She’s not woke enough – literally
Nearly 2,000 people called for the termination of a New York City professor after she reportedly fell asleep during an anti-racist meeting held on Zoom.
Patricia Simon, a theater arts associate professor at Marymount Manhattan College, is facing requests for her removal after a June 29 Zoom meeting to discuss the adoption of an “anti-racist framework.”
You will not be allowed to sleep through the revolution – although it seems that Simon claims she didn’t actually sleep, she was just resting her “Zoom-weary eyes,” and that she listened with her “ears and heart the entire meeting.”
Not good enough, Ms. Simon. Not nearly good enough. You must listen with your entire body.
What appears to be the case here is that Simon’s apparent Zoomsnooze gave disgruntled students a chance to tee off at a teacher who had offended many of her prickly charges before. My favorite accusation is this one: “enabling the racist and sizeist actions and words of the vocal coaches under her jurisdiction.” These days “racist” can mean anything, literally anything. But reading between the lines, I’d guess that Simon may have committed the unpardonable crime of pointing out to some significantly overweight students that their career opportunities out in the world – as opposed to within the hallowed halls of Marymount – might be limited somewhat by that extra poundage. Reality, unfortunately, is still somewhat “sizeist.”
When I was in college, no one cared what we students thought of our professors, unless they did something remarkably egregious (raped someone? murdered someone?). We were not even asked – not once – to fill out evaluation forms. I had a number of really bad or really mean ones. That wasn’t the greatest of situations, but the pendulum has now swung so far in the other direction that it’s coming round to bite us all in the you-know-what.
I always thought that putting up with Professors was part of the process of preparing callow youth for the work place; although very much an introductory course.
I was apparently failing that part of my academic requirement, and left after two years to go into flight training. Neither the University nor I were particularly traumatized by my presence or my departure. (Admittedly I was following a preconceived plan and my efforts to assimilate were minimal.)
Like most people, I eventually received post-graduate exposure to work place dynamics in a harder school.
I think today’s students are in for a rude shock. At least my recent graduate twin grand children are learning some lessons that were neglected.
I recall an astronomy professor who told us our final was going to be so many true/false questions, so many multiple choice, so many short answer, etc. He then handed out evaluations. When we came in for the final, it was two essay questions. I made a point of spitting on the seat of his motorcycle every time I walked through the teacher’s lot the rest of the time I was in school.
Teen Vogue, weirdly reinvented as Leftist youth indoctrination propaganda, recently had an article explaining how sleep is racist. The thesis is that black people are tired from generations of systemic racism, and current protesting, and black power napping is a form of reparations.
No word on whether white people napping is ok, but my guess is that it’s racist because white people have supposedly been well rested all this time. This is an absurdly dysfunctional way to think.
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/black-power-naps-addressing-systemic-racism-in-sleep?fbclid=IwAR3FZG4d-hzKOCl1Pap_xFJXutSiqu0ASD6CoTl_xuA8xyOf5BQvExBpRkg
“Not good enough, Ms. Simon. Not nearly good enough. You must listen with your entire body.”
Tolerance is not enough.
Acceptance is not enough.
Insufficiently enthusiastic celebration will be punished.
Ester:
Black Power Napping while driving may be a self limiting phenomenon, although others may be adversely effected. Systemic racism was on display in that Wendy’s in Atlanta recently when someone was Black Power Napping in his vehicle and he was shot dead for it (I’ve left out some objective “white” details about the incident). It’s all good in the fight against white supremacy. 🙂
Was it the first season of American Idol that Simon Cowell pointed out that a very large female singer had no chance of becoming a music star despite her amazing voice?
A bit off topic, but Neo did put this thread under Academia. Just wanted to bring this to attention: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/conservative-group-launches-divestu-to-redirect-donations-away-from-liberal-colleges
Seems they already got about $7million redirected. I’ve always said the only way to get them to change is by hitting them where it hurts. But this initiative will work only with the big donors. I regularly tell the poor students who call from my 3 alma maters that I won’t give anything until the culture changes, but I’m small potatoes and I’m sure the student doesn’t make any report on my statement, but hey….
Look Fat…,
The hard left is cannibalizing the soft left. I view that as a good thing. It makes the hard targets easier to identify. This will come down to blood and lead impacting bone.
The Russian rocket developer Boris Chertok, who wrote a wonderful memoir, had a friend in the Soviet occupation troops in Germany following WWII. This man was apparently an excellent officer and was also a talented poet, but hewas viewed as unsuitable for promotion on political grounds. Why?…the Red Army had no problem with poets, and these poems were totally non-political That was exactly the problem: “His poems never mention Stalin or the Party”
Here’s Ayn Rand, in her novel ‘We the Living’ (based partly on her own experiences in post-revolutionary Russia, describing the work environment of her protagonist at the only place she could find a job:
“All workers in the office are expected to be member of the Marxist Club (ie, to be “engaged,” as todays Progs would put it), which meets after hours and for attendance at which the workers are not paid. The club met twice a week: one member read a thesis he had prepared and the others discussed it. When it is Kira’s turn, she reads her thesis on “Marxism and Leninism,” which she has copied, barely changing the words, from the “ABC of Communism,” a book whose study is compulsory in every school in the country.
She knew that all her listeners had read it, that they had also read her thesis, time and time again, in every editorial of every newspaper for the last six years. They sat around her, hunched, legs stretched out limply, shivering in their overcoats. They knew she was there for the same reason they were. The girl in the leather jacket presided, yawning once in a while.
After mandatory discussion (“Kira knew that she had to argue and defend her thesis; she knew that the consumptive young man had to argue to show his activity; she knew that he was no more interested in the discussion than she was, that his blue eyelids were weary with sleeplessness, that he clasped his thin hands nervously, not daring to glance at his wristwatch…”), the meeting finally comes to a close. “We shall thank Comrade Argounova for her valuable work,” said the chairman. “Our next meeting will be devoted to a thesis by Comrade Leskov on ‘Marxism and Collectivism.’”
We are getting uncomfortably close to that environment in America today.
We are getting uncomfortably close to that environment in America today.
David Foster: Great comment.
One can, in the comfort of America, dispute Ayn Rand’s “extremism.” But she was there in the new Soviet Russia. She lived it and she escaped it.
Her early life is such fairy tale! She becomes interested in film at university, discovers America through its movies, uses her family connections in Russia and America to go abroad to the US, gets a letter of introduction to Cecil B. DeMille from a relative in Chicago, gets a ride with him on her first day in Hollywood, impresses him so much that he gets her a job as an extra for several weeks, meets her future husband, finds a niche in studio wardrobe department and works steadily through the depression. Thus she begins her serious writing.
No wonder she had such unshakable confidence in her opinions… For all her stubborn rationalism, she seemed to have as clear-cut a destiny as any figure I can think of.
Or maybe she was like Lawrence of Arabia — a person so determined that she wrote her name in the sands where “Nothing is written” through sheer will.
There’s a wonderful documentary on Rand’s life, “Ayn Rand: In Her Own Words.” The YouTubes for it often have the thoughtcrime warning:
This video may be inappropriate for some users.
You have to click a button just to see the trailer. However, you can see the whole thing on Amazon Prime:
https://www.amazon.com/Ayn-Rand-Her-Own-Words/dp/B004WQWMP4
I became a hippie in those bygone days, but I also read Rand and didn’t forget her.
If a prof had given any of those students who had signed the Fire Her petition a Zero for the day for sleeping in class, rest assured each and all of those students would be furious at the injustice of that. Zero for thee, not for me.
Huxley…”One can, in the comfort of America, dispute Ayn Rand’s “extremism.” But she was there in the new Soviet Russia. She lived it and she escaped it.”
From a strictly literary standpoint, I think ‘We the Living’ is way better than her later works…probably because of the personal-experience connection.
There was a very good movie made from the book, in Fascist Italy of all places. It was allowed to be released because it was anti-Communist, it was later recalled when it was realized that it was more generally anti-Totalitarian.
“I think today’s students are in for a rude shock. Oldflyer
Perhaps. So many companies jumping on board the “America’s racism is systemic” train bodes ill for them when those unsane students show up for a job.
When those companies refuse to hire them at a “livable wage” lawyers will have a field day filing class action lawsuits against those companies.
““Not good enough, Ms. Simon. Not nearly good enough. You must listen with your entire body.”
Ah but that’s not good enough either. Atonement for our ancestor’s racial sins can only be achieved through racial and cultural suicide.
As the UK just demonstrated, in their view even children are not safe from arrest.
“The hard left is cannibalizing the soft left. I view that as a good thing. It makes the hard targets easier to identify. This will come down to blood and lead impacting bone.” parker
It’s as predictable as any prior war. The leftist crocodile is coming for everyone. A fatal case of indigestion awaits.
David Foster: I have read Rand’s “The Fountainhead” and “Atlas Shrugged,” as well as a couple Rand bios, though not “We the Living.” You inspire me to get to it. As I recall, it is a shorter book than the others…
There was an odd, reverential Hollywood film of “The Fountainhead” with Gary Cooper playing Howard Roark. It was shot in that German Expressionist style with strong angles and high contrast. Rand wrote the screenplay.
I recommend it. These days it looks like a film from an alternate history.
The YouTube trailers also have the thoughtcrime warning.
But here’s an excerpt of Gary Cooper in “The Fountainhead” making his appeal to the jury. So far, it appears without a thoughtcrime warning:
_____________________________________________
Thousands of years ago the first man discovered how to make fire. He was probably burned at the stake…
“The Fountainhead courtroom speech by Howard Roark”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AX4MKIDvXLM
_____________________________________________
I doubt the younger generations know, but Ayn Rand was pretty hot stuff in the mid-20th C. Many people felt compelled to denounce her, but the point is they knew her.
Diversitists (e.g. racists, sexists) are woke and sleepy. The professor, to her credit, is just sleepy.
And people thought i was being hyperbolic when i said invest in ovens..
physicsguy on July 16, 2020 at 4:30 pm said:
A bit off topic, but Neo did put this thread under Academia. Just wanted to bring this to attention: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/conservative-group-launches-divestu-to-redirect-donations-away-from-liberal-colleges
* * *
What in tarnation took them so long!!
Ah. Rich peoples problems.
AesopFan: “What in tarnation took them so long!!”
Exactly. I fear it’s a good move that’s too little, too late. Even if it has the desired effect it will take 20 years to get the tenured radicals replaced. If this had started around 2005 the country might look very different now…..sigh…..
Cut out the video and claim bandwidth problems when using Zoom.