tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post7681318452826111815..comments2023-10-15T04:23:50.187-04:00Comments on College Misery: "This is Gayer Than AIDS."Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-82945141266275974942011-01-31T13:08:23.626-05:002011-01-31T13:08:23.626-05:00How, then, did it come to indicate "men who m...<em>How, then, did it come to indicate "men who make love to men"?</em> I'm sure it had something to do with the 19th century slang term for female prostitutes: "gay ladies." They would also be described as living the "gay life" and "gaying instrument" was slang for the male appendage. These terms may even go back to Chaucer's time, but they're Programming Pattyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03838328277067778125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-26320260474182855852011-01-30T14:37:32.545-05:002011-01-30T14:37:32.545-05:00I don't want to suppress anybody's rights ...I don't want to suppress anybody's rights to free speech. However, our college compact explicitly says that students are obligated to treat one another with civility, and that civility includes "speaking kindly" and not "speaking ill." When students aren't speaking civilly in my classroom, I think this document gives me the right -- perhaps even the obligation --Motor City Mitchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02247660118316174690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-51372537255831477212011-01-30T11:29:57.192-05:002011-01-30T11:29:57.192-05:00@The_Myth. I liked your tantrum, since it confirms...@The_Myth. I liked your tantrum, since it confirms my point. But invective cannot replace argument.French Professeurhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08062264385792788503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-69690348991000338302011-01-30T07:11:38.480-05:002011-01-30T07:11:38.480-05:00@ Cassandra:
--The armed forces (in the US) were f...@ Cassandra:<br />--The armed forces (in the US) were far ahead of the rest of the government and the larger society when the decision came to de-segregate the Army (and eventually the other services followed) under the Truman adminstration...a decade and change before the Civil Rights Act of 1964.<br /><br />The change from exclusion to to DADT notwithstanding, it's not unfair to say that miserable adjuncthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10607025328823563088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-18984931453673263002011-01-30T01:06:33.356-05:002011-01-30T01:06:33.356-05:00Most of you have missed the major point:
Accordin...Most of you have missed the major point:<br /><br />According to Mitch, "A student didn't see the value of an activity, and he used that statement to express his displeasure in front of the entire class."<br /><br />This arrogant jerk was openly being dismissive and condescending ABOUT THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE CLASS. He used a pejorative phrase (and I am disgusted that so many of The_Mythhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10621186404597424842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-81003691062523478302011-01-30T00:15:01.951-05:002011-01-30T00:15:01.951-05:00I have mixed feelings about the idea of hate speec...I have mixed feelings about the idea of hate speech, frankly, because I don't think ignorance is a hate crime, just a misfortune. I went to an uber-liberal college as a sheltered suburban kid and often felt I should not say anything at all, lest I be unintentionally racist or some such thing. It made learning difficult, since I learn by risking my own ideas occasionally better than I learn Frog and Toadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06377542172335502858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-45036677933113104182011-01-30T00:01:02.972-05:002011-01-30T00:01:02.972-05:00It's all great and wonderful to say that we en...It's all great and wonderful to say that we encourage our students to express themselves and that we value the freedom of speech. And, in fact, I suspect CMers mean it when we say that we value the freedom of speech. <br /><br />But part of that value comes in understanding the meaning behind our words. This kid was just saying something he thought was quippy, witty, funny. He didn't Academic Monkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07086078244493768565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-45145554177347376622011-01-29T23:47:28.747-05:002011-01-29T23:47:28.747-05:00I think, as professors, we owe it to our students ...I think, as professors, we owe it to our students to challenge their assumptions. This includes challenging attitudes like complacency, general asshole-ishnes, sexism, etc, as well as challenging attitudes like "Shakespeare talked Old English".<br /><br />If students in my class make rude or offensive comments, I call them on it. Generally, I find starting by asking them to repeat the WhatLadderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11603489349164511704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-91301073865928655002011-01-29T23:44:31.574-05:002011-01-29T23:44:31.574-05:00@Cassandra (while bowing): Madam, points well take...@Cassandra (while bowing): Madam, points well taken. There is a line between public argument and stupidity, and your student was way beyond that line. I confess to not understanding the whole argument of words as a tool of subordination. I might have to re-read my Lacan.<br />At the same time, I deplore the ease with which an argument upon which we disagree is sometimes branded with the label &French Professeurhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08062264385792788503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-7052569482448845002011-01-29T23:08:16.593-05:002011-01-29T23:08:16.593-05:00@French: Your comments seem to contain moral indi...@French: Your comments seem to contain moral indignation, not irony. Why?Southern Bubba, Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12050992903794385204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-29433753398258649722011-01-29T22:18:56.764-05:002011-01-29T22:18:56.764-05:00@French Professeur: I'm all for the free play ...@French Professeur: I'm all for the free play of ideas, and agree that overly-simplistic or vehement moral statements can, indeed, be a danger to complex thinking. On the other hand, I don't think there's any question that we can and should suppress certain kinds of speech in our classrooms: off-topic chatter is the first one that comes to mind (it's an extreme example, but Contingent Cassandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08161652083031423415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-11677423063204365772011-01-29T22:13:24.752-05:002011-01-29T22:13:24.752-05:00I'm fairly positive I've heard that saying...I'm fairly positive I've heard that saying fairly recently on Family Guy or some other stupid show that my spouse watches but that I purely tolerate. While I generally don't think that the students and kids mimic everything they hear on tv, I've noticed students uncritically miming things they hear on such cartoons. They don't always recognize the sarcasm or hate in the My Little Proffiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14843685528001871813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-50420904452367305612011-01-29T21:21:44.202-05:002011-01-29T21:21:44.202-05:00Quoting Allan Bloom, "moral indignation, not ...Quoting Allan Bloom, "moral indignation, not ordinary selfishness or sensuality, is the greatest danger to the thinker."French Professeurhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08062264385792788503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-49143925338248723152011-01-29T21:15:38.634-05:002011-01-29T21:15:38.634-05:00Am I the only one alarmed by the underlying thread...Am I the only one alarmed by the underlying thread assumption that it is our duty to suppress speech?<br />Stupidity should be met, IMNSHPOV, with irony and sarcasm, rather than censorship. <br />Some times, ideas that sound absolutely stupid, and offensive end doing a lot of good. If any possibly offensive discourse were to be suppressed Darwin would have never be allowed to defend his ideas.French Professeurhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08062264385792788503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-78639600877968567672011-01-29T17:20:21.292-05:002011-01-29T17:20:21.292-05:00If he plays foo'ball, I would say that Mr. Gay...If he plays foo'ball, I would say that Mr. Gayer than AIDS picked that shit up from the coach or the assistant coach in one of their BS pep-talk speeches. If it wasn't those people, then it was GTA's teammates or the scumfucks he illegally drinks with in parking lot 9B at 2AM Saturday morning. Shaming the little mofo might open him up, but you are working against a load of macho jock Strelnikovhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12660962615198939441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-41350385129664757782011-01-29T16:26:40.776-05:002011-01-29T16:26:40.776-05:00(continued from above)
I've been following w...(continued from above) <br /><br />I've been following with interest news reports on the military's preparations for the repeal of DADT. They plan on trying to change behavior (including language), but not, at least explicitly, thinking. My guess is that, in the end, the behavior and language changes will change thinking as well. Language is, indeed, powerful, as are habits (it's Contingent Cassandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08161652083031423415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-30648995841045209292011-01-29T16:25:04.949-05:002011-01-29T16:25:04.949-05:00My first reaction, too, is "good for you"...My first reaction, too, is "good for you" (and also "actually, they just don't know they know any gay people"). <br /><br />But I wonder whether thinking of such moments as battles, and/or asserting our authority to control what is said in our classrooms, is the best way to provoke actual change, or whether we just end up playing into some of the stereotypes Aware and Contingent Cassandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08161652083031423415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-81376147984923721552011-01-29T15:28:09.437-05:002011-01-29T15:28:09.437-05:00What an awful moment for you. If I'd been in y...What an awful moment for you. If I'd been in your shoes, my heart would have started to race as I tried to figure out how to deal with this.<br /><br />You're absolutely right that words have power and you're right to call your students' attention to this fact. Very few people seem to think about the perspectives and prejudices they reveal in the words they choose. They confuse &Charlotte Issyvoohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11081140798331499819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-57383033326063022632011-01-29T14:49:44.555-05:002011-01-29T14:49:44.555-05:00Good for you.
maybe I'm old, but when I was y...Good for you.<br /><br />maybe I'm old, but when I was young "politically correct" was simply being polite. One did not use hateful words simply because it was rude. When I hear someone brag that they're "politically incorrect" I automatically hear them brag that they're rude bigots...Middle-Aged and Morosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09058963404500281265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-35202247869371242052011-01-29T14:22:02.298-05:002011-01-29T14:22:02.298-05:00Good on you indeed. "Gayer than AIDS"? E...Good on you indeed. "Gayer than AIDS"? Even beyond being homophobic, that's just vicious and hateful. (What exactly is his beef with people who have AIDS?) <br /><br />Sometimes "PC" = "Plain Courtesy." <br /><br />Though, I confess I'm thinking of (and self-censoring) all sorts of nasty, hateful things I would write on his next essay in order to offend him Lexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08353211383898810500noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-60277245995718553742011-01-29T14:12:19.478-05:002011-01-29T14:12:19.478-05:00@Mitch
So pleased you stood against hate speech....@Mitch <br />So pleased you stood against hate speech. I'll never forget the first professor who did that. I came from a family who didn't believe gay people existed and told me that it was a social perversion that hippies introduced to society.<br /><br />After I graduated high school and attended a family funeral as an adult, I was introduced to my Uncle -- an Uncle I had never heard Academic Monkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07086078244493768565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-89200451661559201222011-01-29T11:16:20.117-05:002011-01-29T11:16:20.117-05:00The students can be sure that there are no other *...The students can be sure that there are no other *openly* gay students in the class... but unless you're at Liberty University (and even then!), you can be sure that there are gay students at even a small college. Homoesexuals may be a small minority of the population, but it's not *that* small a minority. And, our society being what it is, a lot of them are in the closet.<br /><br />Rob Knophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17776010542773021161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-34627565430099053062011-01-29T11:03:02.123-05:002011-01-29T11:03:02.123-05:00"You're no different than those you deign..."You're no different than those you deign to condemn."<br /><br />The false equivalence logical fallacy is, sadly, all to prevalent and powerful.<br /><br />Politicos who are passionate in their expression are lumped as the same with those who LIE when they yell.<br /><br />Standing up for the principle of expression without denigration is bundled into the same basket as intoleranceAware and Scaredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14700345349806280657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-74019114073975603612011-01-29T10:41:52.795-05:002011-01-29T10:41:52.795-05:00Bruce, that is completely ridiculous. Mitch didn&...Bruce, that is completely ridiculous. Mitch didn't condemn her students' straight, white, Midwestern identity. What she finds unfortunate is their provincialism and ignorance (a demographic of students with very little experience with gay or black people, who nevertheless feel entitled to say negative things about other groups). Unlike sexual identity and skin color, this attitude can Frog and Toadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06377542172335502858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-24609776588304388692011-01-29T10:34:37.909-05:002011-01-29T10:34:37.909-05:00It doesn't seem the issue is about any particu...It doesn't seem the issue is about any particular demographic, but about a failure to extend the moral imagination.Anteaterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15473596216346134582noreply@blogger.com