Meet the academic left, part 3,047. In which a Cambridge lecturer in “postcolonial studies” complains, publicly and at length, about being addressed by a college porter as “madam,” as is the custom.

This is the crucial tweet, but the whole thread is worth a read.https://t.co/Spo4WN19Tj

— Damian Counsell (@DamCou) June 18, 2018

It’s racist, apparently.

Update, via the comments:

Cambridge porters, who see hundreds of people a day, including students, staff, faculty and visitors, tend to address people as “sir” or “madam.” It is in fact the custom. For obvious logistical reasons, Porters are not expected to remember the names and formal titles of every member of staff and faculty, numbering in the thousands, at Cambridge’s 30 or so colleges.

Contrary to Dr Gopal’s hysterical and self-serving tirade, this courtesy – being called madam – is not obvious and damning proof of “aggression,” let alone “racial profiling and unconscious bias.” A more obvious explanation is that Dr Gopal is a preening, delusional cow.

Those who dare to disagree with Dr Gopal’s latest persecution fantasy, including the head of the campus visitor service, are currently being dismissed by her as “presumably white.” So no racism there, obviously.

Readers may wish to ponder whether someone well-adjusted and secure in her intellectual status would engage in a protracted hissy fit over not being immediately recognised and referred to as a Being Of Immense Importance.

And then of course there’s the adage that you can tell a lot about someone by how they treat waiters, checkout assistants, porters, and so forth – anyone that they imagine to be of lower social standing.

Readers are also invited to speculate as to whether Dr Gopal, our high priestess of hair-trigger indignation, knows the name of the porter.