The P C Madness thread.

[wwkirk]

His name is Japanese. There is a photograph of him in this article, he appears Eurasian:

Arizona State University prof says grading system is 'racist' and should be based on labor | Daily Mail Online

Thanks. But it makes the proposal more poignantly absurd. As as I know, Japan's universities are meritocratic. But given the composition of it's population, it makes little sense to say that their using that standard is racist. So, then, there is nothing about the standard in and of itself that is racist.

Of course, if other countries abandon quality-based standards in favor of his labor-based proposal, then they will begin to lose ground vis-a-vis Japan. So, maybe he is being covertly pro-Japan. (I don't really think so, though.)

 

[wwkirk]

American Medical Association releases guide pushing CRT that slams 'meritocracy,' 'free market'

The American Medical Association recently released a guide on "Advancing Health Equity" that promotes how to fight for critical race theory, includes a list of words not to say and their "equity-focused alternatives," and criticizes concepts like "meritocracy," "individualism" and the "'free' market."

The 55-page document released on Oct. 28 cites a guide by the organization Race Forward for how to advocate for critical race theory (CRT), which is called "Guide to Counter-Narrating the Attacks on Critical Race Theory."

The health equity guide argues physicians cannot eliminate "health inequities" by "focus[ing] only on individuals, their behavior or their biology." It says they instead must focus on language and collective political circumstances of certain groups.

"Given the deep divides that exist between groups in the United States, understanding and empathy can be extremely challenging for many because of an inability to really ‘walk a mile in another’s shoes’ in a racialized sense," a preface to the American Medical Association (AMA) guide says. "Collectively, we have an opportunity and obligation to overcome these fissures and create spaces for understanding and healing."

AMA - PDF

(More on the link)

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If medical schools ever adopt that philosophy, it will ruin the medical profession in the United States.

 

[AD1184]

Thanks. But it makes the proposal more poignantly absurd. As as I know, Japan's universities are meritocratic. But given the composition of it's population, it makes little sense to say that their using that standard is racist. So, then, there is nothing about the standard in and of itself that is racist.

Of course, if other countries abandon quality-based standards in favor of his labor-based proposal, then they will begin to lose ground vis-a-vis Japan. So, maybe he is being covertly pro-Japan. (I don't really think so, though.)

I suspect his nationality is American, and, frankly, his views are in perfect accordance with modern American academic trends in thought. I think it is more important to them that they overthrow existing methods, rather than replace them with better ones. These sorts of academics do not begin with the question of 'how do we make education better?' But rather, 'how can we subvert the previous existing educational order?' The goal is chaos, not improved international competitiveness. From the chaos, they hope to emerge supreme (once everyone is taught what to think, rather than how).

 

[nivek]

I think it is more important to them that they overthrow existing methods, rather than replace them with better ones.

I wonder if this type of overthrowing of systems and/or methods occurred at various stages in the past and could answer as to why there are unknowns and disconnects with some of our past history, in a crude way, a tearing down and subsequent reinventing of the wheel, more than once...

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[wwkirk]

Resistance...
USC professor refuses to remove Blue Lives Matter flag from office door: ‘Blue lives protect black lives’ | The College Fix

Jennifer Kabbany - Fix Editor •November 10, 2021

‘We are charging people very good money to teach them to think. I am just trying to deliver.’

University of Southern California Professor James Moore has come under fire for hanging a Blue Lives Matter flag on his office door, with some students saying he should remove it, calling the imagery “inappropriate” and counterproductive to creating an “inclusive” environment.

Moore hung the flag at the start of the fall semester. A few weeks ago, he said an administrator called him and suggested that perhaps he take the flag down. The professor of engineering and policy replied no, it stays up.

“It’s important,” Moore said in a telephone interview Tuesday with The College Fix. “Blue lives protect black lives, and black lives are not at risk from the police — they are at risk from crime — and it’s blue lives that stand between them and crime.”

But Moore’s public display (pictured) led to an article this week in the Daily Trojan calling the situation a “controversy” and quoting students who say the flag should come down.

“This is an inappropriate and unnecessary symbol to have on an office door where USC is, within the last year or two, trying to have a much broader diversity initiative and to be inclusive, especially in the STEM area,” grad student Shai Porat told the Daily Trojan.

Grad student Maricarmen Pachicano told the student newspaper: “I want them to take it down, and I want them to do something about Professor Moore because this is not the first controversial thing he’s done.”

Moore made headlines in the fall of 2018 when he reminded students in an email that “accusers sometimes lie” in response to a school-wide invitation to an event titled “Coffee and Title IX.”

“With Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony happening today, we are personally inspired to reiterate the importance of educating and empowering women and allies alike, and most of all, to BELIEVE SURVIVORS,” the invitation had read.

Moore responded by asking students to see the situation from a different perspective.

“If the day comes you are accused of some crime or tort of which you are not guilty, and you find your peers automatically believing your accuser, I expect you find yourself a stronger proponent of due process protections than you are now. Accusers sometimes lie,” Moore told students.

For that, students protested and demanded he be fired. At the time, then-Public Policy Dean Jack Knott called Moore’s email “extremely inappropriate, hurtful, insensitive,” but the professor was not administratively sanctioned or terminated.

Now, the students speaking out about Moore’s Blue Lives Matter flag are accusing him of “trolling,” according to the Daily Trojan article.

Moore said that’s not his intent.

“We are in an environment where there is a lot of homogenization of ideas, and diversity should include diversity of ideas,” he told The College Fix.

“This [USC] is supposed to be a safe space for diversity of thought,” the professor said. “We are charging people very good money to teach them to think. I am just trying to deliver.”

Moore said he was inspired to hang the flag for three main purposes.

One, to dispute the notion that police are the biggest statistical threat black lives face. He cited data found in “The War on Cops” author Heather Mac Donald’s research to point out that “the conclusions many people have reached about the risk police present to black folks are not grounded in data, because the data says otherwise.”

Two, he said he wanted to honor a family member who recently retired as a police detective, saying he respected the work that he did.

Finally, Moore said he seeks to sound the alarm on the fact that the U.S. homicide rate has spiked 30 percent amid the defund the police movement and in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

“All of that is attached to this flag, an unvarnished, objective look at what is happening in the U.S.,” he said. “We need the police to protect us.”

In a statement to the Daily Trojan, a university official asserted Moore’s right to keep the flag up:

“The university does not have a policy that limits the display of materials in spaces like this, though we are looking at whether it is needed. As part of the university’s commitment to academic freedom, a faculty member can express his or her individual beliefs and viewpoints on a wide variety of topics – even controversial issues – but they do not speak on behalf of a school or the broader university.”

Moore said he is satisfied with the university’s response — except for that part where officials say they are looking into whether a policy on faculty displays is needed. “Ominous,” the professor called it.

He is happy to discuss the flag with anyone, student or otherwise, offended by it, he said. Aside from some cryptic voicemails, the feedback he said he has received has been largely positive: “People have knocked on the door occasionally and said, ‘Thank you for doing this.’”

A self-described libertarian, he said he’s doing it because he believes colleges should be marketplaces of ideas.

“I am disappointed in the homogeneity of the language I see coming from central administration and the leadership of the school,” he said. “It doesn’t reflect critical thinking.”

“… And whether there are other libertarian and conservative faculty on campus, they are not inclined to speak up in the theater of ideas, so I figure I have a job to do.”

 

[nivek]

 

[nivek]

 

[nivek]

 

[nivek]

Yoga studies college professor orders students to use gender pronouns on assignments or grades take a hit

A yoga studies professor at California's Loyola Marymount University allegedly warned students that points will be deducted from their grade if they don’t include gender pronouns in their blog posts.

"I added a new syllabus to Brightspace and the one major change we all need to take note of is that all are required to include their pronouns next to their name in their blog posts," an email from Professor Christopher Miller at Loyola Marymount University posted by the Twitter account Libs of Tik Tok said. "I will count this toward your grade when I check for your name each time I grade the blogs."

Loyola Marymount’s website lists a professor, without using gender pronouns, named Christopher Jain Miller who is a Bhagwan Mallinath Assistant Professor of Jainism and Yoga Studies at the school’s Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts.

 

[nivek]

Controversial BLM founder says 'riots are the voice of the unheard' before storming out of interview with Dan Bongino who called him a coward for refusing to condemn violence and bloodshed



Hawk Newsome, co-founder of Black Lives Matter in New York City appeared on Fox News on Saturday night and was asked about comments made this week. Newsome told reporters 'There will be riots. There will be fire, and there will be bloodshed,' if Mayor-elect Eric Adams reinstates the NYPD's anti-crime units. Incoming Mayor Eric Adams has pledged to reinstate the NYPD's anti-crime units, about 600 plainclothes officers that fight violent crime. Asked by Fox News' Dan Bongino whether he 'condemned riots and burning down buildings after a police use-of-force incident', Newsome refused to take a stand. 'I'm not going to condemn, nor am I going to condone it,' Newsome responded. Bongino called Newsome's response 'cowardly' at which point he walked out and ended the interview.

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[nivek]

The thought police have arrived with ‘trigger warning’ alarm that goes off at every offensive remark

Trigger warnings have been built into a new device developed for classrooms and social gatherings that sounds an alarm when it detects offensive language and jokes. The lamp-sized gadget is an attempt to “manifest political correctness as an ideology into a product”, developers have said, and it is being trialled for potential use as a tool to moderate debate in settings like UK schools and universities.

Branded the “Themis”, the device is intended to be placed amid a debate setting and to emit a warning when it is triggered by the sound of banned language, racial terms and comments about body image. Dinner parties and family gatherings could be also policed by the product, its designer has said, as the device could speak up for those at the table offended by certain topics of conversation and encourage “self-critique” in others.

Zinah Issa, who unveiled the product at Dubai Design Week, told The Telegraph: “Through the use of speech recognition and sound sensors, we were able to program Themis to detect offensive terms and sentences - racial slurs, offensive jokes - through the microphone.” She added that “extremely bothersome” alarms triggered by such language “last approximately two minutes, after which Themis turns off, allowing then an open understanding discussion among people on the possible trigger matter and the potential reasons behind Themis's activation.”

Research is ongoing to see what terminology buyers would wish to have trigger the alarm on the Themis, which shares its name with a Greek goddess of justice and social order.

(More on the link)

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[pigfarmer]

 

[nivek]

 

[wwkirk]

New developments
Dozens of Loudoun County students stage walkout over sexual assault by boy in girls' bathroom

Loudoun Teen Convicted of Rape Pleads No Contest in 2nd Case

 

[nivek]

The college should fire him instead of "distancing themselves" from this rhetoric...

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Trans university professor sparks fury after claiming sexual attraction to children isn't always immoral: Wants to destigmatize pedophilia and use term Minor Attracted Persons instead

Allyn Walker who teaches sociology and criminal justice at Old Dominion University in Virginia, has penned a controversial book attempting to destigmatize pedophilia titled A Long Dark Shadow: Minor-Attracted People and Their Pursuit of Dignity. Walker, who is transgender and uses the pronouns they/them, had said in an online interview with the Prostasia Foundation that the term 'pedophile' leads to 'misconceptions about attractions towards minors'. The college has since distanced itself from the comments, saying it 'does not endorse or promote crimes against children'.

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[nivek]

House Republicans release whistleblower documents saying the FBI used counter-terrorism tactics to investigate parents and accuse AG Merrick Garland of lying to Congress

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has created a tag for threats against teachers and school administrators and is tracking such investigations on a national level. An FBI whistleblower provided an email dated Oct. 20 to House Republicans sent on behalf of the counter-terrorism division and the criminal division. The email referenced Attorney General Merrick Garland's Oct. 4 directive to the FBI to ramp up its involvement in school board threats, and notified agents of a new tag, 'EDUOFFICIALS,' to assign to any threats against school administrators, board members, staff or teachers to determine the scope of the problem on a national level and to provide a 'comprehensive analysis of the threat picture.'

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[nivek]

The college should fire him instead of "distancing themselves" from this rhetoric...

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Trans university professor sparks fury after claiming sexual attraction to children isn't always immoral: Wants to destigmatize pedophilia and use term Minor Attracted Persons instead

Allyn Walker who teaches sociology and criminal justice at Old Dominion University in Virginia, has penned a controversial book attempting to destigmatize pedophilia titled A Long Dark Shadow: Minor-Attracted People and Their Pursuit of Dignity. Walker, who is transgender and uses the pronouns they/them, had said in an online interview with the Prostasia Foundation that the term 'pedophile' leads to 'misconceptions about attractions towards minors'. The college has since distanced itself from the comments, saying it 'does not endorse or promote crimes against children'.

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An update...

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Fury as Old Dominion university REFUSES to fire trans professor who said pedophiles can't help their urges and should be given child sex dolls: Students and LGBTQA board slam 'baffling double standard' for woke staff

The refusal of a Virginia university to fire a transgender assistant professor who defended pedophiles and said they should be given child sex dolls has outraged students, alumni, politicians and the school's LGBTQ board, who say it is proof of a double standard that protects woke staff.

Allyn Walker, 34, is an assistant professor of sociology and criminal justice at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. The non-binary teacher claimed in a recent interview to promote their new book that pedophiles shouldn't be ostracized, that they can't help who they are attracted to and that they should be given child-like sex dolls to satisfy their urges.

Walker, formerly known as Allison, made the comments in an interview to promote their book Long Dark Shadow: Minor Attracted People and their Pursuit of Dignity. They believe pedophiles should be referred to as Minor Attracted People, and that they don't 'choose' who to be attracted to so shouldn't be considered 'immoral'.

(More on the link)

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[wwkirk]

An update...

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Fury as Old Dominion university REFUSES to fire trans professor who said pedophiles can't help their urges and should be given child sex dolls: Students and LGBTQA board slam 'baffling double standard' for woke staff

The refusal of a Virginia university to fire a transgender assistant professor who defended pedophiles and said they should be given child sex dolls has outraged students, alumni, politicians and the school's LGBTQ board, who say it is proof of a double standard that protects woke staff.

Allyn Walker, 34, is an assistant professor of sociology and criminal justice at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. The non-binary teacher claimed in a recent interview to promote their new book that pedophiles shouldn't be ostracized, that they can't help who they are attracted to and that they should be given child-like sex dolls to satisfy their urges.

Walker, formerly known as Allison, made the comments in an interview to promote their book Long Dark Shadow: Minor Attracted People and their Pursuit of Dignity. They believe pedophiles should be referred to as Minor Attracted People, and that they don't 'choose' who to be attracted to so shouldn't be considered 'immoral'.

(More on the link)

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The LGBTQ and transgender crowd is fearful (rightfully so) that this person's views will help undermine their image and ideological stance.

 

[AD1184]

An update...

...

Fury as Old Dominion university REFUSES to fire trans professor who said pedophiles can't help their urges and should be given child sex dolls: Students and LGBTQA board slam 'baffling double standard' for woke staff

The refusal of a Virginia university to fire a transgender assistant professor who defended pedophiles and said they should be given child sex dolls has outraged students, alumni, politicians and the school's LGBTQ board, who say it is proof of a double standard that protects woke staff.

Allyn Walker, 34, is an assistant professor of sociology and criminal justice at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. The non-binary teacher claimed in a recent interview to promote their new book that pedophiles shouldn't be ostracized, that they can't help who they are attracted to and that they should be given child-like sex dolls to satisfy their urges.

Walker, formerly known as Allison, made the comments in an interview to promote their book Long Dark Shadow: Minor Attracted People and their Pursuit of Dignity. They believe pedophiles should be referred to as Minor Attracted People, and that they don't 'choose' who to be attracted to so shouldn't be considered 'immoral'.

(More on the link)

While I relish the chance to whale on a leftist academic as much as the next person, I think emotion has overtaken reason in this case. This isn't an instance of NAMBLA-style activism. The professor is not advocating for sexual interference with children. The professor said 'In other words, it's not who we're attracted to that's either OK or not OK. It's our behaviors in responding to that attraction that are either OK or not OK.' i.e. There is a distinction between paedophilia and child molestation. The former is a medical term for a mental disorder, and the latter a legal term for a criminal act. It is in the mainstream of psychiatric practice to offer non-offending paedophiles treatment to control their urges. It may be the case in the US that someone coming forward for such psychiatric treatment must be reported to the authorities, but I am not sure that is the case in every legal jurisdiction in the world. If you are going to get angry with this academic for this reason, then you may as well get angry with the field of psychiatry as well, and if you want people removed from their jobs merely for holding opinions, then that is not altogether different to how the woke mob behaves.

 

[nivek]

While I relish the chance to whale on a leftist academic as much as the next person, I think emotion has overtaken reason in this case. This isn't an instance of NAMBLA-style activism. The professor is not advocating for sexual interference with children. The professor said 'In other words, it's not who we're attracted to that's either OK or not OK. It's our behaviors in responding to that attraction that are either OK or not OK.' i.e. There is a distinction between paedophilia and child molestation. The former is a medical term for a mental disorder, and the latter a legal term for a criminal act. It is in the mainstream of psychiatric practice to offer non-offending paedophiles treatment to control their urges. It may be the case in the US that someone coming forward for such psychiatric treatment must be reported to the authorities, but I am not sure that is the case in every legal jurisdiction in the world. If you are going to get angry with this academic for this reason, then you may as well get angry with the field of psychiatry as well, and if you want people removed from their jobs merely for holding opinions, then that is not altogether different to how the woke mob behaves.

Good point, however paedophilia and child molestation are sticky subjects for many Americans, for some it's infuriating to even bring up the topic in any discussion...I can see more clearly what he meant after reading this...

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