burned and looted and murdered anyway.
I think you’re implying something that wasn’t meant. Who cares what demographic the mob was? Surely we should all be able to agree that “mob actions” don’t bring actual justice.
Well said. The false narrative around Floyd is insane. The incident was accidental, in large part or fully due to Floyd's own actions that day, and had nothing to do with race. Yet we had millions of people protesting in massive crowds (spreading deadly Covid during a pandemic, by the way) for "racial justice" due to the supposed "murder" of St. Floyd.
I am conservative but I was raised in a family of largely liberals. Free discussion was encouraged and expected. Your opinions on all things was subject to challenge. I became conservative over time because I believed in less government based on my life experience with the system. Having said that, I have never vilified, or wished to silence, any person who thought differently than I did. Good ideas and practices come from debate and the testing of ideas and concepts. We human beings are subject to our biases and our intellectual blind spots. Robust discussion is the only way to move society forward in a coherent fashion. But in our world of sounds bites and lazy brains it is so much easier to condemn with simplicity than to debate. Ms. Hoover's experience shows that the institutions of higher learning have fallen into the knee jerk trap of abandoning discourse to the narrow minded view of the few. Having an opinion, if it differs at all from those who believe they know better, is a cause of condemnation. If we don't change that paradigm soon, the strength of our pluralistic society will continue to fade away.
I am a retired university professor, a liberal (most of us are -- if liberal really means open to new views). Years ago I read Charles Murray's book, The Bell Curve. We were sponsoring his talk at Iowa State and he happens to be the brother of my friend. I found the book interesting, good for stimulating discussion. Basically Murray was explaining just what IQ is -- a measure of what testing revealed. The book was neither offensive or racist -- though it antagonized so many liberals. Scary what is happening at universities today.
If liberal means “open to new views”, I would posit that many of your liberal friends don’t meet your own definition, and you might be surprised at how many conservatives do in fact meet that definition.
I read The Bell Curve shortly after it was published and found it fascinating. I assume it is no longer widely read and discussed in academic circles given the devaluation of standardized testing.
I am a late Gen X closer to Millennial. One of the things I am grateful for every day (even more so in the last five years) has been the ability to have a childhood free of tech (in the fact that it was not a thing beyond our Commodore 64 and the various joysticks my brother and I broke from our enthusiasm!!) in a family that fostered discussion and global awareness. I really believe that Gen X is the group that had the most balanced experiences with regard to tech/social development and the benefits of that might play into the leadership roles or day to day choices that we make as we head into our second act. We're the kid out there that is usually ignored and just doing our own thing.
Of course Gen X is the most sane. We were left to our own devices and told to figure it out. And we did! Therefore we don't tolerate idiocy and we don't tolerate word bullies and those who need constant coddling. We also have an insane sense of humor which makes us even more cool!!
As a GenXer with no kids, I would point out that regardless of our sane status, it does not appear that we, as a whole, did a great jobs of raising the latter gens.
Basically we wanted our kids to be happy. But a Parents real jobs is to give a kid the tools so they can make themselves happy. Instead we gave them almost no life skills aside from asking someone in authority to make things right. So that is what they are doing.
I had kids late and made sure to raise my kids just like my parents did. They are not coddled and they can make fun of themselves and are quick-witted. They aren't snowflakes. It's not allowed.
Maybe GenXers were reacting against the negative parts of how they were raised. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I have seen what my childhood was like reflected and caricatured in popular culture, and mixed in with the freedom was a lot of boredom, cruelty, and outright terror as bullies reined and parents casually employed corporal punishment. I don’t blame GenX parents for reacting against that, and trying to bring their children up in a kinder, gentler, and more respectful way. The sad truth, though, is that it turned out not to be objectively better, but just different.
Maybe I had a much better childhood than most. But the small town I was in did not have bullies reigning supreme or parents beating the crap out of their kids. Did some kids get spanked? Yup...like humans through most of history and still in many parts of the world. Were their bullies? Of course...again, just like through all of history and still today.
Avoiding difficult things is the issue. Difficulty is built into life. Everything struggles, because the universe doesn't cater to life. Life has to overcome or it dies. By removing the rough edges we didn't make kids stronger, we made them weaker. Just like how an organism that isn't subjected to germs and viruses ends up with a weak immune system that crumbles the first time it actually has to work.
Bullies and beatings suck. But they are also opportunities to learn and get better. Learn how to avoid or placate or stand against. Instead we taught kids nothing, so they don't know how to deal with difficulty. Instead they turn to authority (as adults, the Government) to solve everything.
I understand the impulse. But I also think that we have decided as a culture than any negative thing must be done away with. Which is impossible. We looks at our childhoods and decided that despite the fact we had some of the easiest lives in all of human history we had it too hard and had to make things 'better'. And that was my point. We didn't ask what would happen to our kids as adults if they got bullied and we gave them no life skills to deal with it. We only ask "How can we make our kids happy NOW" at the time in their lives when things are easiest already. We, like so many before us, were shortsighted.
That is exactly my point. No one asked the question about what happens to kids when they are raised without—I was going to say adversity, but that’s not right because kids still struggle—when they are raised without unfairness. Life isn’t fair, and at least some people of my generation understand that in their bones. People of my son’s generation think that if something isn’t fair, it’s a defect that can be fixed, possibly through compassion, often through layers of authority and regulation. From talking to my own son, he doesn’t understand this, and he doesn’t believe me. Unfairness in the world is not a bug. It’s a feature.
I agree WOL. I worked with 2 Harvard grads, admittedly a small sample size. But they were lazy, unproductive and had an air of entitlement about them. No wonder so many Harvard grads migrate to politics.
It’s amazing to me that older, wiser, more mature adults have put aside those important attributes to allow younger, naive, immature, and often mentally unstable young people to lead. We are seeing the destructive results of that insanity everywhere.
Thank you. Another of the few remaining sane professors resigns. Looks like Steven Pinker may be the last standing there at harvard. You are preaching to the choir here. I hope your article gets out to the MSM. You might not be able to change the minds of the indoctrinated woke prog cult but some mainstream liberals can be convinced your position was the correct one.
"As a sign of the political polarization that characterizes the U.S. today, my supporters have tended to come from the right—although I am a lifelong Democrat"
In a world where the definition of male and female is subject to debate, I'm loathe to assign labels, let alone subscribe to them. However, I have no problem assigning the label DEMOCRAT to those who've persecuted Ms. Hooven.
I do wonder how it is that a person as intelligent and fact based as Ms. Hooven, was, and presumably still is “a lifelong Democrat.” Democrats are the folks who created DEI and CRT in the first place. By 59 she should have figured that out.
You're right, Mark, there are many primary and secondary reasons why a person would be a lifelong Democrat. The abortion reference was my way of highlighting the ferocity with which many professional women defend "my right". Women in the prosperous suburbs like Dr. Hooven who are least likely to find themselves pregnant by accident seem the most strident, and tend to cite limits to abortion at any stage as a main driver of their votes. For the less affluent, it's simply after market birth control.
If you are implying that guns/mass shootings keep people voting Democrat, the worst mass shooting happened in Norway on July 22, 2011, in which 68 people were killed by a lone gunman. In the United States most firearm deaths are suicides. In 2021, 54% of firearm deaths in the US were suicides. If facts work for you, check out the following:
Countries with the Highest Rates of Violent Gun Death (Homicides) per 100k residents in 2019 (spoiler alert, the United States is not on this list)
Many things keep people voting Democrat, such as Republicans citing irrelevant statistics.
This is what would happen if the US was a democracy (which it most definitely is not):
>n 2015, large majorities of American adults, both Republicans (79%) and Democrats (88%), supported background checks for private sales and at gun shows, according to a Pew Research Center survey.[29] In 2017, strong majorities of American adults, both gun owners (77%) and non-gun owners (87%), supported background checks for private sales and at gun shows, according to a Pew Research Center survey with an error attributable to sampling of +/- 2.8% at the 95% level of confidence.[30] In 2018, after the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, nearly all Americans supported universal background checks.[31][32] 88% of registered voters supported universal background checks, according to a Politico/Morning Consult poll with a margin of error +/- 2%.[31] 94% of American voters supported universal background checks, according to a Quinnipiac University Polling Institute poll with a margin of error of +/- 3.4%.[32] A July 2019 poll by NPR found that 89% of respondents supported background checks for all gun purchases at gun shows or other private sales.[33] An overwhelming majority of Republicans (84%) and Democrats (96%) indicated their support, suggesting there is bipartisan popular consensus on the broad topic in the public.[34]
Unfortunately, if you look at Wikipedia's parent you find it is a Communist org. Am I going to start believing Communists on a politically sensitive easily gameable topic? Fuck no.
You just can't tie anyone who Identifies as Democrat to every policy and train of thought that comes from such a disparate group. That's what this all about. Everyone generalizes and makes decisions on such a small sampling. I agree with Make America Great Again as a concept but disagree with most of the policies put forth. They ignore the reality that we have a global economy and benefit in many ways from it. Many countries have the weaponry to hurt us or allies. So to me this nationalism is the same thing as trying to make America a "safe place" where you don't have to deal with people who think differently
One of the consistent criticisms of Ms. Gay is that she, although a tenured academic, had not produced a book. I'm betting that will change in the next year at most, and that it will be a NYT bestseller, on the shelves next to Mr. Kendi and Ms. DiAngelo.
Dismantling the teachers union across the board including tenure for academic professors would be a good start. Don’t see that happening any time soon.
One the legislators in Nebraska introduced a bill ending tenure at state university. Of course it will go nowhere, but the head of the Democrat party (Jane Kleeb) tweeted that young people will leave the state if their professors don't have tenure. Sure, Jane.
Nothing brave about a Lynch mob. A crowd of cowards as individuals finds “bravery” in a group. At least our society has progressed to the point where we don’t burn people at the stake anymore. I hope Dr. Hooven can find a work environment where people appreciate her.
In the "brave space," students who are terrified and traumatized by the existence of people who disagree with them will bravely say some things they all agree on - mostly about how horrible people who disagree are - and affirm that they all agree. Anyone in the space with the slightest variance in belief will bravely keep silent lest his peers bravely scream at him in a hysterical frenzy.
Good Luck Dr. Hooven. This whole imbroglio is reminiscent of China's Red Guard era. The only thing lacking is putting a dunce cap on the "wrong thinker".
I am glad Ms. Hooven has found a measure of peace and a place to openingly debate. I work in the private sector, and the consequences of not self censoring among the professional class are profound. I have not encountered the scary levels of compelled speech that exist in other places, but the trend was headed there until just recently, and I work for heavy industry in a red state. I am praying all this has turned a corner.
I would encourage everyone to read the book or listen to the audio book like I did. I have a high school diploma and do a blue collar job and am never the smartest person in the room even when I am in a room by myself and was able to follow along and enjoy it. It is common sense to us that boys are boys and girls are girls but she breaks it down scientifically and leaves no room for debate and that is what they are scared of.
You are probably smarter than most college grads dude, don't sell yourself short. Common sense is in short supply.
Probably smarter than most professors if Harvard is any indication.
Definitely more courage!!
Dean,
Whether or not you are ever the ‘smartest person in the room’, I suspect that often enough you are the wisest.
Humility is the beginning of wisdom, and understanding the complex requires knowledge of simple roots.
Well done!
Common sense like yours is uncommon.
Dean, thank you. I'm so glad you got something out of my book "T"! And FYI, my 14 year old son came to me last night and asked me if I'd be proud of him if he grew up to be a plumber. I told him that if that is what he loved to do, helping people with his hands and expertise & solving some of their problems, that's meaningful work and I would be very proud of him. If you like your career and maybe college wasn't for you, then you have more smarts than lots of doctors, lawyers and academics I know!
And obviously I'd love it if everybody bought my book. Thank you all for the support.
I am currently at a high end Caribbean resort and there is a group of 400 plumbers and supply house people and spouses on a corporate reward vacation. It is a group of nice, honest, successful, happy people. Less happy today as a lot are from Wisconsin and the Packers lost last night. My son left a five college town in Massachusetts last year with his three small children for a a better place to live. He was an essential worker and treated badly by the academic parts of that town. They stayed home, he worked. He has a Master electrician license in Massachusetts and Tennessee. He had my full support. He and his wife are so very happy they made that change and they are thriving. Your son has the right idea.
Push forward, Carole. You left a nest of vipers.
Dean, appreciate your comment. Seek wisdom versus simple intelligence. It is of far greater value to you, the people you love, and the world. It requires questioning for truth with humility and prudence. The merely intelligent run from the wise as the Sophists feared the Philosophers.
Wisdom is no longer a concept that is either sought, or acknowledged. Wisdom has been relegated to the ash heap of history. Committees, AI, and political solutions to everything has rendered the concept of wisdom a quaint, old and sad relic. OK Boomer, your experience is no longer needed. We have post modern methods of finding the truth today, and wisdom is not one of them.
I fear you are correct.
At our peril.
Mike Rowe has said, "You can't be curious and not also be humble, you can't be courageous and be prideful." I think we are experiencing a time where this wisdom is being actively suppressed. I am glad to see someone exemplify this fundamental lifestyle.
Dean, it doesn't take a college degree to be wise or to have common sense. You're smarter than you give yourself credit for.
Thanks for encouraging the idea of getting the book. Did exactly that.
Dean , the high school diploma blue collar person is the backbone of the country . Don’t ever forget that. Yes you are all taking a beating and being made to feel awful , but over the long term you will come out on top . Wisdom and life experience beats a textbook and academic dissertation nearly every time . The academics are circle jerking over their peer reviewed branding trying to hoodwink us all . They will ultimately fade and face a serious market correction .
Don't understimate yourself. Intellectual honesty is a sign of rare intelligence.
Dean, the problem with so many people is they are educated beyond their intellectual means.
They took courses and absorbed some knowledge but they have no capability of organizing it into useful thoughts, something that doesn’t sound like gibberish.
My ninny of a canadian prime minister, Trustin Judeau is exhibit A.
You keep doing what you are doing.
Exactly!
Dean, my father and my grandfathers were blue collar guys and farmers. They were far from dumb. Don't ever sell yourself short over not having a college degree. Most of the degrees handed out these days are worthless in my opinion when it comes to measuring intelligence.
Thank you Dean . That is exactly what I will do. I have put the book on my reading list.
I have noticed that many of the worst bullies today are the same people who demand their safe spaces. They love engaging when they have a 10:1 or greater advantage . We saw this almost a decade ago at Yale when Halloween gate occurred and Dr Cristakis was surrounded in the courtyard. Many of these students have taken their show to DC and corporate America
“ … the worst bullies today are the same people who demand their safe spaces.”
Yes. We call them “crybullies.” And we respond to them directly. No mincing of words. That sort of hypocrisy doesn’t work with us. Or, as we say here in the South, “that dog don’t hunt.”
Crybullies is perfect. I am going to start using it.
Feel free.
Similarly over here in England. I often reach for "That dog won't hunt" these days.
No kidding!? Y’all have adopted a southernism? Color me impressed.
British people have hunting dogs, too.
Unfortunately we have loonies who don't let us hunt with dogs. They even want to ban drag hunting. Because? Reasons. I am now willing to concede signing up as the 51st state is now a smidgen attractive. Brew proper beer and adopt a less fairy football code and I might thaw to the idea even more! :-)
Sorry, South Dakotan here - but you honestly can’t hunt with dogs?!
We can hunt with dogs here. I don't, myself, but I have neighbors with bird dogs.
We don’t mind sharing.
I'm curious; do you have "Can't find their ass with a torch and a gun dog"?
"Crybullies" has made it to Swindon over here at least; I've heard that a couple of times on 'Lotus Eaters' in the last few segments I've watched. So appropriate; kudos to whoever thought it up.
That incident was terrifying. We have raised a generation of mixed up kids, and there is no telling how bottomless will be their pit of despair. I was aghast, and everyone MUST watch it. He has remained in the conversation as a rational and thoughtful actor.
More like three or four generations.
It would be interesting to look at where the main 'actors' are now - I would hazard a guess that they all have 'bullshit jobs'.
They need a space to bully, oppress, and shout down anyone who they demonize without any restraint, question, or pushback. That's what their "safe space" is for.
Oh! You are so right! They love to fight when they're protected by their woke mob "friends." They will be the first to scream foul if they are alone and feel "triggered." Would any of these ___________ be worthy in a foxhole? I doubt it.
This quote gave me a chuckle this morning.
"In 1998, before I started studies for my PhD at Harvard, I spent nearly a year doing field research in Uganda on the behavior of chimpanzees. In retrospect, this work turned out to be useful in understanding dominance hierarchies at the school. "
an insult to chimpanzees!
Pan troglodytes wages war too; Pan paniscus is all for 'Make Love; Not War'; and we are oft times referred to as "the third chimpanzee". The comparisons are close enough for government work; closer actually, now government doesn't work!
Yep, pretty clear couple of sentences. Even if the situation at Harvard changes for the better, that quote will stick in the craw of Ms. Hooven's adversaries for the rest of their lives.
Reminds of the dominance hierarchies in our administration at our local school district.
In my town it's the local school district and the library.
I like that. But you can't mock chimpanzees. They're pure. But students and faculty sleep walking under the stars of microaggression, trigger warnings, group think, and they're tossing out of non-adherents of the encompassing orthodoxy, now THEY we can mock..
I just posted the same comment. Now I need to delete it - but yes, exactly!
Reading this just filled me with so much anxiety. Many of us are experiencing this, even in our personal lives. Family members taken over by DEI concepts; shout-downs by friends who are insistent on their position and do not wish to discuss varied ideas; self-censorship everywhere in public now. This is a sad state of affairs for our nation.
There are those close to me who have been bitten by the insect (far left ideology). I fall silent when I find myself on the receiving end of one of their tirades. One of my best decisions was subscribing to TFP. These so-called educators must be stopped from indoctrinating our children.
My son's father-in-law is a lawyer and he often civilly asks me how I can hold a certain position. We have great discussions. Other in-laws like to just "jab me" with their remarks. I'm a Colson Fellow and I read The Free Press so I can civilly "fight back" but it is exhausting at times. I try to keep the conversation on family matters that way we all get along.
Tell him: some of us have the luxury of not needing to hold two, both a public professional opinion, and a private personal opinion.
If they are to be stopped as you hope for, we (and you) can’t fall silent.
Deb you are spot on. Too many on the left have gone into the deep end. After 2000, I had to deal with people who couldn't acknowledge that their candidate cheated and lied, and many still can't, which I find utterly insane. And now I have my kids generation steeped in utter giberish and nonsense. There has to be a center party created where BS, social engineering and liers are not tolerated. As far as I am concerned, The MAGA and DEI world is the same; I am right, you are wrong and that's the way it is. You are so correct, a very sad state of affairs for such a great country!
I totally agree. I see no difference between DEI and MAGA. And they both seem to be digging their heels in within the faces of Biden and Trump being forced on us. I am deeply saddened by the loss of some of my closest lifetime friends, with conversations reduced to shallow discussions about the weather because we simply cannot have real debate any longer. I’m watching the younger generations steeped in nonsense as well, and I am helpless to do anything about it. I used to think the concepts of all of this with the intention of destroying the USA from within were conspiratorial, but now I’m not so sure.
Deb, I need your help. Please give me your definition of "MAGA." To me, it means Make America Great Again, and I support whatever makes our wonderful country GREAT.
The idea of make America great again is fine BUT Trump is a complete narcissist who will lie, cheat or do whatever it takes to get what he wants.
Great question John! Haha Deb’s response was the perfect example of a response by leftists.
I replied somewhere but it’s not showing up in the thread.
Please answer again, Deb, I am really interested in learning more about what is negative about believing in and supporting the country we love GREAT.
The literal meaning of MAGA is indeed Make America Great Again. Just as the literal meaning of DEI is Diversity Equity and Inclusion. No movement can be defined in a sentence or two, but having nice words in the slogan isn't what makes it a good one. I suspect you know this :).
Daft place to be: in between the firing lines.
Are you saying anyone who voted for Trump is extreme? I understand what DEI means and how, in the scope of this article, it represents a philosphy that isn't rooted in truth - men and women are not different - but what are you saying about MAGA. I am really asking. What does MAGA mean in your comment? There are extremist who are both sides of the isle, but does MAGA only mean extreme?
I don’t think he said voting for Trump makes you extreme, but that MAGA types are much like DEI types.
Both groups are intolerant of dissent and have a populist bent.
Douglas, please be specific. What is a "MAGA type," and how do you spot them? What behaviors are you seeing that worry you?
DIE are elitists. Why do you think it is big in Harvard?
Thank you for that clarification.
You either know nothing about MAGA or you know nothing about DEI.
Or maybe you just know nothing.
Thank you for that kind response. It answers a lot.
I'm just here to exceed expectations.
In the spirit of my previous comment, I appreciate the humor.
Perhaps my original comment was just a soupçon more snarky than I felt. But not much. I'm weary of the obligatory disclaimer by Democrats who feel like their side has gone a little too far. "I realize this is bad but really it's about the same as what the other guys do." No, it's not. I don't see how you can support DEI (or as many of us refer to it: "DIE") without supporting discrimination and lowering standards. The fact that so many DEI initiatives are done in secret tells me most of the true believers agree. They don't want the general public or corporate stockholders or their customers to know how much they're willing to sacrifice everything from profits to public safety in order to reach their political goals. Diversity is okay, but not as worthy a goal in and of itself as it's made out to be. DEI is inherently evil.
I'm hardly dyed in the MAGA but I voted for Trump twice and I'd be happy to vote for him again. And I have one of those hats somewhere. MAGA is millions of people with a variety of backgrounds and a range of political views (although not an especially broad range). Of course, some are bad. So what? Most are just fine. I suspect the OP doesn't even know anybody who has political views different from his own, much less talked to anyone and tried to understand.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Peace.
I agree with you about MAGA and the woke.
What do you mean about the 2000 election having a liar and a cheater? I was just a small child in 2000 and know nothing about that election except Bush won and there was something that happened concerning Florida.
My apologies Douglas, I meant the 2020 election. Typo on my part.
Oh, got it.
Bridge Master, I need your help. Like I asked Deb (below), please give me your definition of "MAGA." To me, it means Make America Great Again, and I support whatever makes our wonderful country GREAT.
MAGA is an ideology just like DEI. There are plenty of patriotic Americans who don’t need to dig our heels in for a man who doesn’t represent the majority of the nation - and I’m referring to both Biden and Trump. I don’t need to claim MAGA on a hat just like I don’t need to claim a shirt that says BLM. Two old farts who need to give way to younger leaders who can actually operate a smart phone.
What you and the left fail to grasp is we do not worship Donald Trump. We worship what he stands for, what his policies are, and what his motives are.
Donald Trump could be anyone who want to Make America Great Again.
What does that mean? Many, many things.....here are a few:
* Ending the two-tier justice system
* Closing the border
* Returning to merit based hiring
* Equal opportunity / not equal outcome
* One person / One Vote....photo id required to vote
* Biological males never competing against biological females
* Freedom of speech everywhere, including college campuses
* Reducing the federal debt / responsible government spending
* Fair tax system.....everyone pays something
* Return to due process and law & order
Policies focused on your list certainly would help Make America Great.... Again. Again, meaning back to a time when patriotism was seen throughout the country, and there was much that united us.
I would also a strong military and defense
Interesting. Although I'm not a Trump voter/supporter, I support all of these policies. I would suggest that Trump has not been consistent on all these issues or strongly supported every one of these issues. For the most part, he just doesn't go along with the left wing extremism on all of these issues. He has opposed free speech at times and wasn't exactly fiscally conservative - on the other hand, he has been much better than the opposition. As an aside, he also has supported destructive tariffs - he's not exactly a free market guy. I would consider voting for Trump but his narcissistic personality disorder is a serious problem affecting his judgement and ability to work others. I'm still deciding.
Trump is notably in favor of paying his taxes. He VERY much believes in merit, not nepotism. And he loves the perks that certain highly adrenalized cad-males take when they see what they consider to be an "attractive, hot, etc." female in the vicinity. Grab 'em. I'm worried, though, by that word "worship." You worship Trump's motives? Lovely.
Great list
Very well said. Thank you.
See my comment, above.
I think what people are asking is: how do you define the MAGA ideology?
We all can define DEI as a political movement to provide reparations by another name by disregarding merit and accomplishment, and in so doing, providing spoils (financial and otherwise) to favored social demographic subgroups by discriminating against others, even though the disfavored may have better skills for the assigned task/role.
What is your definition of MAGA?
Thanks, Deb. I couldn't add much to 234's explanation about Trump and the terrific list of policies that makes any country GREAT.
Mark 3:35; and find new friends. ;-)
My 17 year old daughter and I were having a discussion, actually she was having a particularly bad day (OK, I have to do this every time: An Orthodox Christian priest can be married and have children if they are married before they enter the priesthood), and we were discussing the need for her to fulfill her academic obligations for an online class.
She was insistent that I was disregarding her "feelings" and I was equally insistent that her "feelings" while valid and important, did not affect the reality of the situation for her to actually meet the deadline for her project.
And then it hit me, my own daughter had succumbed to the "spirit of the age" by believing her feelings somehow create a reality. Amazing. To be sure, feelings are significant, but only in bringing the person information about what's going on inside them. They should never be allowed to "drive the car!"
The truth is our culture has accepted a mind virus that is debilitating whole generations IF we don't use the tools of wisdom to help our precious children overcome what will inevitably become a mental slavery for their future growth and maturity.
A very important observation, Father. A friend recently told me she thought empathy was the highest good. Empathy is about feelings. It has its place to be sure, but it’s no substitute for doing what’s truly best for someone, even if it makes them feel bad at the time. That’s what love looks like.
If I may, they or those youngsters today who promote the concept of empathy, generally mean "have empathy for me". they do not focus on empathy for others. the dad talking to his daughter is correct, reality and doing what is right, what you said you would do, is what counts at the end of the day. Safe spaces = weakness. Man up, show some sack and pull your heads out of your asses, I am fond of saying.
Re DEi and MAGA. I do not see the correlation, as others have said. DEI has been instituted into our culture and is poisoning our society and personal relationships. Jobs and careers of late are made or broken by DEI. MAGA is a broad philosophy, that has many components, but is not imbedded in our society and workplaces. MAGA is embraced by many folks who believe that America is a great country (still) and if we want to see that greatness in the future, we better speak up and do those many things that are required to make America Great again. People don't truly get fired from jobs if they support the concept of MAGA. What is true is that a supporter of America and its true (not rewritten) history and values, can be shouted down by DEI and ostracized and perhaps forced out of a position they hold, due to serious pressure from those who are offended. To me it is criminal or close to it, that this is occurring in America today.
Stand up for what you believe and know to be true. Don't let yourself be bullied by those who need to feel safe, or who feel marginalized, or god forbid, offended. I am not saying go out and pick a fight, but certainly don't turn your back on a fight if it comes your way.
I feel bad for the teacher at Harvard, but she will not be the last "victim".
rich
You NEED empathy as much as logic and critical thinking to work out what is truly best for someone. You need all the legs of the stool; or it falls over.
Empathy is a good thing. It's just not enough. As you say, it's just one leg of the stool, not the stool itself. When it's in the driver's seat, it can prevent you from doing what's truly best for someone.
I think you are confusing empathy with emotion. I think empathy stimulates mirror neurons and you think into the other persons shoes. I'm autstic; I have to know the difference to navigate the world. You might notice I go off on one occasionally; that is me getting a little confused on the two.
Many days I "feel" like a billionaire, but when I check my bank account sadly reality sets in.
Your daughter (like my kids) might benefit from Nick Saban's brief sermon on 'nothing.' We wake each day with... 'nothing.' No one owes us.... 'nothing.' Look it up.
When I go by the local high school, I cringe at their electronic sign that says "Always Be Kind". Ok, nice, however can we rotate that with some other motivational phrase, ie "Strive to Be the Best"
DEI was put on steroids by the death of George Floyd (he of the golden casket) when the entire country lost its collective mind in a paroxysm of race bullying and saccharine guilt and public self flagellation. And just as we suspected - and as the FP exposed yesterday - the entire Floyd charade was just a pack of lies by the hyenas who run our media. Time to roll back DEI. the trans garbage, the climate racket and all of the scams of the Left that are intended to weaken America and destroy our beloved nation.
In the comments of that article by Coleman Hughes, a commenter called him "St. Floyd of Fentanyl". I think this is hilarious!
It is. But what's not hilarious is that the leftist jackals were so willing to give up Chauvin to the howling mob to appease them. And still the savages burned and looted and murdered anyway.
It’s not about justice, it’s about control. Or in this case, the act of denying justice to Chauvin is a marked sign of weakness ready to be exploited.
A lot of the savages, maybe most, were upper crust white kids.
I think you’re implying something that wasn’t meant. Who cares what demographic the mob was? Surely we should all be able to agree that “mob actions” don’t bring actual justice.
DEI IS EVIL!
If you have not seen the excellent movie “The Fall of Minneapolis”, please do. It is very enlightening and well documented. It’s free on Rumble.
Well said. The false narrative around Floyd is insane. The incident was accidental, in large part or fully due to Floyd's own actions that day, and had nothing to do with race. Yet we had millions of people protesting in massive crowds (spreading deadly Covid during a pandemic, by the way) for "racial justice" due to the supposed "murder" of St. Floyd.
I am conservative but I was raised in a family of largely liberals. Free discussion was encouraged and expected. Your opinions on all things was subject to challenge. I became conservative over time because I believed in less government based on my life experience with the system. Having said that, I have never vilified, or wished to silence, any person who thought differently than I did. Good ideas and practices come from debate and the testing of ideas and concepts. We human beings are subject to our biases and our intellectual blind spots. Robust discussion is the only way to move society forward in a coherent fashion. But in our world of sounds bites and lazy brains it is so much easier to condemn with simplicity than to debate. Ms. Hoover's experience shows that the institutions of higher learning have fallen into the knee jerk trap of abandoning discourse to the narrow minded view of the few. Having an opinion, if it differs at all from those who believe they know better, is a cause of condemnation. If we don't change that paradigm soon, the strength of our pluralistic society will continue to fade away.
I am a retired university professor, a liberal (most of us are -- if liberal really means open to new views). Years ago I read Charles Murray's book, The Bell Curve. We were sponsoring his talk at Iowa State and he happens to be the brother of my friend. I found the book interesting, good for stimulating discussion. Basically Murray was explaining just what IQ is -- a measure of what testing revealed. The book was neither offensive or racist -- though it antagonized so many liberals. Scary what is happening at universities today.
If liberal means “open to new views”, I would posit that many of your liberal friends don’t meet your own definition, and you might be surprised at how many conservatives do in fact meet that definition.
I read The Bell Curve shortly after it was published and found it fascinating. I assume it is no longer widely read and discussed in academic circles given the devaluation of standardized testing.
Don, You are the kind of person I'd like to know better.
I am starting to seriously believe that the last sane generation was GenX.
And this story is PRECISELY why I discount degrees from the Ivy League when I interview candidates.
They do not get educations, they get indoctrination and that is not only not useful to me but it is actually a problem for me in my business.
I am a late Gen X closer to Millennial. One of the things I am grateful for every day (even more so in the last five years) has been the ability to have a childhood free of tech (in the fact that it was not a thing beyond our Commodore 64 and the various joysticks my brother and I broke from our enthusiasm!!) in a family that fostered discussion and global awareness. I really believe that Gen X is the group that had the most balanced experiences with regard to tech/social development and the benefits of that might play into the leadership roles or day to day choices that we make as we head into our second act. We're the kid out there that is usually ignored and just doing our own thing.
Of course Gen X is the most sane. We were left to our own devices and told to figure it out. And we did! Therefore we don't tolerate idiocy and we don't tolerate word bullies and those who need constant coddling. We also have an insane sense of humor which makes us even more cool!!
As a GenXer with no kids, I would point out that regardless of our sane status, it does not appear that we, as a whole, did a great jobs of raising the latter gens.
We should have been more hard ass and we should have tossed the kids outside instead of having play dates.
Yeah, we would have lost a few to stupid kid tricks and the occasional kidnapping, but they would have been better off as a generation.
The next adult that hands out participation trophies should get an ass kicking.
Basically we wanted our kids to be happy. But a Parents real jobs is to give a kid the tools so they can make themselves happy. Instead we gave them almost no life skills aside from asking someone in authority to make things right. So that is what they are doing.
I had kids late and made sure to raise my kids just like my parents did. They are not coddled and they can make fun of themselves and are quick-witted. They aren't snowflakes. It's not allowed.
I am an X-er, my hubby on the cusp of Boomer. Our family motto (for years) has been: "we don't listen to whingers".
And anyone who complained that they were bored was given a job, usually yard work.
Maybe GenXers were reacting against the negative parts of how they were raised. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I have seen what my childhood was like reflected and caricatured in popular culture, and mixed in with the freedom was a lot of boredom, cruelty, and outright terror as bullies reined and parents casually employed corporal punishment. I don’t blame GenX parents for reacting against that, and trying to bring their children up in a kinder, gentler, and more respectful way. The sad truth, though, is that it turned out not to be objectively better, but just different.
Maybe I had a much better childhood than most. But the small town I was in did not have bullies reigning supreme or parents beating the crap out of their kids. Did some kids get spanked? Yup...like humans through most of history and still in many parts of the world. Were their bullies? Of course...again, just like through all of history and still today.
Avoiding difficult things is the issue. Difficulty is built into life. Everything struggles, because the universe doesn't cater to life. Life has to overcome or it dies. By removing the rough edges we didn't make kids stronger, we made them weaker. Just like how an organism that isn't subjected to germs and viruses ends up with a weak immune system that crumbles the first time it actually has to work.
Bullies and beatings suck. But they are also opportunities to learn and get better. Learn how to avoid or placate or stand against. Instead we taught kids nothing, so they don't know how to deal with difficulty. Instead they turn to authority (as adults, the Government) to solve everything.
I understand the impulse. But I also think that we have decided as a culture than any negative thing must be done away with. Which is impossible. We looks at our childhoods and decided that despite the fact we had some of the easiest lives in all of human history we had it too hard and had to make things 'better'. And that was my point. We didn't ask what would happen to our kids as adults if they got bullied and we gave them no life skills to deal with it. We only ask "How can we make our kids happy NOW" at the time in their lives when things are easiest already. We, like so many before us, were shortsighted.
That is exactly my point. No one asked the question about what happens to kids when they are raised without—I was going to say adversity, but that’s not right because kids still struggle—when they are raised without unfairness. Life isn’t fair, and at least some people of my generation understand that in their bones. People of my son’s generation think that if something isn’t fair, it’s a defect that can be fixed, possibly through compassion, often through layers of authority and regulation. From talking to my own son, he doesn’t understand this, and he doesn’t believe me. Unfairness in the world is not a bug. It’s a feature.
I agree WOL. I worked with 2 Harvard grads, admittedly a small sample size. But they were lazy, unproductive and had an air of entitlement about them. No wonder so many Harvard grads migrate to politics.
It’s amazing to me that older, wiser, more mature adults have put aside those important attributes to allow younger, naive, immature, and often mentally unstable young people to lead. We are seeing the destructive results of that insanity everywhere.
Thanks for saying this. It's a half-step above Lord of the Flies, and makes no sense whatsoever.
In Canada, we have a young leader and he is a dolt. In the USA, you have geezers, but wiser and more mature doesn’t seem quite accurate.
Thank you. Another of the few remaining sane professors resigns. Looks like Steven Pinker may be the last standing there at harvard. You are preaching to the choir here. I hope your article gets out to the MSM. You might not be able to change the minds of the indoctrinated woke prog cult but some mainstream liberals can be convinced your position was the correct one.
Pinker is someone who needs to be known by all. Bari, how about an interview?
"As a sign of the political polarization that characterizes the U.S. today, my supporters have tended to come from the right—although I am a lifelong Democrat"
In a world where the definition of male and female is subject to debate, I'm loathe to assign labels, let alone subscribe to them. However, I have no problem assigning the label DEMOCRAT to those who've persecuted Ms. Hooven.
I do wonder how it is that a person as intelligent and fact based as Ms. Hooven, was, and presumably still is “a lifelong Democrat.” Democrats are the folks who created DEI and CRT in the first place. By 59 she should have figured that out.
Why? Abortion. Abortion. Abortion. Abortion and on and on and on.........................
As a 68-year-old lifelong Democrat (but one who now votes straight Republican because of DEI), I can tell you that it's much more than abortion. For example: https://www.theonion.com/no-way-to-prevent-this-says-only-nation-where-this-r-1819576527
You're right, Mark, there are many primary and secondary reasons why a person would be a lifelong Democrat. The abortion reference was my way of highlighting the ferocity with which many professional women defend "my right". Women in the prosperous suburbs like Dr. Hooven who are least likely to find themselves pregnant by accident seem the most strident, and tend to cite limits to abortion at any stage as a main driver of their votes. For the less affluent, it's simply after market birth control.
If you are implying that guns/mass shootings keep people voting Democrat, the worst mass shooting happened in Norway on July 22, 2011, in which 68 people were killed by a lone gunman. In the United States most firearm deaths are suicides. In 2021, 54% of firearm deaths in the US were suicides. If facts work for you, check out the following:
Countries with the Highest Rates of Violent Gun Death (Homicides) per 100k residents in 2019 (spoiler alert, the United States is not on this list)
COUNTRY FIREARM RELATED DEATH RATE
El Salvador 36.16
Venezuela 36.06
Guatemala 32.58
Colombia 25.16
US Virgin Islands 23.46
Brazil 22.72
Puerto Rico 20.89
Bahamas 19.75
Belize 19.68
Honduras 19.43
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/gun-deaths-by-country
Many things keep people voting Democrat, such as Republicans citing irrelevant statistics.
This is what would happen if the US was a democracy (which it most definitely is not):
>n 2015, large majorities of American adults, both Republicans (79%) and Democrats (88%), supported background checks for private sales and at gun shows, according to a Pew Research Center survey.[29] In 2017, strong majorities of American adults, both gun owners (77%) and non-gun owners (87%), supported background checks for private sales and at gun shows, according to a Pew Research Center survey with an error attributable to sampling of +/- 2.8% at the 95% level of confidence.[30] In 2018, after the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, nearly all Americans supported universal background checks.[31][32] 88% of registered voters supported universal background checks, according to a Politico/Morning Consult poll with a margin of error +/- 2%.[31] 94% of American voters supported universal background checks, according to a Quinnipiac University Polling Institute poll with a margin of error of +/- 3.4%.[32] A July 2019 poll by NPR found that 89% of respondents supported background checks for all gun purchases at gun shows or other private sales.[33] An overwhelming majority of Republicans (84%) and Democrats (96%) indicated their support, suggesting there is bipartisan popular consensus on the broad topic in the public.[34]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_background_check
Unfortunately, if you look at Wikipedia's parent you find it is a Communist org. Am I going to start believing Communists on a politically sensitive easily gameable topic? Fuck no.
Also extreme religiosity, to the point of opposing teaching evolution. Not a mainstream R view, but still prevalent.
You just can't tie anyone who Identifies as Democrat to every policy and train of thought that comes from such a disparate group. That's what this all about. Everyone generalizes and makes decisions on such a small sampling. I agree with Make America Great Again as a concept but disagree with most of the policies put forth. They ignore the reality that we have a global economy and benefit in many ways from it. Many countries have the weaponry to hurt us or allies. So to me this nationalism is the same thing as trying to make America a "safe place" where you don't have to deal with people who think differently
N.B. Claudine Gay remains a tenured faculty member at Harvard. This ain’t over yet.
One of the consistent criticisms of Ms. Gay is that she, although a tenured academic, had not produced a book. I'm betting that will change in the next year at most, and that it will be a NYT bestseller, on the shelves next to Mr. Kendi and Ms. DiAngelo.
Working title: 'My Struggle'
You are wicked. 🤣
In Boston (where all Hah-vahd people "go to school"), that's a good thing.
Has to be peer reviewed and not pop to count. However her peers in the monkey house are only likely to sling poop at her.
White Fragility = Fire starter
Be patient. They are financially squeezing her out with a $900,000 salary.
LOL
Dismantling the teachers union across the board including tenure for academic professors would be a good start. Don’t see that happening any time soon.
One the legislators in Nebraska introduced a bill ending tenure at state university. Of course it will go nowhere, but the head of the Democrat party (Jane Kleeb) tweeted that young people will leave the state if their professors don't have tenure. Sure, Jane.
' It ended with a notice that there would be a “brave space for discussion” after the talk. '
You can't make this stuff up.
a “brave space for discussion”??
Nothing brave about a Lynch mob. A crowd of cowards as individuals finds “bravery” in a group. At least our society has progressed to the point where we don’t burn people at the stake anymore. I hope Dr. Hooven can find a work environment where people appreciate her.
In the "brave space," students who are terrified and traumatized by the existence of people who disagree with them will bravely say some things they all agree on - mostly about how horrible people who disagree are - and affirm that they all agree. Anyone in the space with the slightest variance in belief will bravely keep silent lest his peers bravely scream at him in a hysterical frenzy.
Good Luck Dr. Hooven. This whole imbroglio is reminiscent of China's Red Guard era. The only thing lacking is putting a dunce cap on the "wrong thinker".
I am glad Ms. Hooven has found a measure of peace and a place to openingly debate. I work in the private sector, and the consequences of not self censoring among the professional class are profound. I have not encountered the scary levels of compelled speech that exist in other places, but the trend was headed there until just recently, and I work for heavy industry in a red state. I am praying all this has turned a corner.