I don’t want to have a civil discussion. I want to call you assholes.

For those who missed it in the comments, here’s a brief but telling video of a delightful exchange of wits, in which Ms Sarah O’Donnell, a student of creative writing and environmental studies at Denison University, berates a couple of gentlemen ostensibly for their advocacy of free markets, but especially and most passionately for their whiteness and maleness. A combination that is, it turns out, self-evidently sinful.

Even though we’ve seen this kind of airy posturing many times, it’s still quite odd to watch someone who’s basically a walking caricature of haughty, ignorant self-satisfaction. And so, when her belligerence, non sequitur and obnoxious racial comments are questioned, politely, Ms O’Donnell sidesteps explanation and instead resorts to theatrical sighs and dismissive eye-rolling – and further gratuitous insults – as if disdaining white men for being, well, male and white were some kind of moral full stop.

The thing is, when Ms O’Donnell says, “I don’t want to have a civil discussion. I want to call you assholes,” I think that’s a moment of inadvertent truthfulness. Evidently, she does want to abuse people, given the slimmest possible opportunity. The rest, it seems, is pretext, a rickety attempt to justify being obnoxious. In fact, if you assume a malign disposition as the starting point, the incoherent politics starts to make a kind of sense, if only as a vehicle for indulging that disposition and giving it an excuse to be what it is.

I suppose you have to ask what kind of personality would seek out and embrace a dogma that offers endless opportunities to berate and abuse strangers, based only on their most trivial and generic attributes. A dogma that practically obliges you to do this. What kind of person would want to spend time ostentatiously scolding white males for being white and male? More broadly, what kind of psychological misfit would choose to harangue and assault a passing stranger for having the ‘wrong’ kind of hairstyle? And what kind of person spends their afternoon thwarting and intimidating random strangers who are trying to hear a lecture, and making them fear for their safety, to the extent of pushing people underfoot, kicking them repeatedly, and then lying about it?

To my eye at least, and contrary to their imaginings, Ms O’Donnell and her peers are not good people. They’re merely seeking out opportunities for leverage and malice without the usual risk of pushback. Suppose for a moment that I were a malicious little shit and wanted to spend lots of time harassing people, shoving them, scaring them, and mouthing racial abuse. In the real world I’d run a definite risk of censure, social disapproval and possibly a good kicking. But if I were at an Ivy League university and invoked “social justice,” claiming my behaviour was a reaction to some nebulous oppression, there’s a very good chance I’d be accommodated, encouraged, even applauded. And for a certain kind of person, you can see the appeal.

[ Updated via the comments. ]

College Fix on the attempted indoctrination of middle school 12-year-olds: 

A Tampa, Florida, mother was livid after her seventh grade daughter brought home an assignment – from her Spanish class – asking about students’ so-called privilege.

Apparently, being a white-skinned child automatically means you’re “privileged” and by implication guilty. The teacher in question also felt that the 12-year-old children should announce whether they were intersex or “genderqueer.” Somewhat related, the second item here. 

Peter Fricke finds the obligatory campus blather about “diversity” somewhat superficial: 

Unable to prevent Ben Shapiro from speaking at Penn State despite aggressive chanting, student protestors vented their frustration by defacing flyers and throwing papers on the floor.

There’s more, but the self-righteous littering pretty much sums it up. Shapiro’s talk, video of which is here, was on what happens when “diversity” ideology and leftist censoriousness stifle free speech and intellectual pluralism. An irony that may have escaped the protesting students, who were busy feeling pleased with themselves while threatening violence if the talk didn’t stop and drawing swastikas on the face of a Jewish visitor.

And in entirely unrelated news, the Wall Street Journal reports:

More than 40% of Americans who borrowed from the government’s main student-loan program aren’t making payments or are behind on more than $200 billion owed, raising worries that millions of them may never repay.

Feel free to share your own links and snippets, on any subject, in the comments. It’s what these posts are for.

It was an educational outing. // Niche research. // Is there nothing trombones can’t do? // Miracle breakthrough in navel lint removal. // Previously, the incredible world of navel fluff and a 25-year collection of it, stored in jars, obviously. // Landmarks under construction. // Man builds own Scarlett Johansson robot. // Wagner with robot hats. // Wasp nest of note. // “The to-and-fro movement of the armchair knits hats for the winter.” // A Tumblr devoted to Rule 34. // Rise of the vegetation. // This. // MondriPong. // Jigsaw puzzle of note. // Japan at speed. // How to make Jenga more exciting. // Nicely done. // Accents of the British Isles. // Blek. // Bomber jackets. // Deconstructed garden. // Face. // And finally, via Damian, this must be one of the later Enid Blyton stories.

Laurie is doing her riot girl routine again:

And inches above, pinned as important, there’s this: 

Some thrilling developments at Edinburgh University:

Ms Imogen Wilson, 22, was subject to a “safe space complaint” over her supposedly “inappropriate hand gestures” during a student council meeting.

Thug life. No, wait. It wasn’t that kind of gesture.  

Ms Wilson said she raised her arm in disagreement.

And such reckless provocation simply will not do.

According to the association’s rules, student council meetings should be held in a “safe space environment,” defined as “a space which is welcoming and safe and includes the prohibition of discriminatory language and actions.” This includes “refraining from hand gestures which denote disagreement,” or “in any other way indicating disagreement with a point or points being made.”

Ah, the student left and its adorable tendencies.

According to the [students association] safe space rules, only gestures that indicate agreement are “permissible”.

And so,

A complaint was made against Ms Wilson, who was then subjected to a vote on whether she should be removed from the room.

I can’t help thinking these students are just a tad overwound. But at least things can’t get sillier.

Although the vote went in her favour, with 18 people voting to remove her and 33 voting for her to be allowed to remain, she was later threatened with another complaint after shaking her head while someone was speaking.

Burn the witch!

You know, I don’t think I can top this one today.

Update, via the comments: