Math Teacher Stands Up To "Antiracism"

[Sun_Worshiper]

One of the many reasons why it is hard to take this cancel culture whining from conservatives seriously is that the voices that they amplify (e.g. Bari Weiss and Alan Dershowitz) have been cancelling people or attempting to do so for years. If conservatives want us to think that this is anything other than disingenuous and pathetic complaining, then they should be equally up-in-arms about the many cancel culture efforts coming from their side of the aisle.

[mahagonny]

One of the many reasons why it is hard to take this cancel culture whining from conservatives seriously is that the voices that they amplify (e.g. Bari Weiss and Alan Dershowitz) have been cancelling people or attempting to do so for years. If conservatives want us to think that this is anything other than disingenuous and pathetic complaining, then they should be equally up-in-arms about the many cancel culture efforts coming from their side of the aisle.

The 'antiracist' brigade has firm control of most of higher education and has been spreading their influence to K-12, rapidly. What they do is present their far left agenda with a representation of it as a matter of general consensus. This is dishonest.

[marshwiggle]

One of the many reasons why it is hard to take this cancel culture whining from conservatives seriously is that the voices that they amplify (e.g. Bari Weiss and Alan Dershowitz) have been cancelling people or attempting to do so for years. If conservatives want us to think that this is anything other than disingenuous and pathetic complaining, then they should be equally up-in-arms about the many cancel culture efforts coming from their side of the aisle.

There have been things like boycotts of companies and products for ages, from all over the political spectrum. The thing that is more problematic now is that it is becoming increasingly on the grounds of what companies and individuals profess than about what they do. If you're of a certain age, you'll remember boycotts of Nestle for discouraging women in developing countries from breastfeeding in order to sell formula. (Which, in addition to being nutritionally inferior, was also more dangerous for being made with unclean water.) That's one example among many. However, now companies and individuals are being disparaged for not virtue-signalling, or for their leadership not endorsing a particular political viewpoint. (It's kind of funny when people are offended when companies that quickly virtue-signal turn out to not act consistently with their supposed principles. If they're rewarded, or at least not punished, for pretending to believe something, of course they're going to pretend.)

[Sun_Worshiper]

One of the many reasons why it is hard to take this cancel culture whining from conservatives seriously is that the voices that they amplify (e.g. Bari Weiss and Alan Dershowitz) have been cancelling people or attempting to do so for years. If conservatives want us to think that this is anything other than disingenuous and pathetic complaining, then they should be equally up-in-arms about the many cancel culture efforts coming from their side of the aisle.

There have been things like boycotts of companies and products for ages, from all over the political spectrum. The thing that is more problematic now is that it is becoming increasingly on the grounds of what companies and individuals profess than about what they do. If you're of a certain age, you'll remember boycotts of Nestle for discouraging women in developing countries from breastfeeding in order to sell formula. (Which, in addition to being nutritionally inferior, was also more dangerous for being made with unclean water.) That's one example among many. However, now companies and individuals are being disparaged for not virtue-signalling, or for their leadership not endorsing a particular political viewpoint. (It's kind of funny when people are offended when companies that quickly virtue-signal turn out to not act consistently with their supposed principles. If they're rewarded, or at least not punished, for pretending to believe something, of course they're going to pretend.)

The bolded sound like exactly the kind of thing that Weiss and Dershowitz have tried to cancel people for: They have each attempted to get professors fired for their scholarly research on Palestine. And these are hardly the only cancelation efforts from the right.

If you actually care about this issue, then be honest about the attacks on free speech from your side. If you don't do that, then I (and most other folks) will continue to see this as a disingenuous political effort.

One of the many reasons why it is hard to take this cancel culture whining from conservatives seriously is that the voices that they amplify (e.g. Bari Weiss and Alan Dershowitz) have been cancelling people or attempting to do so for years. If conservatives want us to think that this is anything other than disingenuous and pathetic complaining, then they should be equally up-in-arms about the many cancel culture efforts coming from their side of the aisle.

The 'antiracist' brigade has firm control of most of higher education and has been spreading their influence to K-12, rapidly. What they do is present their far left agenda with a representation of it as a matter of general consensus. This is dishonest.

Wow my eyes have been opened by this post! Before I was skeptical because right wingers ignore cancel culture efforts from their side of the aisle, but now that I've read your evidence free right wing talking point I'm ready to join your cause! Where do I sign up to be professionally outraged over trivial stuff on the Internet?

[marshwiggle]

One of the many reasons why it is hard to take this cancel culture whining from conservatives seriously is that the voices that they amplify (e.g. Bari Weiss and Alan Dershowitz) have been cancelling people or attempting to do so for years. If conservatives want us to think that this is anything other than disingenuous and pathetic complaining, then they should be equally up-in-arms about the many cancel culture efforts coming from their side of the aisle.

There have been things like boycotts of companies and products for ages, from all over the political spectrum. The thing that is more problematic now is that it is becoming increasingly on the grounds of what companies and individuals profess than about what they do. If you're of a certain age, you'll remember boycotts of Nestle for discouraging women in developing countries from breastfeeding in order to sell formula. (Which, in addition to being nutritionally inferior, was also more dangerous for being made with unclean water.) That's one example among many. However, now companies and individuals are being disparaged for not virtue-signalling, or for their leadership not endorsing a particular political viewpoint. (It's kind of funny when people are offended when companies that quickly virtue-signal turn out to not act consistently with their supposed principles. If they're rewarded, or at least not punished, for pretending to believe something, of course they're going to pretend.)

The bolded sound like exactly the kind of thing that Weiss and Dershowitz have tried to cancel people for: They have each attempted to get professors fired for their scholarly research on Palestine. And these are hardly the only cancelation efforts from the right.

Similar to the BDS movement I suppose.

If you actually care about this issue, then be honest about the attacks on free speech from your side. If you don't do that, then I (and most other folks) will continue to see this as a disingenuous political effort.

My side? I'm a moderate; I've voted for the Green party for the last several elections. Not spouting the talking-points of one extreme of the political spectrum doesn't automatically mean one sympathises with the opposite extreme.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgrZAPUvKyA

[mahagonny]

Sunworshiper,

I'm concerned, or outraged, as you put it, because this is now a practical problem at work. The 'antiracist' movement has completely informed everything done by the diversity, inclusion, etc. staff and they're involved in every type of professional development, grant seeking, public presentation on campus. They've taken over the faculty union, which I pay to advocate for my workload, job security and compensation interests, not to overhaul my psyche. A friend of mine in another department has been ostracized for his moderate views and the fact that he won an achievement award from a conservative organization. They've done all this in the past year in response to current events and their personal reaction to them (along with a cadre of noisy radicals) and not a consultation with the faculty to find out our reaction, while they purport to be representing our wishes and sensibilities. Repeat, it is dishonest. And could (could already have) lead to violations of the law and documented college policy and collective bargaining agreement provisions.
with edit:  This is happening in a school whose faculty is already disproportionately black, yet the union and the diversity staff clamor for more hiring of POC. (Which is absolutely fine with me, as long they are conservatives. We desperately need more diversity, you know.)
As well, I have always felt a great reverence for outstanding black achievers in my field over the decades.
"Antiracist" - they seem to think that by putting a new word into circulation that they invented being against racism. They did not. Pretty high-handed.

My side? I'm a moderate; I've voted for the Green party for the last several elections. Not spouting the talking-points of one extreme of the political spectrum doesn't automatically mean one sympathises with the opposite extreme.

In academe, where I live (blue state) if you're not going around singing the 'anti-racism' theme, you might as well be Richard Spencer.

[Sun_Worshiper]

One of the many reasons why it is hard to take this cancel culture whining from conservatives seriously is that the voices that they amplify (e.g. Bari Weiss and Alan Dershowitz) have been cancelling people or attempting to do so for years. If conservatives want us to think that this is anything other than disingenuous and pathetic complaining, then they should be equally up-in-arms about the many cancel culture efforts coming from their side of the aisle.

There have been things like boycotts of companies and products for ages, from all over the political spectrum. The thing that is more problematic now is that it is becoming increasingly on the grounds of what companies and individuals profess than about what they do. If you're of a certain age, you'll remember boycotts of Nestle for discouraging women in developing countries from breastfeeding in order to sell formula. (Which, in addition to being nutritionally inferior, was also more dangerous for being made with unclean water.) That's one example among many. However, now companies and individuals are being disparaged for not virtue-signalling, or for their leadership not endorsing a particular political viewpoint. (It's kind of funny when people are offended when companies that quickly virtue-signal turn out to not act consistently with their supposed principles. If they're rewarded, or at least not punished, for pretending to believe something, of course they're going to pretend.)

The bolded sound like exactly the kind of thing that Weiss and Dershowitz have tried to cancel people for: They have each attempted to get professors fired for their scholarly research on Palestine. And these are hardly the only cancelation efforts from the right.

Similar to the BDS movement I suppose.

If you actually care about this issue, then be honest about the attacks on free speech from your side. If you don't do that, then I (and most other folks) will continue to see this as a disingenuous political effort.

My side? I'm a moderate; I've voted for the Green party for the last several elections. Not spouting the talking-points of one extreme of the political spectrum doesn't automatically mean one sympathises with the opposite extreme.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgrZAPUvKyA

Fair enough, if you say you are not a conservative then I believe you (not that there is anything necessarily wrong with being conservative). Nevertheless, the posting I've observed from you seems to focus exclusively on cancel culture from the left while ignoring similar efforts coming from the right side.

[Sun_Worshiper]

Sunworshiper,

I'm concerned, or outraged, as you put it, because this is now a practical problem at work. The 'antiracist' movement has completely informed everything done by the diversity, inclusion, etc. staff and they're involved in every type of professional development, grant seeking, public presentation on campus. They've taken over the faculty union, which I pay to advocate for my workload, job security and compensation interests, not to overhaul my psyche. A friend of mine in another department has been ostracized for his moderate views and the fact that he won an achievement award from a conservative organization. They've done all this in the past year in response to current events and their personal reaction to them (along with a cadre of noisy radicals) and not a consultation with the faculty to find out our reaction, while they purport to be representing our wishes and sensibilities. Repeat, it is dishonest. And could (could already have) lead to violations of the law and documented college policy and collective bargaining agreement provisions.
with edit:  This is happening in a school whose faculty is already disproportionately black, yet the union and the diversity staff clamor for more hiring of POC. (Which is absolutely fine with me, as long they are conservatives. We desperately need more diversity, you know.)
As well, I have always felt a great reverence for outstanding black achievers in my field over the decades.
"Antiracist" - they seem to think that by putting a new word into circulation that they invented being against racism. They did not. Pretty high-handed.

Honestly, Mahagonny, even if you had a legit beef with the woke people at your institution I'd never be able to tell because your posts are so heavily infused with racial resentment and white victimhood that I can only assume that you are making a mountain out of some pretty minor lip service that your administration is paying to diversity and inclusion.

[mahagonny]

Honestly, Mahagonny, even if you had a legit beef with the woke people at your institution I'd never be able to tell because your posts are so heavily infused with racial resentment and white victimhood that I can only assume that you are making a mountain out of some pretty minor lip service that your administration is paying to diversity and inclusion.

Obviously you are noticing that I do. And I can't think any reason I wouldn't have a right to resent it. Can you?

[Sun_Worshiper]

Sunworshiper,

I'm concerned, or outraged, as you put it, because this is now a practical problem at work. The 'antiracist' movement has completely informed everything done by the diversity, inclusion, etc. staff and they're involved in every type of professional development, grant seeking, public presentation on campus. They've taken over the faculty union, which I pay to advocate for my workload, job security and compensation interests, not to overhaul my psyche. A friend of mine in another department has been ostracized for his moderate views and the fact that he won an achievement award from a conservative organization. They've done all this in the past year in response to current events and their personal reaction to them (along with a cadre of noisy radicals) and not a consultation with the faculty to find out our reaction, while they purport to be representing our wishes and sensibilities. Repeat, it is dishonest. And could (could already have) lead to violations of the law and documented college policy and collective bargaining agreement provisions.
with edit:  This is happening in a school whose faculty is already disproportionately black, yet the union and the diversity staff clamor for more hiring of POC. (Which is absolutely fine with me, as long they are conservatives. We desperately need more diversity, you know.)
As well, I have always felt a great reverence for outstanding black achievers in my field over the decades.
"Antiracist" - they seem to think that by putting a new word into circulation that they invented being against racism. They did not. Pretty high-handed.

Honestly, Mahagonny, even if you had a legit beef with the woke people at your institution I'd never be able to tell because your posts are so heavily infused with racial resentment and white victimhood that I can only assume that you are making a mountain out of some pretty minor lip service that your administration is paying to diversity and inclusion.

There is no racial resentment and I don't appreciate the smear. There is anger and distrust for the loudest and most militant among the 'antiracist' crowd in my vicinity because of what they are doing, or trying to do.

You are like a walking white victimhood meme. I've really never seen anything like it. If you are doing some weird role playing here, kudos for never breaking character.

[mahagonny]

You are like a walking white victimhood meme. I've really never seen anything like it. If you are doing some weird role playing here, kudos for never breaking character.

You are quite wrong. There are quite a number of people who consider today's wokeist crowd a dangerous group. I assumed everyone on here does a fair amount of reading.

On general principle  there is no reason the folks who have entered the arena, big time, with their prescription for social justice, diversity, anti-racism are exempt from criticism.

[mahagonny]

More pushback against woke agenda in the schools.

https://thefederalist.com/2021/04/15/a-loudoun-county-teacher-explains-how-leftist-institutional-racism-is-devastating-public-schools/

[marshwiggle]

The bolded sound like exactly the kind of thing that Weiss and Dershowitz have tried to cancel people for: They have each attempted to get professors fired for their scholarly research on Palestine. And these are hardly the only cancelation efforts from the right.

Similar to the BDS movement I suppose.

If you actually care about this issue, then be honest about the attacks on free speech from your side. If you don't do that, then I (and most other folks) will continue to see this as a disingenuous political effort.

My side? I'm a moderate; I've voted for the Green party for the last several elections. Not spouting the talking-points of one extreme of the political spectrum doesn't automatically mean one sympathises with the opposite extreme.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgrZAPUvKyA

Fair enough, if you say you are not a conservative then I believe you (not that there is anything necessarily wrong with being conservative). Nevertheless, the posting I've observed from you seems to focus exclusively on cancel culture from the left while ignoring similar efforts coming from the right side.

That's probably because in the media and academia, there are lots of voices calling out misbehaviour on the right, and many fewer calling it out on the left. Actually, having grown up in fairly conservative Christian circles, I observed all kinds of dogmatic positions on things that didn't seem to be affected by evidence, and I assumed it was a religious "thing". As I moved into academic circles as an adult, I was surprised and disappointed to find the same kind of dogmatism on the secular left.

If someone starts defending some far right dogma, maybe I'll get my chance to argue with it......

[mahagonny]

Another effort to make this thread about the events in the news, rather than myself or the posters who may have read those news articles, which was the reason I started it.

More about the Loudoun schools.https://www.loudountimes.com/news/teacher-accuses-parent-group-of-racism-after-group-criticizes-lcps-equity-efforts/article_69469b9a-9d49-11eb-b2c1-bff954bdd342.html

I think when you call the parents racist, who pay school taxes, you're asking for it. Maybe something will get settled.

[mahagonny]

Update: Paul Rossi kicked out till the end of the year; he has the head of the school George Davison on a recording stating that the college demonizes children for being born white.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qXJR6wGXqE