Elsewhere (231)
Katherine Timpf on the latest cause of campus outrage:
According to an article in the University of California–Los Angeles publication The Rival, people who are kind of into activism but not totally into activism are guilty of “activist appropriation.”
Katie Clancy and Justin Haskins on fake education at Butler University:
In the course’s description, students are told they’ll be taught the real reason Trump won the 2016 election and they’ll be provided “strategies for resistance” to the Trump administration’s evil agenda. “Donald J. Trump won the U.S. Presidency despite perpetuating sexism, white supremacy, xenophobia, nationalism, nativism, and imperialism,” the course description reads. “This course explores why and how this happened, how Trump’s rhetoric is contrary to the foundation of the U.S. democracy, and what his win means for the future. The course will also discuss, and potentially engage in, strategies for resistance.”
Malhar Mali on the dogmatic rot of the humanities:
Activist professors incapable of surviving in the more arduous disciplines… are the most vociferous in limiting the academic freedom of others.
Related: The Heterodox Academy Guide to Colleges.
And Kevin Williamson on the psychology of the feckless and chronically disorganised:
The passivity and subjectlessness of these narratives is striking, and strikingly consistent. Domestic events happen. Cheques come or don’t come. (Mostly they don’t.) Husbands are sent to jail, children are taken away by the clipboard-toting minions of Authority, disease descends. The money isn’t there. And, in the end, they are evicted. Bad things just happen, and, today, I am the bad thing that is just happening to one of these luckless and unhappy children of God… They’d had years and years to prepare for this moment, and, of course, they hadn’t… They very much wanted to stay in the house, though not enough to offer to rent it or buy it. But certainly enough to sit tight and hope that the situation would somehow just resolve itself in their favour.
As usual, feel free to share your own links and snippets, on any subject, in the comments.
the psychology of the feckless and chronically disorganised
Some people act like they’re waiting for their lives to start (or end).
Some people act like they’re waiting for their lives to start (or end).
It’s a strange thing to watch. And potentially maddening if you get snarled up in the dramas of such people.
‘Headline of note’
https://twitter.com/TheSafestSpace/status/860343395251781632
“Some people act like they’re waiting for their lives to start (or end).”
We should all be waiting for our lives to end, because they will. But because they will, we should not be just waiting, we should be living well while we wait.
the psychology of the feckless and chronically disorganised
Over the years, I’ve represented a number of real estate people and have spent quite a few mornings at landlord/tenant court dockets. It’s a mistake to view these people as merely “feckless” or “disorganized.” Rather, they are actively malicious; they are adept at manipulating the system; they are quite comfortable using their children as “human shields” in perpetrating their petty larcenies; they have elevated perjury to an artform. In short, they are professional deadbeats. These are people for whom taking a $15.00 job constitutes a substantial pay-cut. I guarantee that most of those evicted during the day Williamson spent in court will proceed immediately to their next victim and continue their confidence games anew.
Williamson’s article was similar to a few by Theodore Dalrymple who described similar words from criminals in prison. The ones that most stuck me were descriptions of arguments leading to knives being brandished leading to “the knife, it went in”.
All by itself apparently.
It’s a mistake to view these people as merely “feckless” or “disorganized.” Rather, they are actively malicious;
There’s certainly a substantial overlap.
@R. Sherman: Very nice comment and very true.
I’m a landlord and usually represent myself in our local Landlord Tenant court, where fortunately most of the judges know what’s up. The most fun I ever had there was trying to evict a tenant who claimed my place was not only a dump, which it was, but unsafe, so he was justified in refusing to pay rent. He proudly told the judge he had reported the place to the local Board of Health.
I told the judge I had told the Board of Health that I was not prepared to contest the allegations and as a result had just been served with their order.
The judge laughed out loud as he told the tenant he might have made a mistake and evicted him effective immediately, that day, for his own safety. Normally the rat-bastard tenant gets a month.
a tenant who claimed my place was not only a dump, which it was, but unsafe
In nine cases out of ten, the tenant made it that way, especially if they have subsidized rent (Section 8 in the US). Their attitude seems to be, “we don’t own it, we don’t pay for the maintenance, so we don’t give a fuck.”
” … we don’t own it, we don’t pay for the maintenance, so we don’t give a fuck.”
Or, we DO pay for the maintenance (of someone else’s home) so we don’t maintain it.
I have to ask, David, why did you change the spelling of “check” in a cut and paste of Williamson’s article?
David, why did you change the spelling of “check” in a cut and paste of Williamson’s article?
As a Brit, I generally opt for the British spelling to keep things tidy. Or fairly tidy, anyway. Except when I forget.
Normally the rat-bastard tenant gets a month.
Yeah. In my jurisdiction, from the absolute quickest I can get someone out–using the Sheriff’s office to execute a writ of possession–is about six weeks. The savvy tenant can extend that for another two to three weeks by requesting a trial de novo to which they are entitled. A substantial number of the “professional” deadbeats can avoid eviction for multiple months.
Over the years, I’ve counseled a number of well-meaning people to wish to acquire rental real estate for investment purposes. I have a standard two hour lecture about how not to lose one’s shirt as a landlord, the first sentence of which is, “Assume every tenant is trying to screw you and quench any feelings of mercy or compassion which may infect your soul.”
The sad thing is, there are those (rare) occurrences where a tenant suffers a true, unforeseen, misfortune and deserves a break. Alas, the “professional” deadbeats make it virtually impossible to discern which story is truthful and deserving, as opposed to the majority which are simply fabrications in aid of theft.
The article by Williamson was generally good, but I take exception to the rah-rah immigrants work so hard and don’t get financing bit. In my city, currently, there are certain companies running dump-trucks at or near cost, and have been for more than 8 months. That’s an impossibly long time for shoestring operations to run at a loss. There are a number of fairly fixed expenses for trucks: fuel, tires, rego, insurance and truck financing. Labour costs are a little more flexible, but not by much. It generally costs $65 to $85 an hour to run a truck and trailer. Specific companies are billing $70-$75 an hour, vice the $95-$115 a normal company would bill. I find it unlikely their drivers are working for a third of minimum wage and a fifth of a normal drivers wage. How are they making up the difference? Anecdotally, I’ve heard that they’re borrowing from their temples and mosques to finance their vehicles. It improves the bottom line a lot when your bank is a tax-free institution. So, hurray for unrestricted immigration, allowing both cheap labor and voting blocs, satisfying both sides of our political spectrum.
As a Brit, I generally opt for the British spelling to keep things tidy.
This is David’s joint, so he gets to do things however he wants. That said, when I “quote” others, I “quote” them verbatim: If I quote a Brit, the British spelling remains. If I quote an American, the American spelling remains. No tidying. (And nothing to remember.)
“activist appropriation”
“How far can I push this before someone punches me in the mouth so I can claim I’m a victim and my opponents are violent?”
That’s it, far left. Feed on your own. Chow down on those allies and sympathizers who are not as authentic and morally pure as yourself.
Heather Mac Donald on academic and media whitewashing of the 1992 LA riots:
Even if there were some legitimate “you” that is responsible for the social chaos of the ghetto, it is certainly not a Korean convenience store owner…
Oh, Korean convenience store owners were singled out for extra-special “justice”, because they wouldn’t let petty thieves, vandals and trouble-makers get away with it – and also, a Korean woman store owner had recently shot a repeat shoplifter who she believed was physically threatening her.
Oh, fooey. Comment-editing fail:
“… recently shot a repeat shoplifter who was physically threatening her, and made her believe her life was in danger”.
There was (blurry) security camera video that was “inconclusive” on that point, but certainly inflamed the shoplifting-vandalizing-troublemaking demographic.
Oh, fooey.
Steady on. Think of the ladies.
In reading Heather McDonald’s piece, I’m struck that the perpetrators of the mayhem and violence adopt the affect of petty demigods who require the occasional sacrifice of innocents in order to refrain from random acts of murder, rapine and pillage. And the media and academics who contort themselves to find justification for it believe that by acting as a priest-class for said demigods, they will somehow avoid the fate of being dragged from their cars and beaten themselves.
Good luck with that. See, e.g. Roof Koreans.
activist appropriation
This exemplifies that fact that the “progressives” will pick a fight with anyone and everyone, including among their own number, over the most trivial thing imaginable. They’ve been doing it for years.
Nathan Smith, who was on parole in 1992, predicts that another riot is likely.
I won’t state a definitive zero chance of that, but I do note one immense difference comparing then and now: now requires a willingness to first put down the cell phone.
the perpetrators of the mayhem and violence adopt the affect of petty demigods who require the occasional sacrifice of innocents in order to refrain from random acts of murder, rapine and pillage.
Quite.
One of the more depraved tendencies of the left is the excusing of mob thuggery and the indulgence and credulity extended to its perpetrators, up to and including flattery, as if such fits of ego, predation, nihilism and spite were both righteous and titillating, and as if the rioters were synonymous with the broader “community,” rather than a parasitic infestation of it.
And speaking of parasitic infestations, I think I’ll be giving Alien: Covenant a miss.
Is it the end of Everyday Feminism?
https://everydayfeminism.com/donate-to-ef/
Is it the end of Everyday Feminism?
Oh my. I feel so terribly conflicted. On the one hand, its influence is obnoxious and stupefying; but on the other, it brings so much laughter to our lives. Albeit inadvertently.
Is it the end of Everyday Feminism?
Under the “Good News” rubric, we see, ” In 2016 alone, we had more than 40 million viewers…” Left unsaid is the percentage of that 40 million which were mockery and derision. Hell, David has accounted for at least 15-20% of that. Perhaps we should all contribute something just to have something to entertain us occasionally.
Oh, and look:
Want to help, but can’t donate?
Help us with our #SaveEF campaign:
Tell us on social media why our work matters to you with a “#SaveEF because…” tweet, picture, or video…
Something tells me, that solicitation may not work out the way they intended.
David, fair play for having your fundraiser last week and depriving EF of funds, we might otherwise have contributed to their efforts. Another win for the White, Male Supremacist Patriarchy.
“40 million viewers”
I have to wonder if that’s actually ‘hits’ and not ‘viewers’. And does it include bots crawling?
Something tells me, that solicitation may not work out the way they intended.
Perhaps I should post that at /pol/ and see if it, ah… speeds up the process.
Tweet of the day?
https://twitter.com/mchastain81/status/861597044758245376
Is it the end of Everyday Feminism?
“you’ll also be buying us time to re-envision how Everyday Feminism can support social justice work in our current political climate in financially sustainable ways.” Why not put EF behind a paywall? (Hmmm. That’d kill it stone dead rather than make it financially sustainable.) Not to worry. In the absence of EF, there’s always @RealPeerReview.
Is it the end of Everyday Feminism?
I suppose there’d be a certain irony in a publication repeatedly telling its readers how entitled they are to stuff, and to deference in general, and that not getting things for free is oppressive – and then going under because its readers don’t care to pay for the publication that tells them this.
And in other not-at-all-unhinged feminist news…
Activist professors incapable of surviving in the more arduous disciplines . . .
Consider biomedical engineering, and particular tested research, with more testing in progress.
—One could suggest that perhaps EF should demand that more support be given to such research, but then doing that could lead to decreased narcissism . . .
@Hal
Regarding your third link, I should think the marketing advice might include, “Let’s try a smaller needle.” Otherwise, carry on.
According to an article in the University of California–Los Angeles publication The Rival, people who are kind of into activism but not totally into activism are guilty of “activist appropriation.”
Prime example of gatekeeping. It’s a great tell for whether someone is part of a movement that is actually intended to result in positive change, or if their involvement is merely intended to confer some type of moral or virtue superiority. Activists like the ones quoted in the article are tossing fits because, like nerdy fans of obscure bands, they don’t want everyone jumping on their bandwagon, because then they don’t get to feel superior or special for being on it.
Meanwhile, mature and non-mental supporters of real causes would be thrilled if UO started selling t-shirts with the slogans for their causes, because they actually want everyone to do something (even if it’s a little bit) to support them.
My thought whenever I read about the “male pill” or similar contraceptive methods for men (ala Hal’s third link), is that it will be an interesting day when women can no longer get pregnant without a man’s permission.
it will be an interesting day when women can no longer get pregnant without a man’s permission.
At which point The Patriarchy will, again, be denounced.
That said, when I “quote” others, I “quote” them verbatim
You would quote Le Pen, say, in her original French? That’s a rare trait these days, and quite awkward when the original is in русский or ภาษาไทย.
Translating from American to English is only a difference of scale.
I know this site’s pretty proRozzer, but (particularly US) police reports often use the passive voice as well when describing rather murky incidents. You know, the sort of “shots were fired” type of thing.
As usual, feel free to share your own links and snippets, on any subject, in the comments.
I think this falls under the topic of unintentionally amusing feminism. But then again, maybe not. Either way some may find this exchange at least in the context of being amusing.
https://aphilosopher.wordpress.com/2008/05/13/the-ethics-of-prostitution/#comment-235036
Translating from American to English is only a difference of scale.
David and I spoke of British, not English. We Americans speak (and write) the American version of English. The Brits speak and write the British version. No translation needed; it’s a spelling variance. American and British share a mother tongue that French (and other languages) don’t.
Dust-up at Duke Divinity.
A pair of sequential articles on /. posted by the same person . . .
Artificial Intelligence Closes In On the Work of Junior Lawyers (ft.com)
Posted by msmash on Monday May 08, 2017 @10:40AM from the changing-lives dept.
Support For a Universal Basic Income Is Inching Up In Europe (qz.com)
Posted by msmash on Monday May 08, 2017 @10:00AM from the buy-in dept.
and
Oh, and a bit earlier:
VC Founder Predicts AI Will Take 50% Of All Human Jobs Within 10 Years
Posted by EditorDavid on Sunday April 30, 2017 @09:34PM from the countdown-to-unemployment dept
Yes, I’m doing a bit of catchup reading . . .
No translation needed; it’s a spelling variance. American and British share a mother tongue that French (and other languages) don’t.
German and Dutch “share a mother tongue” too, but they need translating from one to the other.
My spoken variant of “English” is so confusing to Americans that I am often basically incomprehensible to them — I would need to be subtitled for US telly, just as Glaswegians are. Brits follow me OK if I slow down, adjust my vocabulary to the British variant and enunciate closer to the way they speak. I’m not entirely sure why they can’t speed up, use NuZild words and flatten their vowels to the right level — apparently to ask them to change to my way is insulting.
I am often basically incomprehensible to them . . .
There is Spanish, and then apparently there is Cubano. A description I’ve heard is that one takes a sentence in Spanish, then takes every individual syllable and clips out about a third of it, and then the resulting output is Cubano and gives Spanish speakers a headache.
R.Sherman
Dust-up at Duke Divinity.
From the email that got the heretic Paul Griffiths “burnt at the stake”:
As we have all seen, and especially those of us you’ve had to attend “voluntary” Diversity (Re)Training, everything he wrote is the honest truth. Power-mad bureaucrats cannot tolerate such cheek.
There is Spanish, and then apparently there is Cubano.
To a Spaniard, and especially to an Argentine, Mexican Spanish is something akin to Ebonics.
(So I was told by a lovely young lady from Argentina.)
The Journal of Feminist Geography turns its attention to a matter of pressing importance:
Fake hate, fake news.
The ZMan has posted a rather different take on Williamson’s piece, which may be of interest.
The ZMan has posted a rather different take on Williamson’s piece, which may be of interest.
I can’t speak to the particulars of Williamson’s background, or Z-Man’s broader speculations. I don’t follow Williamson’s output closely enough to judge. But to say that he “put a lot of effort into letting the reader know he took pleasure in… evicting his wayward tenants” is a bit of a stretch. I think Williamson’s piece is interesting in that it can be a revelation to find oneself the notional bad guy in the reckoning of such people, and one’s view of the feckless and chronically disorganised, who are often excused as oppressed or vulnerable, may change, perhaps dramatically, when faced with them first-hand and entangled in their dramas.
What comes to mind is the Guardian’s Zoe Williams pretending to feel sorry for “problem families” who blast out loud music at 3am and throw pets from tower block windows, and whom she claims are more deserving of our sympathy than their non-dysfunctional (and equally poor) neighbours. The kind of nightmare households that Zoe would very much not like to see moving in next door.
one’s view of the feckless and chronically disorganised, who are often excused as oppressed or vulnerable, may change, perhaps dramatically, when faced with them first-hand and entangled in their dramas.
If Williamson did take pleasure in the proceedings, so what? As I mentioned above, when you spend a lot of time among these people, you very quickly learn that their “vulnerability” is an act. It is a weapon deployed against good-hearted people in order to fleece them of as much as possible before moving on to the next sucker. The attitude is this: “You, Landlord, are privileged to own something I do not. You should feel guilty about it and therefore support me, while I spend my own resources on beer and cigarettes.”
@Spiny
Power-mad bureaucrats cannot tolerate such cheek.
Griffiths was essentially arguing that the faculty at Duke Divinity School did not need diversity/inclusion training given that its brief was to ponder and teach Christianity, a faith which postulates radical human equality. (“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”–Romans 3:23) Denying the necessity of the training and refusing to admit complicity in the various sins to be discussed, in finest Kafkatrap tradition, becomes evidence of Griffiths’s guilt.
The amusing thing is it is now easier to dissent from two millenia of established Christian doctrine than it is to contest the modern social justice agenda.
Today’s Language Discussion began when Dom asked: “David, why did you change the spelling of ‘check’ in a cut and paste of Williamson’s article?”
David replied: “As a Brit, I generally opt for the British spelling to keep things tidy.”
I said: “If I quote a Brit, the British spelling remains. If I quote an American, the American spelling remains.”
Chester characterized it as “Translating from American to English.”
To which I replied: “No translation needed; it’s a spelling variance.”
What began as a question about spelling then veered off into a broad-ranging discussion about differences of pronunciation, vocabulary, and other things within and between English and other languages.
What began as a question about spelling then veered off into a broad-ranging discussion about differences of pronunciation, vocabulary, and other things within and between English and other languages.
Yes, but let us endeavoure to remember our common enemy. The French.
Yes, but let us endeavour to remember our common enemy. The French.
[ Glares across Channel. Shakes fist. ]
Yes, but let us endeavoure to remember our common enemy. The French.
Related slide show because I’m all about bringing people together.
As an aside, English is my wife’s third (of six) language. She learned (learnt) the British variant and still veers in that direction after 30+ years in the U.S. Part of the editing process for her Ph.D. dissertation was eliminating British spelling conventions in favor (favour) of American ones.
Tweet of the day #2
https://twitter.com/peterjhasson/status/861807044118097924
The original Mr. X
From your quote:
Feminist academics are nuttier than squirrel shit. No surprise there.
And in other not-at-all-unhinged feminist news…
Six tranquilliser darts should do it.
David,
I can’t speak to the particulars of Williamson’s background, or Z-Man’s broader speculations. I don’t follow Williamson’s output closely enough to judge. But to say that he “put a lot of effort into letting the reader know he took pleasure in… evicting his wayward tenants” is a bit of a stretch.
As a “#NeverTrump” conservative, Kevin Williamson has been declared a heretic and blasphemer, and everything he writes must be vigorously denounced, no matter how much of a “stretch” is required.
R. Sherman, enjoyed the link. A couple items seemed to be reversed, but wth. Also was reminded of the phrase, “Must be jelly, ’cause jam don’t shake like that”.
Meanwhile in the Arts…
Also was reminded of the phrase, “Must be jelly, ’cause jam don’t shake like that”.
An actual conversation in Chez Sherman some decades ago:
Spouse: I like that jumper.
Me, attempting to enjoy a post prandial whiskey while perusing a selection of Montaigne’s essays: I’m not jumping. It’s called a “sweater,” thank you.
As a “#NeverTrump” conservative, Kevin Williamson has been declared a heretic and blasphemer,
Again, I haven’t followed that particular drama so I can’t speak to that point. But on Twitter and in the comments at NR, he seems to be copping it from all sides. From readers who assume that he’s sneering at poor white people (though so far as I can see, he doesn’t mention the race of the people in question). And from ‘progressives’ for daring to note the lack of personal agency and that the subsequent pile of misfortune is to a significant extent self-inflicted.
As Fred Z mentioned upthread, Theodore Dalrymple has noted the same cultivated passivity, whereby things just happen and nothing is ever to be learned from this supposedly inexplicable happening. No behaviour ever need change. And as Dalrymple and others have pointed out, this lack of responsibility, of self-possession, is often encouraged by those whose job is, ostensibly, to help such people.
Which in turn reminded me of this farcical research into “inequalities” in littering, which studiously avoids any mention at all of how litter gets there in the first place, for fear of saying the unsayable and assigning agency to certain types of people in certain neighbourhoods. Thereby leaving the reader to guess, coyly, why it is that some estates are much more trash-strewn than others, despite local councils spending up to five times more cleaning rough neighbourhoods than on more respectable parts of town.
Also was reminded of the phrase, “Must be jelly, ’cause jam don’t shake like that”.
Me too.
this farcical research into “inequalities” in littering,
Admitting some people are just scumbags saves a lot of time. 🙂
Admitting some people are just scumbags saves a lot of time. 🙂
Heh. Well, yes – that was basically the unmentionable detail around which the report was dancing. And which enabled a fatuous Guardian columnist to give the impression that this supposedly grievous inequality in litter distribution was the fault of ‘society’ or capitalism or something, and nothing whatsoever to do with the kind of people who drop their food-smeared detritus in the street with no thought for anyone else, even their immediate neighbours. And so the reader was encouraged to fret about how to “narrow the gap” in litter and how to “achieve fairer outcomes in street cleanliness,” while paying no attention – none at all – to who was creating the mess in the first place. As if behaviour were irrelevant.
As excuses go, it was quite remarkable.
Is it the end of Everyday Feminism?
Incidentally, in return for a 2000-word article, the assorted ladies and ungendered beings at Everyday Feminism pay the whopping sum of $25.
In addition, as a bonus, they also offer critiques and feedback on whether or not your article is racist, ableist and patriarchally oppressive.
Is it the end of Everyday Feminism?
Isn’t most of their traffic from people laughing at how bad their articles are (e.g. our host)?