Things That Tell Us Who They Are
Elisa Parrett teaches at a public technical college outside of Seattle called the Lake Washington Institute of Technology. Last June 19, in the wake of the death of George Floyd, the school held an event called Courageous Conversations which was based partly on Robin DiAngelo’s book White Fragility.
In short, a two-hour racial struggle session based on stupefying woo.
Dr Parrett used the session, attended by close to 200 educators, to air some fairly obvious concerns, regarding tribalism, zealotry, and the racially segregated nature of the gathering, speaking for a total of four minutes. A summary of Dr Parrett’s comments can be found at the link above and here, where Jesse Singal shares a longer, more detailed account. Readers are invited to search out anything particularly scandalous.
Five days later, Parrett got an email from President Amy Morrison… It read in part, “Because of your egregious behaviour which has led to substantial harm to hundreds of colleagues on campus, I have asked [Vice President of Instruction, Suzanne] Ames, Dean Doug Emory, and [executive director of H.R.] Meena Park to meet with you in the next few days to have a serious conversation about how successful you can possibly be on campus in the future.” Two days later, Parrett was placed on administrative leave… A disciplinary complaint was filed against Parrett by the vice president… The complaint alleged Parrett had behaved in a “corrupt, insolent and insubordinate manner.”
And because this is Clown World, where there’s always more,
When [Jesse] Singal emailed the Vice President about the story, she doubled down and claimed that Parrett had been “aggressively yelling at folks in the meeting.” At the time, she was apparently unaware that Singal had the audio of the entire session. When he sent her a copy and asked her to point out where Parrett had yelled at anyone, a university spokesperson suggested Parrett’s “visible anger” wasn’t conveyed by the audio.
It was, it seems, a kind of aggressive yelling that was radiated at inaudible frequencies and which therefore cannot be captured by mortal recording devices.
And so, we’re expected to believe that hearing just one person briefly disagreeing with the premise of a racial scolding session has resulted in “substantial harm to hundreds of colleagues on campus,” albeit in ways left unspecified and intriguing. And further, according to Vice President of Instruction, Suzanne Ames, that the experience of hearing dissent was “super-stressful,” resulting in ringing ears, “sweating,” and an “out-of-body experience.”
Taken at their own words, these educators sound somewhat unhinged and hysterical. Unless, of course, they’re merely dishonest and are feigning a kind of hysteria in order to conform with some woke ideal. Either way, readers may wish to mull whether these are the kinds of personalities to whom they would happily entrust the education of their children.
Update, via the comments:
Commenter [+] quips,
Today’s word is ‘madhouse’.
Well, quite. If just one person’s objection to zealotry and racial segregation can reduce a grown woman, a supposedly professional educator, a Vice President of Instruction, to a twitching, sweating, disembodied mess – or can oblige her to publicly pretend such – then I think it’s fair to say that something is amiss. And I think it’s fair to say that an environment in which such dramas are considered normal – indeed, a basis for status – is itself dysfunctional and absurd.
It’s worth pondering the ongoing spread of this phenomenon, this neurotic role-play. From a wariness of saying the obvious yet oddly unacknowledged, to the kinds of farcical contortion quoted here pretty much every week. And to ponder what follows from that. Say, the shrinking range of socially permissible facts and socially permissible questions; or the creation of environments in which dishonesty is not only commonplace, but necessary for promotion or continued employment. Even becoming competitive, a ratcheting unrealism.
And then to ask what kind of people are likely to flourish in such environments.
Let’s play: “What/who/where is racist today?” If you guessed the set of the great Australian drama Neighbours, you win a prize*. https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/apr/07/neighbours-allegedly-removed-actor-from-set-after-complaints-of-racism-by-indigenous-actor-shareena-clanton
Apparently Shareena Clanton was racially abused, and was worried that when she complained it may affect her career. I would suggest that there are other reasons people may not employee/want to work with her. Any hoo, my favourite part of the article is this:
Clanton also said she had to partially pay out of her own salary for the cost of having Wurundjeri elder Aunty Diane Kerr on set for several months to ensure the production observed appropriate cultural safety protocols while working on country. I’m not sure if I am living in the same country.
Second favourite part is the Guardians screed at the bottom of the page – they are here to save us all!
*Prize – may you have a legitimate reason to call in sick on the next Cultural and Diversity training day.
… appropriate cultural safety protocols while working on country.
What’s that mean? All I can think of is don’t throw a boomerang away and then turn your back. Don’t pet saltwater crocodiles and stay away from snakes and blue ring octopus.
It is to laugh. The only person engaging in a Courageous Conversation was Elisa Parrett, the unperson.
Excellent point. Meanwhile, the people sponsoring “Courageous Conversations” were curling up in a fetal ball. It would be hilarious if it wasn’t so infuriating.
It is to laugh.
Yes, the inversion of reality is quite bold. I’m not sure what’s courageous about publicly submitting to faulty premises, begged questions, presumed collective guilt, and the pernicious blatherings of a third-rate race hustler.
And hey, it’s not like these things could ever be a form of psychological abuse, run by spiteful lunatics.
Here’s a truly racism article from a week ago via Instapundit..funny how this story has gone under the radar for decades…
https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/441757/
But the thug drug addict George Floyd’s parents get $25 million.
can they still make money franchising Peter Parker or the Hulk?
The eighth Spider-Man movie is coming.
There is a truly staggering amount of Marvel canon and the entire modern MCU has only barely scratched the surface. Also, to the MCU’s credit they’re actually writing largely original material. They take high-level concepts, throw away the absolutely shite Marvel’s writers made of them, and come up with something that’s actually watchable (I’m looking at you, Civil War).
The dirty little secret of comic books is that Sturgeon’s Law does not actually apply, at least not in the usual way; they’re pretty much universally bad. They’re like Mack Bolan novels. People read them because of what they are, not in spite of.
Jesse Singal shares a longer, more detailed account
I remember when Reason was a great deal less cozy with the ideological establishment. Singal can barely get his story out, he’s so busy tut-tutting and finger-wagging about how deplorable Dr. Parrett is.
Singal can barely get his story out, he’s so busy tut-tutting and finger-wagging about how deplorable Dr. Parrett is.
That’s sort of why the Reason link gets second billing. There’s some useful information there, but quite a bit of nose-holding.
Here’s a truly racism article from a week ago via Instapundit..funny how this story has gone under the radar for decades…
“Let’s railroad three innocent men, because otherwise blacks will riot.”
Conclusion: There are far, far too many uncivilized blacks in America. And far, far too many cowardly, corrupt, and opportunistic politicians.
I can see no reason to regard him that highly.
Singal can barely get his story out, he’s so busy tut-tutting and finger-wagging about how deplorable Dr. Parrett is.
Key word is deplorable. I sort of missed it in the Singal article, but it was spelled out clearly at the twit thread David linked later in the comments here. You see, this unperson Parrett took part in, was involved somehow, or maybe just supported, the Stop the Steal election protests – which is apparently High Treason, Insurrection, Sedition, and whatever else they can make up. So not only is she unperson, anyone who doesn’t condemn her enough is also unperson, which is probably why Singal was noseholding so tightly his face turned blue.
I haven’t kept up with Neighbours since the late 80’s when Charlene, Kylie Minogue’s character, went to Brisbane and was never seen again. What I liked about it was that it was a hothouse where 15-20 year old actresses were planted to perfect their perkiness, but apart from that it was a young-adult soap opera from the Melbourne media industry, and as such when it dealt with Issues it was in a politically correct way.
We’re supposed to imagine that Alf Garner has turned up on the Neighbours set as a statusful cast member. Who is this old white guy who the media executives are walking on eggshells around, even making excuses for his use of the “n” word, and which “n” word could this be?
As I understand it, there’s less room for behind-the-scenes drama in 25-minute soap operas than in movies. These people have to work with each other for years, clocking in every day and delivering to deadline. If you’re an old white guy, you’re in danger of being written out anyway, just for the sake of youth or looking like contemporary Australia. So why would you risk your regular paycheque for a crude provocation of a colleague who can play the race card on you?
So what’s being left out? Is Alf a gay cast member whose cheekiness to the touchy Abo is indulged? Or a Lebanese cast member whose ethnocentric outbursts are sensitively placed in their larger cultural context? Or is the indigene so insufferable that even her Melbourne media mentors have given up feeling solidarity with her?
can see no reason to regard him that highly.
I can see no reason to regard him that highly.
From what I can make out, Mr Coates is humourless, narcissistic and churns out terrible prose, while exploiting the racial hang-ups of white, middle-class lefties.
The man and his shortcomings have been mentioned here before.
See also.
Sooner or later, everyone comes around to the idea of helicopters.
In short, a two-hour racial struggle session based on stupefying woo.
I saw Stupefying Woo open for Nickelback in 2012.
I know of a guy who’s a cop who hides that fact when dating until the third or fourth date – “I work for the city” – so as to weed out the badge bunnies.
I’ve never seen Badge Bunnies perform live, but I think I have one of their CDs.
I saw Stupefying Woo open for Nickelback in 2012.
I much preferred Stupefyin Jones.
I saw Stupefying Woo open for Nickelback
You went to a Nickelback concert?
Like, voluntarily?
You went to a Nickelback concert?
Like, voluntarily?
[ serenely contemplates blessed ignorance of the topic ]
More political violence in Northern Ireland. Is this still going to be happening when the sun goes cold?
Let us all celebrate our civilization’s heights of achievement:
More Political violence in Northern Ireland
This must be a new generation doing this–they are simply too young to have any visceral connection to the traditional “troubles”. BLM inspired in some way? Just guessing.
This must be a new generation doing this
Like father, like son? I have no idea. Fortunately I do not need to visit Ireland and Northern Ireland.
NTSOG: Not to mention the sharks (white and tiger), the spiders, the jellyfish (box and irukandji), the cone snail, the bull ant, the stonefish, the stingray…
I am told the last non-lethally-venomous snake in Australia died several years ago of loneliness and despair. Everything else in Australia, including the duckbilled platypus, can kill just by looking at you. Even the koalas are stealth murderers. And don’t get me started on the kangaroos…
pst314: Know what’s worse? How they look when they take the gauges out.
Around 0:21 shows what it is really all about, “Do these hammers make my ass look fat” ?
I’ll see your height of achievement, and raise you:
Nice work, Muldoon. I think you just broke the page.
Also my browser crashed, thanks.
“But what kind of adults would debase themselves so by using it?”
The kind who are essentially screaming “Look at me! Look at me! Look at me and see how awesome I am!” But not using those words.
Twitter is good for some things.
Like Dr. Jordan B. Peterson doubling down on the Red Skull smear.
…Like Dr. Jordan B. Peterson doubling down on the Red Skull smear.
Also: Lobsterman!
I’ll see your height of achievement, and raise you
Like an emetic only stronger.
@ MC: “Also, that’s not what chisels are for.”
It’s a ‘girl thing’. A [wood] chisel looks a little like a screwdriver or even a cold chisel – I have found my wife looking to use a perfectly edged wood chisel as a screwdriver on occasion.
@ FM Muldoon: A wood chipper would take care of the 5:00 o’clock shadow.
You went to a Nickelback concert? Like, voluntarily?
Did I say Nickelback? Sorry, I meant Imagine Dragons.
Imagine Dragons.
That’s a lateral move.
Unless, of course, they’re merely dishonest and are feigning a kind of hysteria in order to conform with some woke ideal.
That.
That.
The update seems somewhat relevant.
He really is.
spiteful lunatics
Band name
Let me just say that any musical culture that rediscovered a woozy, overproduced lameass band like Journey, especially as it came back via the stupidest, lamest mafia show The Sopranosbut also due to Hillary Clinton then adopting the same Sopranos rediscovery…well such a culture has no business making fun of a band like Nickleback.
Dr. Chanequa Walker-Barnes, a clinical psychologist, womanist theologian, and ecumenical theologian, offers us a prayer for racial healing in these days of troubled times.
Meanwhile, back to Red Skull, vermin, and Coates, an an opinion is rendered.
“Dr. Chanequa Walker-Barnes”
Let me guess – Amish?
Somewhat related to the main post.
If memory serves, this is the chap who was accused of “aggressively” recording himself being falsely accused of aggression by people determined to destroy his career and who, themselves, were being quite aggressive about it. To say nothing of dishonest.
Again, things that tell us who they are.
Somewhat related to the main post. Again, things that tell us who they are.
From the link: “It is vital that UVA lose this case, and lose badly.”
Make that extremely badly.
people determined to destroy his career
Again, out on a limb here, but… women?
There’s a theme there…
Now here’s a great song that is relevant to pretty much every they of damn near every subject matter post. I’m thinking the Guild of Evil needs an anthem. I nominate this song. Any objections? I didn’t think so…
Oh, btw…previous post NSFW. However if that’s an issue…
“Dr. Chanequa Walker-Barnes”
The name itself is a red flag.
That’s a lateral move.
It might not have been Imagine Dragons. Maybe it was a Coldplay concert. Or perhaps Hoobastank. My memory isn’t what it used to be.