Toxic Whiteness

[mahagonny]

Is any of this/all of this accurate? No examples. Serious charges. Just wondering what people think. I notice ever since the George Floyd tragedy, it's acceptable to make these all out condemnations of institutional practice but only when racial equity is the measurement, if you will.

Meanwhile over at Chronicle.com there's a piece called 'how racist is higher education, really?'

https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2020/08/14/challenges-faculty-diversity-workers-confront-institutions-suffering-toxic

[Anselm]

I am thinking of Branson, Missouri.

[mahagonny]

i could envision people traveling to Branson MO to escape toxicity, the toxicity of being called or considered racist because they are white. I know you were making a joke.
But the article, obviously, is not about poking fun at white people (and a few non-white) who congregate because they like Dolly Parton or the people who were with Lawrence Welk. Nobody's gunning for them. The people in the crosshairs are other progressive-thinking folks working in higher ed, the diversity teams, the tenure and promotion committees. Because there still aren't them number of minorities holding the sought-after academic jobs that the authors want, and they have some very definite explanations why that happens, almost incriminating reasons. You don't get a sense of people working out their differences. It's the same 'everything's hopeless f***ed up because the foundation of America is racism' mantra.
So how does the new woke culture sustain itself when it becomes so cannibalistic?

[writingprof]

I saw some toxic whiteness at a north-Georgia Walmart once.  Though perhaps it was untreated diabetes. 

[mahagonny]

Some more rampant insanity for your perusal. I could see this mania having the potential to destroy academic tenure. Progressives attacking progressives. The demise of academic tenure might only affect most of today's faculty a little, so as a professor permanently off the tenure track I might normally be only somewhat interested. But it's unbelievable to watch.

https://hbr.org/2020/06/academia-isnt-a-safe-haven-for-conversations-about-race-and-racism

There's a constant escalation in the type of 'analysis' these lunatics provide. First it was 'we must talk more about race and racism'. ('Racism means anything and everything about race, as well as quite a few things not, that can be causally directed only against whites). Then it was 'our talk about racism isn't producing results.' Now it's 'we are not allowed to talk about racism' (even though that's all we do, all of the time) and 'we have to change the mindset of white colleagues' though we are already stifled and have to stick to a script.

And this, some common sense analysis, pointing out (this invariably falls on deaf ears) that 'systemic racism' is so assumed to exist that it doesn't require evidence. The discussion needs only to be around how the effects of it are thought to be compounding. All explained with a sense of awe. And it's all reinforced and spearheaded by our academic world.
Now: people with tenure who see the idiocy and lie of this: I know you're out there. Are you speaking up? How much time do we have left?

https://www.city-journal.org/academia-systemic-racism

because: (just to add to the pool of interesting ideas)

https://www.creators.com/read/dennis-prager/08/20/why-america-is-in-real-danger

And if you google Prager University's website, you'll see that they immediately inform you that they're not accredited. No, they advertise it. I like that.

[Treehugger]

Some more rampant insanity for your perusal. I could see this mania having the potential to destroy academic tenure. Progressives attacking progressives. The demise of academic tenure might only affect most of today's faculty a little, so as a professor permanently off the tenure track I might normally be only somewhat interested. But it's unbelievable to watch.

https://hbr.org/2020/06/academia-isnt-a-safe-haven-for-conversations-about-race-and-racism

There's a constant escalation in the type of 'analysis' these lunatics provide. First it was 'we must talk more about race and racism'. ('Racism means anything and everything about race, as well as quite a few things not, that can be causally directed only against whites). Then it was 'our talk about racism isn't producing results.' Now it's 'we are not allowed to talk about racism' (even though that's all we do, all of the time) and 'we have to change the mindset of white colleagues' though we are already stifled and have to stick to a script.

And this, some common sense analysis, pointing out (this invariably falls on deaf ears) that 'systemic racism' is so assumed to exist that it doesn't require evidence. The discussion needs only to be around how the effects of it are thought to be compounding. All explained with a sense of awe. And it's all reinforced and spearheaded by our academic world.
Now: people with tenure who see the idiocy and lie of this: I know you're out there. Are you speaking up? How much time do we have left?

https://www.city-journal.org/academia-systemic-racism

because: (just to add to the pool of interesting ideas)

https://www.creators.com/read/dennis-prager/08/20/why-america-is-in-real-danger

And if you google Prager University's website, you'll see that they immediately inform you that they're not accredited. No, they advertise it. I like that.

I agree with you, but I'm just sick of discussing cancel culture/identity politics/whatever you want to call it. Actually. I think it would be great if everyone got sick of discussing it until after Nov. 3, which of course will never happen.

[apl68]

I thought this was going to be a thread on the dangers of old-fashioned white lead paint....

[secundem_artem]

The sad, sad tale of yet another woke faculty member who found herself in the internet rage machine due to her hope to woke up her students.

https://www.newsweek.com/iowa-state-forces-professor-lift-ban-criticism-black-lives-matter-1526032

[Treehugger]

The sad, sad tale of yet another woke faculty member who found herself in the internet rage machine due to her hope to woke up her students.

https://www.newsweek.com/iowa-state-forces-professor-lift-ban-criticism-black-lives-matter-1526032

Good for ISU. I'm glad they had her lift the ban.

[mahagonny]

The sad, sad tale of yet another woke faculty member who found herself in the internet rage machine due to her hope to woke up her students.

https://www.newsweek.com/iowa-state-forces-professor-lift-ban-criticism-black-lives-matter-1526032

Good for ISU. I'm glad they had her lift the ban.

Agree with that, but peripheral issue: how does a State University support Black Lives Matter and also the mission of its criminal justice major? Or for a more in-your-face, related question, how does a POTUS take the oath of office and then encourage people to commit assault and battery against someone who heckles him at a his rally? Who has the right to promote anarchy, lawlessness?

[financeguy]

I really enjoy the pot stirring. The reason is that while principals like equality can be viewed as absolutes, the woke is always relative. The goals isn't to meet a particular standard, it's to be the most woke person since only that individual a) can effectively shake down others and b) avoid their shakedowns.... for the moment. This is why we constantly see the left eating each other. They don't believe anything that's able to be held to a specific measurable standard, only "more" than the other guy, which is a pretty good summary of the term "progressive." If society catches up with or exceeds a particular standard, that goal post needs to be moved pretty quickly otherwise the perpetual woke have no one to lecture and intimidate with threats of the "ist" words.

I'm so happy to see Rose McGowan going after these people today, which is something I thought I'd never hear myself say!