Blaming The Olds For Disgust At Cancel Culture
There's an absolute crap column in the NYT by Michelle Goldberg, minimizing the unjust and chilling effects of campus cancel culture. This is the most ridiculous line in it:
Many people I know over 40 -- maybe 35 -- resent new social mores that demand outsized sensitivity to causing harm. It has been jarring to go from an intellectual culture that prizes transgression to one that polices it. The shame of turning into the sort of old person repelled by the sensibilities of the young is a cause of real psychic pain.
Luckily, there are commenters with some wisdom. (Skim the column at the link -- screenshots of commenters' remarks are the things worth reading.)
And the other:
It is not merely that bad words are forbidden, but the very heart of education is forbidden. For example, law students object to hearing about rape--but how can they learn to defend a rapist or prosecute rape without learning about it? Also law students do not want to hear the N word and a law prof can lose his job, but the N word is part of key legal cases on defamation, civil rights, and free speech.
Paleontology is stifled because american indians refuse to allow blood samples or use of bones for population genetics studies. You are at risk if you study IQ or personality inheritance or violence or crime. We cannot admit that welfare is detrimental. Study of trans reversion is forbidden. If your research suggests that climate change models are wonky you better be working outside the academy. Research on AIDS or Covid or other diseases can run into trouble. Research on race/sex specific diseases is both demanded and condemned. Does your research show that kids with 2 parents do better? Better hide. If a literature teacher, discussing any books including sex scenes are a risk. Merely teaching European history can get you denounced. It is nuts.
cc at September 23, 2021 8:30 AM
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