« Surprise! Life's Not Fair
Especially Not In Canada |
Main
| They're At It Again! »
August 17, 2005
On the Wienie-ism of the Left
In March, 2005, Jihad Daniel, an employee and graduate student at William Paterson University in New Jersey received a "bulk email" from Dr. Arlene Holpp Scala(1), professor of women's studies, advertising "'Ruthie and Connie: Every Room in the House,' a lesbian relationship story." Mr. Daniel responded with an email that read in its entirety:
Do not send me any mail about ‘Connie and Sally’ and ‘Adam and Steve.’ These are perversions. The absence of God in higher education brings on confusion. That is why in these classes the Creator of the heavens and the earth is never mentioned.
In response, Dr. Scala complained to the university's Office of Employment Equity and Diversity that
Mr. Daniel's message to me sounds threatening and in violation of our university's non-discrimination policy. I don't want to feel threatened at my place of work when I send out announcements about events that address lesbian issues. I think that Mr. Damiels needs to be informed that he has violated university policy. I am not sure what else should be done to censure him and make me feel that I am working in a safe environment. Please advise me.
Mr. Daniel was subsequently issued a letter of reprimand by the university, which was inserted into his permanant file. When a civil liberties group came to Mr. Daniel's defense, the university's actions were defended by the New Jersey Attorney General himself in a July 15th statement.
The story has been much blogged about by both conservative and libertarian bloggers, all of whom repeat the obvious point that the left has zero real life committment to free speech, academic freedom, workers' rights, etc. in spite of all its claims to the contrary.
A few pointed also to the obvious contradiction between the left's professed belief in multiculturalism and the fact that the sensibilities and values of the muslim worker were obviously trumped by those of the white feminist professor.
While it is true that these events were just more of the garden-variety harrassment indulged in by the left on US campuses every day, in reflecting on the case, however, I was struck by three things.
First, I can't help being amazed at the chronic cry-babyism of today's bobo left. Any normal person would be humiliated to even claim that they felt threatened by Mr. Daniel's email. Could you be part of a movement with wimps like this as members? Can you imagine women like Vera Zasulich (pictured), Rosa Luxemburg, La Pasionaria, or Mother Jones blubbering when some right-winger said something mean to them? Really, it's too embarrassing to even think about.
Second, this is just more proof that the left's supposed multiculturalism is a fraud - a convenient stick with which to beat traditional Western culture and values. In real life, the campus left is no more respectful of the values of Muslims, Sikhs or Hindus than it is of Catholics' or Protestants'.
Third, for their own sake, I think that these bobos better toughen up. While many rightists actually believe that there is a conherent social movement known as the left, in fact, it is an uneasy coalition representing quite distinct (and often competing) social and ethnic groups, unified only by a common hatred of our culture. If and when the power of the middle American red staters is broken through mass imigration, demographic suicide and political repression, the left will almost certainly fragment. If hearing the word "perversion" is so unnerving, it is hard to imagine how the bobo left will deal with the sure-to-be ugly world of identity politics in the balkanized America of the coming decades. We can only hope that they find the courage to stand up for themselves - on second thought, perhaps not - after all, it couldn't happen to a more deserving bunch.
For more on this issue:
The Cranky Calvinist has the most cogent analysis of Dr. Scala - "Big baby." (although I almost didn't to cite her due to her biased, hateful and threatening comments about New Jerseyans. Indeed, I think that I shall be reporting her to the Geneva Consistory Office of Employment Equity and Diversity myself.)
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which has taken up Mr. Daniels' case, has an extensive set of links and documents on the whole affair. They are doing great work defending freedom of speech on campuses around the country and their web site is well worth a visit.
(1) Dr. Scala is a right-wing talk-radio host's dream. WPU's first full-time professor of women's studies, her doctoral dissertation was titled "Heterosexism in the Classroom: A Teaching Case Study". Employed at WPU since the 1980s, according to her web site, she
...teaches "Women's Changing Roles," "Racism and Sexism in the U.S.," "Contemporary Feminist Issues," "Women's Studies Capstone," "Lesbian Issues," "Life Passages: The Female Experience,"and "Sex Equity in Education."
Her current research work includes a study of
...student responses to September 11 and its aftermath, including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Another research project focuses on the influence of the Barbie doll on the socialization of college students.
In addition she is the faculty advisor to the "Feminist Collective" and
...is also an activist working on peace and justice issues. Her recent activism has focused on peaceful solutions to the U.S.'s military actions in Iraq, violence against women, reproductive rights, racism, and lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender civil and human rights.
Posted by John at August 17, 2005 10:52 AM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
Comments
Thanks for not reporting me to the consistory. Dr. Calvin can be such a hard guy to get along with. Your commentary is well-researched, well-written, and best of all - absolutely correct.
I appreciate the link.
Posted by: Kerry at August 20, 2005 06:07 AM