April 14, 2022

"If there’s no community control of the schools, what we have is kids being not only indoctrinated but groomed in a very real sense by people who are, whether they know it or not, sexual predators."

Said David Mamet, quoted in "David Mamet slammed over claim that many male teachers are ‘inclined’ to be pedophiles" (NY Post).

“Are they abusing the kids physically? No, I don’t think so. But they’re abusing them mentally and using sex to do so,” he added. “This has always been the problem with education – teachers are inclined, typically men because men are predators, to pedophilia,” the 74-year-old said....

“People have gone nuts and people are frightened because there’s huge changes in society, that are brought about by the people in power,” Mamet said. “The people in power, as always, are to a large extent, parasites who are feeding off of the decaying flesh."

62 comments:

Kay said...

David Mamet kind of sounds like Andrea Dworkin here.

gilbar said...

serious question
IF you're a gay, male elementary school teacher.. And you AREN'T a pedophile that is grooming kids..
WHY are you Bragging about how many of your students have 'come out' To YOU?

Rory said...

"the problem with education – teachers are inclined, typically men because men are predators, to pedophilia"

Any position that's granted a presumption of trust will eventually be targeted by individuals who are not trustworthy.

Kai Akker said...

The Weekend Interview with Mamet in the Wall Street Journal is very good. A passing controversy over one comment misses the point, and doesn't reflect the range of his thinking.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/david-mamet-book-recessional-free-speech-covid-mask-vaccine-mandates-lockdown-transgender-lgbtqia-sogie-woke-crt-critical-race-theory-blm-hollywood-theater-11649424996?page=1

Amadeus 48 said...

David Mamet is winging it here, but thinking about Captain Grimes in "Decline and Fall" and other characters in literature, the movies, and in life, I believe there are plenty of teachers, male and female, who slip over to the dark side with some of their pupils. That's why parents need to stay involved with their children's schools.

Temujin said...

Was just listening to the Mamet interview with Joe Rogan. I've long loved David Mamet for his writing, his plays, shows, screenplays. I'm pretty radically right myself. But listening to him on Joe Rogan...he has no filter for his thoughts. He blurts out some pretty outrageous stuff. And even though I know he's trying to make a point, he loses audience, ears close, when they hear something that goes past the target and hits everyone looking on.

I love that he feels free to say what he wants and I probably agree with 90%+ of what he has to say. But, like Trump, I'm not sure about his delivery in person. It's better, perhaps more edited, when he writes.

Howard said...

Sounds like a confession. Just like you pedo obsessed Putin puffers.

Robert Cook said...

I wonder when Mamet became clinically insane?

rhhardin said...

Today's sexual prey are grown men.

Owen said...

David Mamet: the man can write! That decaying-flesh metaphor really gets up your nose.

Critter said...

Mamet tells the truth so of course he must be punished by the vanguard of the anti-parent, anti-traditional values movement within the progressive/globalist/Marxist movement.

BTW, the same people who argue that children need role models in entertainment/media/visible jobs, etc. necause the are influenced for the better by it, argue that children are not influenced by gay and trans teachers teaching them their perspective oon sex and gender identity. Obviously the first is valid and the second is a lie.

Maynard said...

Dave and I went to the same private school. Although he was 5 years ahead of me, I knew him as a senior mentor to my junior HS class. He has a very unique and creative mind.

I wonder if his views are colored by the fact that we had a few gay male teachers at the school. It was not a big deal back in the 60's, but became one later on when gay teachers had the school revoke free tuition for employees kids.

Oddly, the (very left wing) school is far less ethnically diverse now than it was 50 years ago. I wonder if Dave is thinking about those things.

Tina Trent said...

Mamet is right about some things here, though it flies in the face of his own work, which engages the opposite.

Also, the vast majority of K-12 teachers are female. Maybe Mamet misspoke and was referring to college students. Or ephebophilia. Per Oleanna, only he knows the truth.

The disagreeable David Cole has a point when he says that, politically, as a strategy, why drag grooming into it when you can just show people the evidence of what is being taught? Mamet is making an argument that doesn't help much practically, unless the goal is to wake up teachers from their fantasies of power over little minds and bodies. Good luck with that.

Leland said...

I oppose the notion that it is typically men, because there are plenty of accounts of women pedophile teachers, here is just one from March 31 of this year. The notion of "men are predators" is a carryover from Mamet's long time of being far left. I disagree with most of what is quoted here other than the notion that grooming is happening and far too much.

Sebastian said...

“The people in power, as always, are to a large extent, parasites who are feeding off of the decaying flesh."

Good line. Any exceptions? Any non-parasite pols? Maybe, God forbid, DJT?

J Melcher said...

Why would anyone exempt public schools from the perceived risks proven to exist among pastors and boy scout leaders? The difference is that the public school has some kinds of cops ("truant officers") that COMPEL the children to subject themselves to the potential predators. At least a parent can pull a choirboy or a scout out of a dangerous chapel or camp.

J Melcher said...


I love that [Mamet] feels free to say what he wants and I probably agree with 90%+ of what he has to say. But, like Trump, I'm not sure about his delivery in person. It's better, perhaps more edited, when he writes.


Isn't that true for most of us? And why speakers hire speech-WRITERS, to prepare "remarks"?

mezzrow said...

ahem:

How to bake a soufflé. Is this the conversation that you thought we'd be having now?

https://twitter.com/TimJDillon/status/1514363557172891651

Rocketeer said...

The juxtaposition of Howard’s abs Robert Cook’s comments is dripping with serendipitous irony.

Yancey Ward said...

If you are bragging about how you told your students about coming out as gay, transgender, or just plain vanilla heterosexual cisgender, or are bragging about encouraging them to do the same, then you have literally zero right to be a teacher. You need to be fired and never allowed in a classroom with minors again- full fucking stop. Mamet is right to that extent- you are a groomer if you do such things, even if your intent is relatively innocuous otherwise.

I am 55- I went to the public schools from 1971-1984. You want to know how much I knew about the private lives of any of my teachers? Practically nothing. I rarely even knew if they were married or single, and in those cases I did know it, it was only because their children were occasionally a classmate.

Drago said...

Howard remains incredibly irate his groomer allies have been exposed.

Excellent.

Drago said...

Robert Cook: "I wonder when Mamet became clinically insane?"

Communists routinely abuse psychiatry to label political opponents clinically insane.

Michael K said...


Blogger Howard said...

Sounds like a confession. Just like you pedo obsessed Putin puffers.


Howard finally found someone as obsessed with pedophilia as he is. I have thought for years that elementary school was no pl;ace for male teachers. I have heard of some accusations of sexual misbehavior that were not true and devastating for the teacher. However, that was years ago. Now, it seems that times have changed.

Aggie said...

One rainbow-haired teacher after another on TikTok or Twitter comes on with the 'I'm gay/bi/trans/etc and I'm going to get your kids on puberty blockers GayGayGayGay' etc., and teachers and progressives everywhere stridently decry parent inputs to the classrom or legislation that places limits on educator's professional behaviors. But say one word about grooming, say one word about perverted teachers not devoting themselves to teaching and normal childhood development, and we get plastered with: "pedo-obsessed'. Ok then. Mamet has it precisely right that parents need to take control back. The fight is not dirty on the side of parental rights and interests - it's pretty filthy on the educator's side, though, if they truly believe they are entitled to define your child's empty-slate mind.

Hey! Teachers! ....Leave those kids alone!

Freder Frederson said...

IF you're a gay, male elementary school teacher.. And you AREN'T a pedophile that is grooming kids..
WHY are you Bragging about how many of your students have 'come out' To YOU?


Can you provide some examples please. Otherwise you are just setting up a straw man.

And while we are at it, someone please provide a reasonable definition of "grooming", because it seems to have degenerated to meaning "if you disagree with Michael K, Achilles, rhhardin or rocean, you are not only a bad person, but a pedophile."

Why Ann doesn't immediately delete comments that accuse complete strangers of serious felonies is beyond me.

Anthony said...

We don't need indoctrination
We don't need no thought control
No sexual grooming in the classroom
Teacher leave them kids alone

Hey! Teacher! Leave them kids alone!

Joe Smith said...

The part that astounds me is that people can't seem to agree that parents should have a say in their kids' education.

That kids belong to parents and not to the state.

This should not be controversial...

victoria said...

That dude has gone off the deep end. Get him a tin foil hat.


Vicki from Pasadena

Dagwood said...

Robert Cook said...

I wonder when Mamet became clinically insane?


--------------------------


I wonder if there ever was a time when Robert wasn't?

Lucien said...

Temujin beat me to the punch. I agree Mamet’s interview with Rogan was cringe inducing.

Christopher B said...

Instpundit has a long-standing 'Teach women not to r@pe' tag line, started around the time of the Mary Kay Letourneau mess IIRC, for reports of female teachers, coaches, etc sexually abusing minors in their charge. It sees pretty regular usage.

Mamet's execution was poor but reflects something I've been musing on. While the next effect might be akin to grooming I'm starting to think this is far more a case of messed-up Millennials projecting internal angst over their own lifestyle choices (which goes beyond just gay/straight sexuality) onto kids as a way of making their discomfort seem natural.

Jupiter said...

“Are they abusing the kids physically? No, I don’t think so."

Well, he's wrong. Some are, some aren't. But the unavoidable reality is that people who wear nose rings and dye their hair purple and wantto talk about their sex lives with 5-year-olds are nut jobs, at the least. And they should not be hired by the schools. There is no right to be a teacher. But the public schools are not going to admit that fact, so what is going to happen is that people who care about their children will make other arrangements, and the "teachers" will prey upon the children of the poor and/or feckless.

Drago said...

Field Marshal Freder: "Why Ann doesn't immediately delete comments that accuse complete strangers of serious felonies is beyond me."

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!

It's 2022 and a lefty wrote that. Just now. Without irony!

Ann Althouse said...

"Why Ann doesn't immediately delete..."

Don't look now, but Elon Musk is taking over Twitter with a plan to make free speech the guiding principle.

Robert Cook said...

"But the unavoidable reality is that people who wear nose rings and dye their hair purple and wantto talk about their sex lives with 5-year-olds are nut jobs, at the least. And they should not be hired by the schools."

Who says they are? How many people who wear nose rings and have purple hair are teaching in the public schools ? How many fewer than that tiny cohort (if there are any at all) are sharing their sex lives with 15 year olds, much less 5 years old?

Inga said...

Male elementary teachers are surely a target for the pedophile accusers. How awful for them.

Amadeus 48 said...

I suspect that Althouse’s reluctance to endorse wide open spaces on Twitter is based on her experiences trying to maintain minimal decency and civility in these comments. She is saying that there has to be a sheriff somewhere. Self-restraint is a learned behavior. Decency combined with anonymity is a limited commodity.

Jupiter said...

Cookie, they proudly post their images and their sick activities on Twitter. You should get out more. Why do you think they are so enraged by the Florida "Parental Rights in Education" bill? Because it will not affect them in the least?

Could be, I suppose. They will seize any opportunity to call someone they don't like a "bigot".

Jupiter said...

Igna has found the real victims here.

Amadeus 48 said...

In public schools from 1953-1966. My first male teacher was in seventh grade. No problems in the school until the charismatic male high school biology teacher made free with some of the more fetching female students. The parents got plenty involved.

Michael K said...

"if you disagree with Michael K, Achilles, rhhardin or rocean, you are not only a bad person, but a pedophile."

Not at all. You are just pissed because I make fun of your idiot opinions. I see no evidence of any knowledge on your part. Just opinions.

Fred Drinkwater said...

I'm sure no me here mistakes this blog for a "Free speech forum". (Ha! That was Auto corrected to "Fred speech". Autocorrect is god.)
Way back in the dark ages I provided a quote ( not mine) to an article in USA Today about Usenet.
"It's like a big house party. In one room, elegantly dressed people are sipping Chardonnay and discussing Rilke. Down the hall they are huffing nitrous from garbage bags and setting the sofa on fire."
That's what a free speech forum looks like.
It was great! Go Elon!

Fred Drinkwater said...

Also, Silicon Valley is full of interesting startups founded by folks who used to work for Musk.
Apparently, like Jobs, he can be difficult to work for. /s
As a Valley native, I look forward to the chaos.

Michael K said...

Blogger Leland said...

I oppose the notion that it is typically men, because there are plenty of accounts of women pedophile teachers, here is just one from March 31 of this year.


I think this is a more recent phenomenon although male teachers have been suspected for years. In high school, we all knew to avoid being alone with one Christian brother. High school boys have experience with gays, even back in the old days. Kindergarten has been free until now.

Mary Kay Letourneau was so notorious because it was rare for female teachers to get involved with young students. By the way, I hadn't known she had died.

Joe Smith said...

'My first male teacher was in seventh grade.'

He must have been pretty bright : )

JK Brown said...

The schooling is under the control of enemies to the community. von Mises in his 1927, 'Liberalism' stated is clearly. The problem is more apparent now because of diversity, or as in European areas in the 1920s, mixed nationalities. Schooling is political.

=====
"In all areas of mixed nationality, the school is a political prize of the highest importance. It cannot be deprived of its political character as long as it remains a public and compulsory institution. There is, in fact, only one solution: the state, the government, the laws must not in any way concern themselves with schooling or education. Public funds must not be used for such purposes. The rearing and instruction of youth must be left entirely to parents and to private associations and institutions."

I would go with the more moderate school vouchers where we fund the education of the child instead of the purveyors of the most powerful adults in schooling.

Chris Lopes said...

"She is saying that there has to be a sheriff somewhere."

In her response here, I don't think she is saying that at all. She was telling the poster who asked (rhetorically) why she doesn't delete posts he doesn't like. Her answer was, if you don't like my loose moderating standards, just wait until Twitter is owned by Musk.

Readering said...

Umtil third grade all teachers female at coed schools. Moved that year. After third grade I attended all boys RC schools and virtually all teachers male. No problems elementary school. Problems high school. The problem isn't pedophilia.

Tomcc said...

I completely agree that there needs to be "community control (parental)" of schools. I think he's using far too broad a brush when it comes to male teachers. My own experience in a Catholic boys HS was the male teachers were all committed educators. They were all lay teachers, BTW, there were only a couple of Marianist Brothers still teaching.

Amadeus 48 said...

"Her answer was, if you don't like my loose moderating standards, just wait until Twitter is owned by Musk."

That is an interesting take. Mine is the opposite, something like, Althouse is saying that you would not believe the disgusting, sick baloney Althouse and Meade have to take out of unposted comments when they moderate this blog. And they are believers in freedom of speech. You are not necessarily going to like a free speech twitter.

tommyesq said...

IF you're a gay, male elementary school teacher.. And you AREN'T a pedophile that is grooming kids..
WHY are you Bragging about how many of your students have 'come out' To YOU?


At a minimum, teachers seem to be emotional pedophiles - they seek to become a kid's closest confidante, the one who the kid will tell secrets they wouldn't reveal to their parents or peers. In some ways, even more creepy than just wanting to have sex with them.

Bruce Hayden said...

“I am 55- I went to the public schools from 1971-1984. You want to know how much I knew about the private lives of any of my teachers? Practically nothing. I rarely even knew if they were married or single, and in those cases I did know it, it was only because their children were occasionally a classmate.”

We mostly knew with the female teachers, because the married ones were addressed as “Mrs.” and the unmarried as “Miss”. I remember the trauma of one teacher transitioning (getting married) in the middle of the year. We had to learn her new name, and that didn’t seem fair.

Michael K said...

The problem isn't pedophilia.

That used to be true but times are changing. Disney used to be wholesome family humor.

All the commotion about the new law in Florida is certainly revealing.

Narr said...

I never even heard of a male teacher at lower than junior high until many years later.

Churchill said something like, "The schoolmaster is always a man among boys, and a boy among men." Pretty harsh, but not entirely unfair.

Some of my lady teachers were really smart, but almost none of the men, and a lot of the men were feebs or pervs. I couldn't imagine looking up to them, especially the coaches. (Public schools, entirely, HS class of 71.)

Libs of TikTok has been banned for showing the young perv teachers of today in their true, garish, colors.

Readering said...

Narr you had a deprived childhood. Sorry.

Tina Trent said...

HRC and their rainbow of trans-mindwashing attack dogs have more rights to enter your child's classroom than you do.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

On Rogan he's a cranky old man. I was very entertained, but not convinced.

Severely Ltd. said...

Notwhol sez "On Rogan he's a cranky old man. I was very entertained, but not convinced."
Can you name a couple of things he didn't convince you of?

Severely Ltd. said...

Bruce Hayden sez
"We mostly knew with the female teachers, because the married ones were addressed as “Mrs.” and the unmarried as “Miss”. I remember the trauma of one teacher transitioning (getting married) in the middle of the year. We had to learn her new name, and that didn’t seem fair."
That feeling of unfairness was just instinctive support of the patriarchy. And then 'Ms.' came along and solved everything!
Do you remember when they started naming hurricanes after men and released women from that damaging stereotype? Of course you do. It loosened so many repressive barriers in society and freed us all. Thank God for our betters. That would've never occurred to me.

Narr said...

Deprived, Readering? How so? Be specific.

ccscientist said...

For just about forever, the rule has been that schools and teachers do not teach about sex or talk about it until health class in 5th grade or later (often 8th or 9th grade). Huge amounts of data exist that children who are sexually abused have big trouble as adults. They can't handle it, don't need to know it, and really need to maintain their innocence. The push to have kindergarteners pick a pronoun, march in a rainbow parade, have transvestite story hour, and have books with gay characters is nothing else but grooming. The traditional system did not bombard the kids with straight sex info. If there was a mother and father in a story or novel, fine but it did not describe sex. There was no discussion of sexual positions and acts. But the current push is to totally normalize all the gay and trans stuff by exposing small children to it....to make the gay/trans teacher feel "affirmed". It is wrong no matter how "normal" gay sex has become.

ccscientist said...

For just about forever, the rule has been that schools and teachers do not teach about sex or talk about it until health class in 5th grade or later (often 8th or 9th grade). Huge amounts of data exist that children who are sexually abused have big trouble as adults. They can't handle it, don't need to know it, and really need to maintain their innocence. The push to have kindergarteners pick a pronoun, march in a rainbow parade, have transvestite story hour, and have books with gay characters is nothing else but grooming. The traditional system did not bombard the kids with straight sex info. If there was a mother and father in a story or novel, fine but it did not describe sex. There was no discussion of sexual positions and acts. But the current push is to totally normalize all the gay and trans stuff by exposing small children to it....to make the gay/trans teacher feel "affirmed". It is wrong no matter how "normal" gay sex has become.