१५ फेब्रुवारी, २०२१

"The parents of adventurous young meritocrats paid $5,490 (plus airfare) for two weeks studying 'Public Health and Development in the Andes.'"

"On that trip, the reporter, Donald G. McNeil Jr., got into a series of heated arguments with students, none of them Black, on the charged question of race. Their complaints would ultimately end his career as a high-profile public health reporter for The Times, and again put The Times at the center of the national argument over journalism and racism and labor.... The student at the center of this story is Sophie Shepherd, who isn’t among the teenagers who have spoken anonymously to other news organizations. She and two other students said she was the person who spoke the most to Mr. McNeil and spent the most time with him on their 'student journey.' She was 17 at the time, and had just finished her senior year at Phillips Academy Andover, a boarding school sometimes rated America’s best."

She’s the kind of teenager who is excited to talk to a New York Times correspondent about public health, and perhaps to put the adventure on a résumé. She had even done the optional reading Mr. McNeil suggested, Jared Diamond’s 1997 book, “Guns, Germs, and Steel,” a Pulitzer-winning history that argues that environmental and geographic factors produced the global domination of European civilization. 
The book has drawn criticism for a deterministic view that seems to absolve colonial powers of responsibility for their choices.... She asked him, she recalled, about the criticism of the book. “He got very defensive very quickly about it,” she recalled. “It’s just a book, it’s just making this point, it’s very simple, it’s not racist.” She said she backed down, apologized and “felt terribly guilty — like I must have come off as a crazy liberal.” 
At lunch that day, she said she sat down the table from Mr. McNeil at a cafe overlooking the town’s narrow streets, where he was talking to another student when he uttered the N-word, and used the word in the context of a discussion of racism. Some of the teenagers responded almost reflexively, she said, to object to his use of the word in any context. 
“I’m very used to people — my grandparents or people’s parents — saying things they don’t mean that are insensitive,” another student, who was then 17 and is now attending an Ivy League college, told me. “You correct them, you tell them, ‘You’re not supposed to talk like that,’ and usually people are pretty apologetic and responsive to being corrected. And he was not.” 
Ms. Shepherd said she thought the word was inappropriate but hardly the worst thing that happened on the trip, which she documented in a diary that she referred to in describing details to me. She also felt sorry for Mr. McNeil. “There was this atmosphere where people didn’t like him,” she said. “He was kind of a grumpy old guy.”...
A few nights later, after a hike up Machu Picchu, she sat with Mr. McNeil at dinner at El Albergue.... On the walk over, she said, she talked about her favorite class at Andover, a history of American education that covered racial discrimination. He responded, she recalled, that “it’s frustrating, because Black Americans keep blaming the system, but racism is over, there’s nothing against them anymore — they can get out of the ghetto if they want to.” 
Ms. Shepherd said she tried to argue, but he talked over her whenever she interjected, their voices getting louder and attracting the attention of other students, two of whom confirmed her account of the conversation. “This is the thing with these liberal institutions like Andover — they teach you the world should be like this but that’s not how reality is,” she recalled him telling her. 
(I sent Mr. McNeil a full account of Ms. Shepherd’s recollections; he said he won’t be responding publicly until he has officially left The Times on March 1. “I’m sure we’ll have different memories of conversations that took place that long ago,” he said in an email.)

She kept a diary. You never know how accurate any given observer's observations are, but contemporaneous day-by-day notes give her substantial power. Perhaps McNeil too has his notes, but his statements "I’m sure we’ll have different memories of conversations that took place that long ago" suggests that he did not write things down as they occurred. 

When Ben Smith gave McNeil a "full account of Ms. Shepherd’s recollections," did he include the fact that Shepherd kept a diary? I'm thinking no, because he said "memories of conversations that took place that long ago." She made a point of preserving her impressions and not merely relying on memory — though, of course, the impressions could have been inaccurate at the time, she could be interposing inaccuracy as she relies on her notes now to talk to Smith, and she could even be dishonest in her claim that she did keep a diary. Hearsay problems galore.

Now that Shepherd has come forward and connected her identity with McNeil's fate, it's quite possible that the critics of cancel culture will come after her. Unlike McNeil, who can retire from his reporting career and still do well by writing books, Shepherd has her entire career in front of her. She may be a privileged young woman, with parents who could afford to send her on the trip and to Phillips Academy Andover, but she did nothing wrong, reading and thinking and talking about her ideas in a setting where McNeil was holding himself out as a resource for her and owed her those conversations. She doesn't even sound as though she was impudent and self-righteous.

I'm seeing things like this at Twitter:

Take care not to become the thing that you deplore. 

ADDED: Let me be clear that Christina Hoff Sommers is reacting to that article in the NYT about Sophie Shepherd:

I quite specifically mean to say that there is a danger that the opponents of cancel culture are slipping into a cancel culture of their own. I am trying to be accurate and fair to everyone concerned.

You can see that Lee Fang (an investigative journalist at The Intercept) is saying something about Shepherd — that she "falsely accused famed science reporter Don McNeill of racism, effectively ending his storied career at the Times" — and that is not supported by the text of the article. Yet Fang poses as outraged at false accusations!

२४९ टिप्पण्या:

«सर्वात जुने   ‹थोडे जुने   249 पैकी 201 – 249
cassandra lite म्हणाले...

Privileged girl thinks the 1619 Project was real reporting. No wonder she proudly tells the NYT that she corrects her grandparents.

Roughcoat म्हणाले...

She's a rat and an asshole. Is that better than calling her a fascist? More accurate, perhaps?

But the NYT was worse.

Mark म्हणाले...

The NYT is a very dysfunctional institution that has way too much cultural sway. Too many of my friends think it is a must-read and let it determine their view of news and cultural events.

White Privilege. Writers, editors, subscribers, and readers all.

Robert Cook म्हणाले...

It seems to me that McNeil--who should not have lost his job over this--failed in his role as an educator to these young people. Rather than become "defensive" at the young girl's questions about the book, and rather than simply assert over the objections of his young charges that blacks have no "racism" holding them back anymore, he should have tried to draw them into a Socratic conversation, asking them to elaborate on their points of view, and giving them his consideration. He then could have countered with other points of view, not just his own, and asked them to consider the long-term implications of these various perspectives. He should never have insisted on his (or any particular) point of view as being "right" and all others being wrong.

William म्हणाले...

Samuel Johnson was the very epitome of a grumpy old man. In his dictionary, he used the Reynolds portrait of himself to illustrate the word grumpy. When he first met Boswell, he initiated that relationship with an ethnic slur against Scottish people. This was not so long after the Battle of Culloden where the English had behaved very badly towards the Scots. Sticks and stone will hurt my bones, but muskets will kill me.... Boswell chose to ignore the slur and the grumpiness and to press forward in his eagerness to make friends with Dr. Johnson. He felt that beyond the grumpiness and the anti-Scot bigotry, there was something about Johnson worth knowing.....How wrong he was. The correct and righteous course of action would have been to walk out. Boswell's father was an important man in the Scot government. He should have used his father's connections to get Johnson's pension cancelled. There's no excuse for any kind of prejudice, and especially not any kind of prejudice against the Scots who are uniformly wonderful people. McNeil is the one exception....Well, I'm glad to see that humanity has learned something in the intervening centuries. This young woman realized that there was nothing to learn from this benighted Scot and took prompt action to see that he would no longer be in a position to spread his toxicity. If only Boswell had acted with similar dispatch and resolution.

Nancy Reyes म्हणाले...

I am curious. Was her entire diary about her awful teacher, or did she learn about the people who live there? Did they actually learn about the problems of public health among people in the Andes? Did she meet any locals and actually talk to them? Did they discuss sanitation, nutrition, and local history? Or is her entire diary full of her observations of the terrible teacher who dared to say "controversial" things to get his pupils to think?

and by the way: The Incas were themselves colonial powers who conquered the local tribes and even forced them to relocate.. and this happened shortly before the Spanish came. Was this in her PC history course?

Roughcoat म्हणाले...

Never be alone in a room with young people (teens-thirties) and never be alone with a woman of any age.

At work I do not interact with young people and women in any but the most pleasant facile way. I'm very bland; enigmatic, almost.

Curiously, but not surprisingly, some of the women about my age seem to find this attractive about me. Like catnip to a cat. I wish I'd known more about this when I was in my teens and twenties. But I digress.

I work at the University of Chicago and interact with a lot of young people and women; also woke male academics. I tread very carefully. It's like walking through a minefield.

Our society and culture have really become quite shitty.

Rick म्हणाले...

FullMoon said...
Seems like she was trying to get laid, upset at lack of success.


If he was a good looking 40 or President of the United States I might suspect that. But reality suggests otherwise.

Balfegor म्हणाले...

Re: Tom T.:

There's zero likelihood that a reporter from the New York Times said "racism is over."

I don't know about that. A lot of people who publicly regurgitate the usual cant about racism when in the US express somewhat different views when chatting in private outside the US, or when talking a language other than English. That said, I've experienced this frankness mostly from Whites in Japan, and Japan must be something like hell to the "woke," so that's probably a self-selected group. And from Koreans speaking Korean in the US. Or speaking English, while I nervously try and get them to switch to Korean.

h म्हणाले...

It's one thing to talk about whether or not the NYT reporter's words are so egregious that the student should have reported them.

I don't really object to a high school aged student making a determination that a statement was offensive in some way, or that it might be offensive to others.

But the authorities need to stand up and take an adult position: Thanks for bringing this to our attention, but it is not something we think should warrant action against the reporter.

Quaestor म्हणाले...

She sounds like a pretty respectful person to me.

Much of what "sounds" respectful in the abstract, e.g. Miss Shephard's diary, can be far from respectful in a more concrete context --

Step out of the car, sir...

Your papers are not in order, mein Herr.

Are you comfortable, Mr. Bond?

Respectfully brutal. Respectfully tyrannical. Respectfully murderous. Give me a fucking break.

Furthermore, Althouse puts too much faith in the evidentiary value of Miss Shephard's diary. They are hardly reliable records of objective facts, especially personal diaries. Official diaries are often no better, even though some of them are subject to laws and regulations which often severely sanction falsification and error. For example, the most egregious corruption case in the history of the NYPD, the so-called Seven-Five scandal, went undetected for nearly ten years primarily because of falsified official diaries.

Official diaries of military units are the meat and potatoes of military historians, however, even supposedly basic facts regarding a crucial battle such as its location in space and time, let alone more incidental details such as who participated and who won, are often muddled or outright contradicted by diary entries. For example, the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands (25–27 October 1942) is important because many historian believe it represented Japan's last opportunity to stave off total defeat in the Pacific War. The loss of USS Hornet (CV-6) in the Santa Cruz battle left USS Enterprise (CV-6) the only operational Allied carrier in the Pacific Ocean against four operational carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Consequently, the sinking of Hornet is important to naval historians. It took the better part of a day for that warship to finally disappear beneath the waves, which gave her officers plenty of time to rescue tons of ship's documents, logs, and dairies -- invaluable resources for historians and analysts, or would have been if they didn't contradict one another on such minor details as the location of Hornet when the final "abandon ship!" order came. Hornet's gravesite was a matter of conjecture until the research vessel Pretrel discovered the wreck in 2019.

So don't tell me about the importance of the personal diary of a self-regarding teenaged elitist with a straight face. Okay?

Rick म्हणाले...

Smith's using "meritocrats" is shocking. Not only does Wokeism consider meritocracy to be white supremacy but what have these kids done to merit the term? It's an implicit admission that places in our supposed meritocratic institutions (government, academia, journalism) are based on parents having the money or connections to get you into the right schools (her high school costs 58k / year, plus 5k for the trip).

Not to mention where else can these kids earn this description instead of being dismissed as privileged? I guess whites in rural Kentucky have the real privilege.

Pointguard म्हणाले...

I am a “grumpy old man”early Boomer who worked since I was 11 including my way through a good State U, because of lots of siblings even though I could have attended an Ivy. Then After “winning” the first draft lottery, I served 3 years for Uncle Sam who provided all expense paid trips to sea on a man of war. Then I attended a top private graduate school on the GI Bill allowing for a great career and the ability to send my kids to the best schools that fit their needs and skills and career goals. This is a long way around to say I would not listen to moral opinions or advice from some rich, spoiled, snotty 17 year old who has never worked a day. In her life and has been brainwashed by “woke” teachers and friends. The shock to me, Ann is your defense and inability to condemn her and her friends’ behavior. Maybe she is not a fascist, but she does a good impression of. N East German Stasi. I am afraid all is lost.

Chennaul म्हणाले...

Looks like some of his colleagues are coming to his defense in the comments section at the NYT:


B
NYC
6h a go
As a longtime former colleague of Donald McNeil, I'd like to add a few facts to this discussion. First of all, there are many, many journalists inside The Times newsroom who know Mr. McNeil as a helpful, even generous colleague, who recognize his long record of mentoring younger journalists, and who are grateful to him for his union advocacy. Second, in 2018, he was The Times expert on a previous student trip to Peru to general satisfaction. Third, his commitment to journalism, in particular on behalf of vulnerable populations, is indisputable. His awards include: The 2020 John Chancellor Award for Lifetime Achievement, including for helping Africans get AIDS drugs and Indian cancer patients get pain relief; a 2019 Association of Health Care Journalists Award for reporting from Uganda and South Africa; a 2007 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award for covering diseases needing eradication in Nigeria and Haiti, and a 2002 National Association of Black Journalists Award for a series on AIDS in one South African town. Finally, for those of us who know Mr. McNeil, the position on racial issues attributed to him by the young woman in the article is contrary to our experience of him.


There are a few more like that.

Rosalyn C. म्हणाले...

This also reminded me of the melt down over Halloween costumes and how the students weren't being adequately protected by their deans against offensive costumes. One student was very very upset.

I'm also reminded of all the Black professors with tenure and secure high salaries and positions of fame and high esteem who are now teaching their students that racism is overwhelming, systemic, and worse than ever. All white people, lower case 'w', are racists and must be psychologically beaten into submission, ironically like the slaves who were beaten into submission. Otherwise Blacks won't have a chance to succeed in our horrible racist society. And yet somehow those professors mysteriously became successful, possibly because they all are super geniuses. If you disagree that you are a racist, you are a racist for sure. Those are the rules. I can genuinely empathize with the reporter who had grown up when brilliant and talented Blacks were denied opportunities and recognition just because of their skin color, and therefore that the reporter believes that racism is less pernicious when many Blacks who are not geniuses can achieve successful careers if they work hard in school. That opinion would be unacceptable to the woke private school student, as she reported in her diary. His experience counts less than what the students have been taught.

I don't like to label the woke generation as fascist but I have seen polls and interviews with students held on college campuses expressing their view that freedom of speech should be curtailed. They believe there are acceptable opinions and if you don't voice them you should be attacked and silenced. That does remind me of Nazi youth who turned in people with unacceptable views.

Tom T. म्हणाले...

I also strongly suspect that he was not "grumpy" or "defensive." Rather, these kids lack any frame of reference to interpret disagreement or challenges to their thinking, so they classify it as some variation of anger.

Rick म्हणाले...

Althouse:

"I quite specifically mean to say that there is a danger that the opponents of cancel culture are slipping into a cancel culture of their own. I am trying to be accurate and fair to everyone concerned."

Cancel culture will never end if those who support it aren't also subjected to it.

FullMoon म्हणाले...

Surprised to find this was addressed by NYT in 2019


the Daily Beast

Althouse links says the guy was courting trouble on his whacko China Virus commentary.

"Postcard From Peru: Why the Morality Plays Inside The Times Won’t Stop/Other news organizations have their own personnel dramas. But none attract the spotlight the way The Times does."

FullMoon म्हणाले...


Blogger Rick said...

FullMoon said...
Seems like she was trying to get laid, upset at lack of success.

If he was a good looking 40 or President of the United States I might suspect that. But reality suggests otherwise.

2/15/21, 6:16 PM


Sources familiar with her thinking suggest she was interested in status and acceptance, not youth and charm. She said herself that she did not get along with other students on the trip. And the fact they were loudly arguing like angry lovers suggests more investigation is warranted.

NYC JournoList म्हणाले...

Being irascible could be said to be a part of the job description of a “dean” reporter. Reporters are not teachers. The real question is why he was on the trip as nothing in his trip duties are a part of his job duties. Perhaps he should have been DQ’d as a trip guide, but his irascibility and willingness to challenge is part of what makes a good reporter. Ruffling feathers is a part of the job.

Spiros म्हणाले...

Rich people's kids are predatory a**holes.

Science -- Evolutionary theorist David Sloan Wilson researched cooperative behavior in New York high-school students. He found that the higher a neighborhood's median income, the "less cooperative" were its teenagers. Big surprise...

Film -- In a Justice League movie, the Flash confronted the Batman: "What are your superpowers again?" The Batman responded: "I'm rich." Batman sucks.

Literature -- From the Great Gatsby: “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy – they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”

Michael म्हणाले...

Robert Cook
I quite agree. But there is no evidence that this was not the approach he was taking.

FullMoon म्हणाले...


Blogger Michael said...

Robert Cook
I quite agree. But there is no evidence that this was not the approach he was taking.

Correct. He may have made comments in a friendly manner with a slight smile and a twinkle in his eye. She may have disagreed in a similar fashion.



Mark म्हणाले...

In a Justice League movie, the Flash confronted the Batman: "What are your superpowers again?" The Batman responded: "I'm rich." Batman sucks.

Yeah, the rich, arrogant elite suck.

Problem is that the eugenic, Nietzschian concept of the ubermensch (superman), with all its master race implications, is even worse.

MikeR म्हणाले...

"I quite specifically mean to say that there is a danger that the opponents of cancel culture are slipping into a cancel culture of their own." Something wrong with that? These people are destroying other people's lives. When people do that we generally respond by taking away their resources to do so. That's why we have prisons.

Lem Vibe Bandit म्हणाले...

"She was 17 at the time"

If students and professors could still have sex that trip might've turned out differently.

#StuffRhMighSay

Mark म्हणाले...

"I quite specifically mean to say that there is a danger that the opponents of cancel culture are slipping into a cancel culture of their own."

That's called projection.

Roughcoat म्हणाले...

The loss of USS Hornet (CV-6) in the Santa Cruz battle left USS Enterprise (CV-6) the only operational Allied carrier in the Pacific Ocean against four operational carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy.

Not quite. In addition there was the USS "Robin" (framing the name in quotes is deliberate, and you'll soon know why).

She was a good-sized carrier, bigger than Wasp and Hornet at nearly 29,000 tons displacement(fully loaded). She saw a lot of action in the SW Pacific in that dark time before the new Essex-class carrier arrived on the scene. At one point she was in combat for 28 straight days.

Robin steams under the radar of most Second World War historians and history buffs. Very few people know about her. Which is unfair to her, and to the legacy of her crew.

Find out more at: https://www.armouredcarriers.com/uss-robin-hms-victorious

mandrewa म्हणाले...

Many of the articles and columns that appear in the New York Times are written by modern day fascists. Far left and specifically woke ideology have a lot in common with fascism.

But as for Sophie Shepherd, surely we need to know a lot more before we can say that she belongs to this movement. Offhand it doesn't look good as it sounds like she reported someone for the offense of not being politically correct, or to say it another way for not agreeing with her.

But we don't know that for certain. And there is a problem anyway with accepting the story that is presented to us as the truth. Journalists in the aggregate manage to get an amazing number of things wrong. And then the subject is a child and a non-public figure. And since the whole story is really about what people said and how they said it, and perhaps even more about their motivations, then I would say that the whole business was a matter of opinion even at the time that the words were said and even if I had been there to hear them.

On the other hand if I try to put myself in Sophie's shoes, then I can't imagine I would have reported on this conversation to the New York Times unless I had intended to cause Donald McNeil harm.

Rick म्हणाले...

Inga said...
And it’s only going to get worse. This is what Trumpism wrought. Distortion of reality allowed it to gain strength, living outside of reality and being unwilling or unable to recognize reality or even remotely consider both sides is the prevalent feature of Trumpism. Everyone who disagrees with Trumpist ideas is a fascist or a Nazi we are told here daily in these comments sections.


Revealingly this describes Inga long before Trump came to the political scene. Numerous times she asserted all Republicans believe as Todd Akin does on abortion. She also claimed religious Americans want to create The HandMaid's Tale here in America. This is before her support for the Russian Collusion and Kavanaugh Rape Gang fantasies.

So contra Inga the inability to deal with reality does not come from Trump. As usual she will miss no opportunity to slime those she hates.

gbarto म्हणाले...

While the young lady may have gotten him fired, she didn't do the firing. She is a stupid kid who grew up in the lap of privilege. But it is stupid adults who did the firing. For their own reasons. They could have acted and reacted differently, using their very high perch in society to argue for limits on cancel culture and the need for renewed efforts to work past personal animus toward mutual understanding. They did not do so because they were afraid of this girl, but because it gave them cover to push an agenda they wanted to push anyway.

They had the opportunity to teach this girl a very important lesson... and they did. We will all be the poorer for it.

Ralph L म्हणाले...

The host of The Bachelor was just canned for insufficiently denouncing a contestant for attending an Old South party in 2018. The woman was trying to snare the first black Bachelor to show off her privilege.

Lem Vibe Bandit म्हणाले...

That's a lot of gravitas for a 17 year old.

Althouse lost me when she seems to be asking to weigh the 17 year old with the word of a well respected journalist.

Wait...

Bunkypotatohead म्हणाले...

"Inag shows up to turn something that has nothing to do with Trump into Trump.
That's obsession.

Be nice if we could cancel the Trump-obsessed weirdo."


The name Trump may soon be the new nword. There's a generation of woke snowflakes who will run to their HR Dept claiming it makes them unsafe to hear that name. Using his name will be a fireable offense.

Quaestor म्हणाले...

Not quite. In addition there was the USS "Robin" (framing the name in quotes is deliberate, and you'll soon know why).

Not quite, indeed. You've got your dates wrong. HMS Victorious did not serve in the Pacific as "USS Robin for several months after Hornet was lost. Her loan wasn't even requested until December, and she didn't arrive in the Pacific until 14 February 1943, nor was she ready for operational service until 17 May 1943.

From the sinking of Hornet until USS Saratoga (CV-3) completed repairs to damage she sustained in the Battle of the Eastern Solomons on 12 November 1942, Enterprise was the only Allied carrier, damaged but marginally operational, in the Pacific. Enterprise put into Nouméa, New Caledonia for repairs on 16 November. Saratoga as part of Task Force 11 took 10 days to reach Fiji and 13 more days at sea to reach New Caledonia, where additional repairs were conducted until 13 December. From 16 November until 4 December there were no USN air assets in operation in the Solomons theater of operations except those based at Henderson Field and some PBYs based at Florida Island. From 13 December until 15 April 1943 Saratoga and Enterprise were operational together in the Southwest Pacific. Enterprise was detached on 15 April to sail for Pearl Harbor for repairs and upgrades. From that date until 17 May 1943 when upgrades to "USS Robin" were completed USS Saratoga was the only operational Allied carrier in the Pacific.

You always try to correct me, Roughcoat, and you always end up with egg on your face.

Roughcoat म्हणाले...

Got my dates wrong. When you're right, you're right, by golly. You seem like a nice fella too.

DeepRunner म्हणाले...

Cruelly-neutral Ann Althouse said in her neutrally-cruel way:
"I quite specifically mean to say that there is a danger that the opponents of cancel culture are slipping into a cancel culture of their own. I am trying to be accurate and fair to everyone concerned."

Sorry, Althouse. Fair left the party when The Left became The Party. For a rich young white chick (assuming that's true), Sophie Shepherd has, quite possibly in her own mind, ended the long national nightmare that was the career of NYT dude Don McNeil, Jr. Look, I used to work at newspapers. Old crusty journalists often appeared to believe the rules, whatever they happen to be at the moment, don't apply. Yes, the n-word carries intense freight, and should only be used in the context of history, if even then. What we don't know is the objective truth of what happened.

As for Sophie Shepherd's diary, keeping it all in writing, hmmm...didn't Susan Rice put something in writing at the end of The O Years? We all know THAT was the unvarnished truth, right?

Lewis Wetzel म्हणाले...

She had even done the optional reading Mr. McNeil suggested, Jared Diamond’s 1997 book, “Guns, Germs, and Steel,” a Pulitzer-winning history that argues that environmental and geographic factors produced the global domination of European civilization.

Diamond is not credited by most academic historians because modern historians do not believe history has a teleology, and Diamond believes that geography is destiny.
There are two criticisms of this idea: one is that, say, no one in, 17th century Europe was trying to create the industrial revolution, and it came from people, not geography.
The second is that if geographical determinism was true, you could use it to predict the future course of civilizations, and we can't do that. In other words, Diamond's books can describe the chain of causality that created the past and the present, but not the future: it is story telling, not science.

Tina Trent म्हणाले...

Ann, the protections afforded you by tenure and at the time and place where you enjoyed that illicit perk — for what is more corrosive to real freedom of speech and inquiry than restricting it to a select few, who are then granted the star chamber power to pick the select few others who alone possess it? — has cosseted you from what was happening under your own nose for some forty years now.

You would never be hired today. And no young person openly expressing even your most modest ideological objection to the required self-flagellating norms would be permitted to attend your school.

If you cannot see the road we are on, at least consider why so many are so gobsmacked by you insistence that it isn’t happening. This isn’t some word game.

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

I wrote:

"I agree that her use of the word "correct" is ridiculous considering the age and experience difference, but she's far more polite and considerate of him than we Boomers were to our elders in the 60s. You don't even know how the word "correct" feels to her, in her context or where she learned it. She sounds like a pretty respectful person to me."

But Shepherd is not the one who made the "correct" remark. That was another one of the students. I regret getting a fact wrong, especially when I'm being punctilious about getting the facts right.

Kirk Parker म्हणाले...

Laslo @ 5:15pm,

I see I'm not the only one who was reminded of A Passage To India.

Kirk Parker म्हणाले...

As far is this young lady -- no, she is not the most blameworthy player in this sordid little take; that role belongs to the Times management, who had already dealt with this in a somewhat adequate way, and who would have done the paper much better by firing those who signed the letter rather that pressuring the reporter to resign.

That being said, her role was evil; fledgling evil is still evil. Where is Hannah Arendt when you need her? Or if you can't stomach her, how about C.S. Lewis' preface to Screwtape?

RMc म्हणाले...

she's far more polite and considerate of him than we Boomers were to our elders in the 60s.

Considering that it was the boomers who basically shredded the world into little pieces, that's about the lowest standard imaginable.

mikee म्हणाले...

An Assistant Prof of Geology was relieved of his position at Texas A&M in the early 1980s for a single sentence joke made about a missing zucchini on a field trip. The students doing the cooking on the overnight campout trip couldn't find a zucchini supposedly packed in their supplies, and listed in their ingredients for dinner that night. The Ass Prof said something like, "Well, better search the girls' tents." Gone he was, immediately upon return to campus, 40 years ago. Some things never change. Those include rude professors and preternaturally sensitive students.

mikesixes म्हणाले...

I think cancel culture is terrible, but it's what we have now. And if we now have to live in a cancel culture where everyone has to be careful about what they say, we need to make sure that the rules apply to everyone. So, if I'm going to be at risk of having my life ruined for expressing opinions a wokester disagrees with (or even opinions the wokester agrees with but using unapproved words), I should be free to ruin that wokester's life. Either that, or we could go back to a system where speech is viewed as a representation of ideas, and the ideas are addressed on their merits.

Greg The Class Traitor म्हणाले...

“I’m very used to people — my grandparents or people’s parents — saying things they don’t mean that are insensitive,” another student, who was then 17 and is now attending an Ivy League college, told me. “You correct them, you tell them, ‘You’re not supposed to talk like that,’ and usually people are pretty apologetic and responsive to being corrected. And he was not.”

Go F yourself, you happy joiner of the Hitler Youth.

You're 17 years old. You're an ignorant nothing who's never accomplished anything worthwhile in your life. You have no standing to "correct" anyone.

Greg The Class Traitor म्हणाले...

Now that Shepherd has come forward and connected her identity with McNeil's fate, it's quite possible that the critics of cancel culture will come after her. Unlike McNeil, who can retire from his reporting career and still do well by writing books, Shepherd has her entire career in front of her. She may be a privileged young woman, with parents who could afford to send her on the trip and to Phillips Academy Andover, but she did nothing wrong,

She did everything wrong.

She went on a trip to "learn", and spent her time lecturing about things she knows nothing about.

She worked to get a man's life destroyed, because he did not bow down to her.

I'd prefer that cancel culture not exist.

But, sInce it does exist, I would prefer that every single Leftist who opens his / her /its mouth gets cancelled.

A criminal shooting at innocent civilians is a bad thing.

Civilians shooting back is a wonderful thing.

You do not "become a rapist" by shooting one.

Greg The Class Traitor म्हणाले...

"The parents of adventurous young meritocrats paid $5,490 (plus airfare)...."

No.

You do not gain merit by having rich parents.

They are young spoiled brats, not "meritocrats".

Lurker21 म्हणाले...

A "Public Health in the Andes" trip sounds like the most boring thing a 17 year old could do. It's probably just an excuse to have a vacation that looks good on a college application.

Never be alone in a room with young people (teens-thirties) and never be alone with a woman of any age.

Once again, Mike Pence is proved right.

It sounds like what we need now are some new guidelines as to what is and what isn't off the record. You'd think reporters would be more reticent about expressing their personal opinions to those who could snitch on them, but I guess everybody's human and fallible.

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