Elsewhere (236)
Anthony Gockowski glimpses the unhappy mind of a professional educator:
A professor at Connecticut’s Trinity College seemingly endorsed the idea that first responders to last week’s congressional shooting should have let the victims “fucking die” because they are white. “It is past time for the racially oppressed to do what people who believe themselves to be ‘white’ will not do, put [an] end to the vectors of their destructive mythology of whiteness and their white supremacy system. #LetThemFuckingDie,” Trinity College Professor Johnny Eric Williams wrote in a June 18 Facebook post.
Pretentious victimhood is quite a drug.
Noah Rothman on the late Otto Warmbier and the unsavoury pieties of “social justice”:
“Privilege” is how social-justice advocates describe those who they think should be found guilty under a Rawlsian ideal of distributive justice. So what made Warmbier so deserving of his captivity and mistreatment at the hands of a famously brutal Stalinist regime? Huffington Post blogger La Sha was direct… his heritage. Specifically, his “white male privilege.” “That kind of reckless gall is an unfortunate side effect of being socialised first as a white boy, and then as a white man in this country,” she wrote. In fact, it’s not rare for North Korea to take American citizens hostage, but they are often of Korean heritage. There are three Americans of Korean origin in Pyongyang’s clutches right now, in fact. The author of this deluded, bigoted rant makes no effort to understand the conditions in North Korea. Why should she? Her appeals to identity politics are enough for her baseless opinion to be taken seriously and published in a national political blog.
According to Ms Sha, being imprisoned in North Korea and sentenced to 15 years in a hard labour camp, for stealing a poster, then suffering extensive and mysterious brain injuries and being left in a persistent vegetative state, is not unlike being a middle-class black journalist who writes for the Huffington Post. Mr Warmbier, she wrote, was merely experiencing her own “daily reality.”
Tim Blair recounts a youthful parting of the ways with his leftist peer group:
Little moments like that kept adding up, incrementally nudging me away from leftism but not yet to full conversion. In 1988, watching a John Pilger documentary with lefty friends, another such moment occurred. Pilger, as usual, was complaining about colonialism and racism and Aboriginal injustice, so naturally we — uniformly white, urban and privileged — were lapping it up. The documentary then shifted to the former nuclear testing site at Maralinga in South Australia, where seven British bombs were detonated in the 1950s and 1960s. Pointing to a sign warning of radiation danger, Pilger observed mournfully that it was written in several languages — “but not in the Aboriginal language.”
Startled by this claim, I looked around the room. Everyone was silent, including a few who had studied Aboriginal history in considerable depth, and so must have known that Pilger’s line was completely wrong. So I just said it: “There is no single Aboriginal language. And no Aboriginal language has a written form.” I didn’t last long with that bunch of friends, either. Small note to self: my comrades will deny even their own knowledge if it runs counter to a preferred leftist version of events.
And at the University of Strathclyde, it’s apparently become necessary to ask students not to shit in the shower:
All bodily fluids, solids and toilet paper must be disposed of down the toilet. While I appreciate that the [student] population is multi-cultural and different countries have different practices, here in the UK the accepted practice is to use only the WC.
As usual, feel free to share your own links and snippets, on any subject, in the comments.
Kids are being taught sociology by someone who thinks white people are “inhuman assholes”.
#Progress
There are three Americans of Korean origin in Pyongyang’s clutches right now, in fact.
So Korean-Americans have “white privilege” now?
OMG, the Uni apologised for asking students to only pooh in the toilets! Apparently multiculturalism and an increased risk of contracting dysentery go hand in hand.
So Korean-Americans have “white privilege” now?
East Asian minorities tend to rather scupper the “privilege” narrative. But the author, Ms Sha, is someone who wants us to believe that being imprisoned in North Korea and sentenced to 15 years in a hard labour camp, for stealing a poster, then suffering extensive and mysterious brain injuries and being left in a persistent vegetative state… is not unlike being a middle-class black journalist who writes for the Huffington Post.
As noted earlier, Ms Sha denounces the nefarious, all-explaining “privilege” of people paler than herself, and does so in terms that suggest a deeply obnoxious personality. The irony being that unpleasant racial attitudes are more likely to be excused and actively indulged – say, with articles in fashionable publications – if the person airing them is, for instance, a black woman with leftist views.
I think a factor in things like this is that it’s difficult to look distinctive and contrarian, and therefore “woke,” if you react as many others will. This matters, quite a lot, if you’re a status-seeking ‘progressive’. And so you have to perform some quite involved contortions and arrive at unconvincing conclusions, regardless of evidence or common decency. (What comes to mind, oddly enough, is a scene from Downton Abbey, in which Violet reminds Mary that contrived callousness can be just as vulgar and unbecoming as theatrical sentiment.)
“So Korean-Americans have “white privilege” now?”
I wouldn’t be surprised if their average salaries are at the level of the white oppressors, so they must do. Only explanation, innit?
“mythology of whiteness” – well that’s a horrible idea. Loosely translating to “I hate you because of what I think your race thinks, on average, and because my race’s mythology isn’t competitive”
What comes to mind, oddly enough, is a scene from Downton Abbey,
You’re full of surprises, David. 🙂
You’re full of surprises, David. 🙂
Hey, I’m complicated, okay?
As I’m sure I’ve said before, one of the pleasures of Downton Abbey is its emphasis on stoicism and emotional self-possession, which now seems so unfashionable. That, and its ability to wring high drama from smudges, missing buttons and Mrs Patmore’s kitchen crises. The downstairs micro-dramas are often much more interesting than the deaths, wars and bankruptcies happening upstairs.
[ Added: ]
It’s also the only mainstream TV series I can recall that depicts a recurring socialist character, the schoolteacher, Miss Bunting, as both selfish and bigoted. Which is to say, with some psychological realism.
All bodily fluids, solids and toilet paper must be disposed of down the toilet. While I appreciate that the [student] population is multi-cultural and different countries have different practices, here in the UK the accepted practice is to use only the WC.
I’ve seen what the indigenous folk get up to in the shower and lavatory blocks in one of the infield campsites at the Le Mans 24 Hours and would suggest to the Strathclyde University caretaking staff that they have that notice translated into French.
Kids are being taught sociology by someone who thinks white people are “inhuman assholes”.
Also someone who thinks that drawing $130K/year plus benefits for sitting in a sinecure in the Angry Studies Department is being oppressed.
“So Korean-Americans have “white privilege” now?”
Anyone not explicitly a leftist is automatically a white male which explains why no feminists are celebrating the defeat of Osshoff, (whose only accomplishment seems to be apparently being the model for the new Ken dolls), by a woman in the Georgia District 6 special election.
So Korean-Americans have “white privilege” now?”
The Rodney King riots, and numerous smaller incidents, have shown that many black Americans hate Koreans, especially hard-working immigrants who are working long hours in tiny stores.
#LetThemFuckingDie
Well, he does have to play the part to keep his Angry Studies gravy train rolling. I’m sure this will boost his standing in his branch of academia.
Nonetheless, it’s quite a glimpse into his mindset. It’s downright Hutu-esque, if I’m allowed to draw a race-appropriate analogy.
And people wonder why so many Americans are so passionate about gun ownership rights.
It’s also the only mainstream TV series I can recall that depicts a recurring socialist character, the schoolteacher, Miss Bunting, as both selfish and bigoted. Which is to say, with some psychological realism.
That.
That.
She’s churlish, arrogant and dismissive – and much more prejudiced than the people she rails against and whose hospitality she abuses. It was refreshing to see socialism associated with unpleasant characteristics.
I dunno, I recall Meathead from All in the Family oftentimes being portrayed as just as much of an asshole as Archie was. In fact, I actually liked Archie more, since I recall him supporting a few things that weren’t good for him because of some sense of ethics, whereas Meathead was never really willing to make his own sacrifices, to the point of being a freeloader on Archies good will.
It has been a while since I’ve watched it though, so perhaps my memories are tainted by how I think things would have gone between a mild bigot and a socialist hippy.
Mr Warmbier, she wrote, was merely experiencing her own “daily reality.”
These people are insane.
These people are insane.
Well, it’s interesting just how often ‘progressive’ posturing can be difficult to distinguish from a mental health issue.
Most people did, which came as quite a shock to Norman Lear as Archie was to be the obvious object of derision as opposed to the guiding lights of his daughter and son-in-law. It turns out that most working and middle class people of the 1970s looked more favorably on a man who worked two jobs to support his family, even if he was rough around the edges, than on two freeloaders who didn’t know how good they had it.
Who’da thunk it.
It seems that everyone accepts that Otto Warmbier, in fact, stole the poster. I find the acceptance of this, without reservation, quite astonishing. Personally, I have always doubted that the theft, or attempted theft ever took place, for some reason I just don’t trust any information provided by the Norks. But, I’m White, so that’s probably just a product of my privilege.
Evabody queue up to buy Godfrey Elfwick’s album.
Tom,
middle class people of the 1970s looked more favorably on a man who worked two jobs to support his family, even if he was rough around the edges…
That was Carroll O’Connor’s influence. Even though O’Connor was a committed Leftist, he correctly surmised that a grouchy curmudgeon Archie would be much more realistic than the cartoonish bigot Lear imagined, and make for a much more successful show.
Deborah,
It seems that everyone accepts that Otto Warmbier, in fact, stole the poster. I find the acceptance of this, without reservation, quite astonishing.
The young Englishman Warmbier was with nearly every hour of the tour claims the “theft” never happened.
Evabody queue up to buy Godfrey Elfwick’s album.
“By gently slapping his penis against his thigh, he creates a delicate rhythm…”
I really love that guy, or gal, or intersex… whatever.
I believe you’re right Spiny, another actor might not have been nearly so likeably human in the role. It’s funny that the same thing happened with the Ron Swanson character in Parks and Recreation; created to be a libertarian clown, he became loved by the shows fans. They eventually turned him more squishy though, at least from what I understand as I’ve not watched the whole series.
From the Tim Blair story:
“If you’re a leftist, however, you always have to find a way around the facts, which is why combative lefties always sound like lawyers knowingly representing a guilty client.”
How very true.
And let’s face it, Archie had the best laugh lines.
Gloria: Do you know that 60 percent of all deaths in America are caused by guns? (Ed. note: an obvious untruth)
Archie Bunker: Would it make you feel any better if dey was pushed outta windows?
What’s not to love?
…I actually liked Archie more…
I may have mentioned this here before but a couple years back I ran across an episode of OITF where Mike and Gloria have decided not to have children because all the bad things that were inevitable. Mike goes on a rant about how by 1980 everything will be polluted, in x years this awful thing will happen, yadda-yadda-yadda. Archie then makes a few statements the have proven to be almost prescient. IIRC. As a result of watching this episode I had a bumper sticker made for my pickup truck with Archie’s picture and the phrase, “Deep down, you know he’s right”. To better explain said bumper sticker to a friend, I tried to look up this episode again on YouTube where I had then seen it, and couldn’t find it.
Or AITF. Was using the Edith pronunciation (still can’t spell that word) of “All”
Someone on Godfrey’s very amusing Twitter page mentioned this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbs7q5E5mHE
I can’t believe David hasn’t critiqued it, but in case he hasn’t, there it is.
I can’t believe David hasn’t critiqued it, but in case he hasn’t, there it is.
Egad! That’s “Yoko Ono” level of awfulness.
(It looks – sounds – familiar. I’m pretty sure it’s been linked here before.)
The Scots take showers? You learn something new every day.
The Feminist screech-fest reminds me of a passage of Schopenhauer’s of which I’ve just become aware:
I somehow doubt that the women on the stage represent “the most distinguished intellects among the whole sex”, but they certainly don’t undermine his case.
Fear not! Just in that the Evergreen College nutbars will be given a stern warning.
jabrwok
I have been re-reading Jane Austen, and he is wrong. Female writers lack what I would crudely term as ‘cock’: the ability to create compelling forward movement in a work of fiction, but what they lack there they can make up for in subtlety, and I can think of no novelist more subtle than Miss A. Defining ‘greatness’ in a writer is difficult, but I’m pretty sure she qualifies. She is at least as good as many male novelists about whom there is no disagreement.
Some of the best male writers have in fact been homosexual, like Mishima or Forster, who seem to have an insight that is absent in say, Hemingway (to take an extreme example) or even Greene.
… Evergreen College nutbars will be given a stern warning.
That’ll learn ’em.
given to the world any work of permanent value in any sphere
Hedy Lamarr invented frequency-hopping spread spectrum technology. Pretty much anything Wireless-G uses it.
I just learned that cock fighting involves chickens and gambling.
And Mexican food.
And bull fights, with stabby things.
I was a young boy, wearing a madator outfit with dancing girls. Then accordion lessons.
Did not seem very sanitary, but one works with what is given.
. . suffering extensive and mysterious brain injuries and being left in a persistent vegetative state, is not unlike being a middle-class black journalist who writes for the Huffington Post. Mr Warmbier, she wrote, was merely experiencing her own “daily reality.”
Hmmm. Perhaps if suffering extensive and mysterious brain injuries and being left in a persistent vegetative state, is . . . her own “daily reality.”, then that could explain what she’s writing.
Regarding Austen and Lamarr, even Schopenhauer admits that there are exceptions. His thesis appears to be that those are simply exceptions which prove (ie: test) the rule.
Regardless, I just found the synchronicity of having read the Schopenhauer quote shortly before seeing the Feminist Theatre too amusing not to share:-).
Well. This tidbit seems to hit upon nigh every topic here. In the far off Great White North, colleges are being “indigenized” because, actually I am not too sure of because other than the white man’s way is bad medicine – or something
Everything.
Yes, a read degree, one in Angry Indigenous Studies, not so much, unless they need baristas on the Indian Reserves (Canadian for Reservation).
Note to self – avoid Canadian bridges (vehicular or oral).
Ms. Sha’s comparison’s comparison of her daily life with that of the late Mr. Warmbier is quite correct in one aspect: her persistent vegetative state.
In other news:
Because self-induced hysteria is so exhausting.
Regarding Austen and Lamarr, even Schopenhauer admits that there are exceptions. His thesis appears to be that those are simply exceptions which prove (ie: test) the rule.
Well, if he does so it certainly doesn’t come across in the quote, with its ‘most distinguished’ and its ‘never’ and its ‘single’ and its ‘any’s… not the sort of language that suggests exceptions.
And its generally considered that the ‘prove = test’ explanation for the expression ‘the exception that proves the rule’ is incorrect. A better explanation – and one more in keeping with the original Roman legal precept – is that the fact that something is recognised to be an exception proves that there is a general rule from which it derogates.
And it’s generally considered… (That’s what comes from using ‘Preview’ just to check that you’ve closed off the italics!)
That’s what comes from using ‘Preview’ just to check that you’ve closed off the italics!
Or “doing the Lord’s work,” as we shall henceforth refer to it.
Amen.
[ Lovingly polishes enormous gold-framed notice above bar. ]
“Thou shalt.”
Well, if he does so it certainly doesn’t come across in the quote, with its ‘most distinguished’ and its ‘never’ and its ‘single’ and its ‘any’s… not the sort of language that suggests exceptions.
Yes, it’s further down in the linked essay. I prefer to not quote massive blocks of text if possible.
And its generally considered that the ‘prove = test’ explanation for the expression ‘the exception that proves the rule’ is incorrect. A better explanation – and one more in keeping with the original Roman legal precept – is that the fact that something is recognised to be an exception proves that there is a general rule from which it derogates.
I hadn’t heard of the Roman legal precept explanation, and the prima facie explanation of the saying, that an exception to the rule demonstrates the validity of the rule, never made any intuitive sense to me. The “proves = tests” interpretation makes sense in that a proving ground is a location whereat something is tested to see if it works, hence “proves = tests”. It’s not a matter to which I’ve dedicated a great deal of research time though, as it rarely arises.
That Roman legal precept may also be true, but you can also see some evidence for ‘test’ quite easily if you perform a small sound shift, one of the most historically common, still seen in a great many cognates in Germanic languages, and say for example: “The exception that probes the rule”.
In the Scandinavian languages, the word for “test” is… well, it’s mostly still “test”, but a common synonym is prøve (Norwegian, Danish) or prova (Swedish).
A couple of cognate correspondences for those wondering what I might be on about:
The English number “seven” is in German called sieben. A grave is called Grab, silver is silber, to die is sterben (from “starving”), and elvish things are elbisch.
I’m not a professional linguist, but it sure looks to me like “prove” is the anglified form of “probe” and the word got re-imported (as I hear happened to produce “guarantee” and “warranty”) a while later after the meaning of the first import drifted a bit.
To some people, this is nice because it adds nuance and precision to the language.
To other people, it’s a demonstration that English is even worse than popularly believed: not only does it famously mug other languages for their vocabulary, but often it then mutilates the stolen property and has to mug the poor victim a second time for a replacement!
[…] that an exception to the rule demonstrates the validity of the rule, never made any intuitive sense to me.
Well, yes, obviously, which is why the expression isn’t ‘exceptions prove rules’. Rather, it is used in very specific circumstances.
Take, for example, the conjugation of verbs in English. There are rules about this. There are also exceptions. But that’s why we talk about irregular verbs. We call them ‘irregular’ because we recognise that they are exceptions and they are of sufficiently limited number to prove the validity of the rules in general.
Or let’s say that we’re sitting around with a gang from work over lunch and somebody says “Men are taller than women”, then somebody else chips in with “What about Susie in accounts?” (said Susie being 6’2″) and everybody else then joins in with variants of “Yep, that Susie is pretty tall all right”. The simple fact that everybody has noticed that Susie is particularly tall (rather than being typical) doesn’t disprove the assertion that men are taller than women; on the contrary, it adds weight to the assertion (or height if you prefer). Many ‘rules’ refer to averages or norms (c.f. the expression ‘as a rule’ which means ‘usually but not invariably’).
And it’s also true that ‘prove’ (and cognates thereof in other languages) can mean ‘test’. But that just means that the incorrect explanation has a certain plausibility on the surface (and wasn’t pulled out of someone’s derrière without any thought). Exceptio probat regulam in casibus non exceptis (the last bit has disappeared from the modern expression) is pretty unambiguous.