A piece appeared in the Chronicle of Higher Education last week that has had me stewing. I wasn't quite sure how to respond until I collected my thoughts and took some deep breaths. But today is the day to add my two cents.
A professor posted an article about being called a racial slur on campus. There are several fuzzy elements to her story: she claims to remember the precise time of the incident, but can't seem to remember any other details; her article states that she couldn't identify who was the culprit (since it happened behind her), but she was sure of what she heard; she knew the person was an athlete wearing team attire, but she didn't know what sport; however, in her notes on her personal website, she suddenly was able to identify the sports team; she didn't do anything about it during the incident, and instead waited to voice a complaint; there were no other witnesses, apparently, despite there being plenty of other people around the scene; and she repeatedly uses the odd case of past perfect verb tense in her article, when standard past tense would be more logical. But I'm not attempting to accuse her of false reporting. I am willing to take her at her word, as all people, and especially a respected teacher, deserve our initial trust.
But there's something much more sinister happening in her account of the incident. First, she is more than willing to stereotype and prejudge others, just as she decries when it happens to her. She describes being afraid upon hearing the slur, strangely noting that she is only 5'2" tall. What exactly is this meant to imply? That anyone somewhat tall is a violent threat to physical safety? Isn't judging someone's propensity toward violence based on their size just as superficial and fallacious as making a judgment based on race, or any other physical characteristic? She then digs deeper by noting that she could have gone to get help at a nearby building, but since it was a construction trailer, likely filled with working men, they "might espouse the same kind of hate." Yes, she seriously put that in print. It takes a special kind of hypocrisy to seek sympathy from the world about being discriminated against while discriminating against other people.
But the bigger problem here extends beyond this singular incident and this singular professor. It is her reaction that is indicative of so many young people today, and we can see where they are learning it: from their teachers. Upon hearing a derogatory comment, she didn't just ignore it. She didn't approach the students, tell them she was bothered by what they said and demand an apology. She didn't immediately call the coach of the athletes and devise a resolution in which an apology could be elicited. This is what reasonable people would do--they would work on solving the problem at the level at which it occurred.
But that is not what she did. Instead, she went home and wrote an essay, which she then shared publicly that very evening. She chose to tell the story before resolving the problem. What if she had misheard? What if it were black students using the word, not white students? What if there was literally nothing going on that warranted her reaction? It's too late--she wrote an essay and told the world about it. The truth is out there, even we don't yet know just how true it all is. She then wrote the school president and every other high ranking administrator with her account of the incident. And, of course, she posted her story on Facebook. This is what we do now--we post, we email, we share with anyone we assume will sympathize. But we don't go to the source. The professor was stunned to learn that the players' coach didn't learn of the accusation until three weeks after the day in question--when she could have called him 30 seconds after the incident!
We have created a generation of passive-aggressive youth who think they "have a voice" just because they have Twitter. This professor chose to go to the highest level of authority to solve a problem that required the minimum amount of confrontation. This is like getting upset with your neighbor for not putting her recycling bin away and deciding to call the state governor's office and demand her arrest.
We constantly hear about groups wanting to start a "dialogue" or a "conversation" about some issue or other. However, these are very often the same groups who avoid actually talking to people. This professor had a great opportunity to address inappropriate behavior head on, and she chose to slink away and have others do the tough work for her. Have someone else make a rule that punishes everyone. Create new training seminars that no one cares about. Devise safe spaces so no one ever says anything you disagree with ever again. This is passive-aggressive authoritarianism at its finest. Make everyone else bend to your will without taking the first step yourself.
This happens in classrooms across the country these days. A student doesn't like a grade? Don't have a conference with the teacher; go the dean of the university and complain until you get your way! You think someone said something vulgar in the dining hall? Don't tell them to shut their mouth and act like a grown-up; run to the Gender Equity office and demand a sexual harassment hearing! Our campuses have become training grounds for avoiding interaction with others, where we promote fear and loathing rather than honesty and resolution. Joining a "story circle" (yes, this is one of the professor's ideas--whatever that is) has replaced a good ol' fashioned, "Hey, knock it off." And bureaucratic paperwork is a more feasible answer than...you know...just walking away from idiots who say stupid things.
If this professor's story is true, it truly is a shame, and I hope the name-callers end up apologizing. But her reaction could have been so much more powerful if she would have actually addressed the problem when it occurred. All she taught them was that if they wait long enough and keep denying the accusation, it will all go away eventually. And every other innocent person will be forced to attend "sensitivity workshops and...in-depth educational programming on microaggressions." You guessed it, more of her ideas. She got what she wanted--her name on a major education website and a lot of taxpayer money likely spent for her social justice causes. Passive-aggressive responses sure do pay.
A professor posted an article about being called a racial slur on campus. There are several fuzzy elements to her story: she claims to remember the precise time of the incident, but can't seem to remember any other details; her article states that she couldn't identify who was the culprit (since it happened behind her), but she was sure of what she heard; she knew the person was an athlete wearing team attire, but she didn't know what sport; however, in her notes on her personal website, she suddenly was able to identify the sports team; she didn't do anything about it during the incident, and instead waited to voice a complaint; there were no other witnesses, apparently, despite there being plenty of other people around the scene; and she repeatedly uses the odd case of past perfect verb tense in her article, when standard past tense would be more logical. But I'm not attempting to accuse her of false reporting. I am willing to take her at her word, as all people, and especially a respected teacher, deserve our initial trust.
But there's something much more sinister happening in her account of the incident. First, she is more than willing to stereotype and prejudge others, just as she decries when it happens to her. She describes being afraid upon hearing the slur, strangely noting that she is only 5'2" tall. What exactly is this meant to imply? That anyone somewhat tall is a violent threat to physical safety? Isn't judging someone's propensity toward violence based on their size just as superficial and fallacious as making a judgment based on race, or any other physical characteristic? She then digs deeper by noting that she could have gone to get help at a nearby building, but since it was a construction trailer, likely filled with working men, they "might espouse the same kind of hate." Yes, she seriously put that in print. It takes a special kind of hypocrisy to seek sympathy from the world about being discriminated against while discriminating against other people.
But the bigger problem here extends beyond this singular incident and this singular professor. It is her reaction that is indicative of so many young people today, and we can see where they are learning it: from their teachers. Upon hearing a derogatory comment, she didn't just ignore it. She didn't approach the students, tell them she was bothered by what they said and demand an apology. She didn't immediately call the coach of the athletes and devise a resolution in which an apology could be elicited. This is what reasonable people would do--they would work on solving the problem at the level at which it occurred.
But that is not what she did. Instead, she went home and wrote an essay, which she then shared publicly that very evening. She chose to tell the story before resolving the problem. What if she had misheard? What if it were black students using the word, not white students? What if there was literally nothing going on that warranted her reaction? It's too late--she wrote an essay and told the world about it. The truth is out there, even we don't yet know just how true it all is. She then wrote the school president and every other high ranking administrator with her account of the incident. And, of course, she posted her story on Facebook. This is what we do now--we post, we email, we share with anyone we assume will sympathize. But we don't go to the source. The professor was stunned to learn that the players' coach didn't learn of the accusation until three weeks after the day in question--when she could have called him 30 seconds after the incident!
We have created a generation of passive-aggressive youth who think they "have a voice" just because they have Twitter. This professor chose to go to the highest level of authority to solve a problem that required the minimum amount of confrontation. This is like getting upset with your neighbor for not putting her recycling bin away and deciding to call the state governor's office and demand her arrest.
We constantly hear about groups wanting to start a "dialogue" or a "conversation" about some issue or other. However, these are very often the same groups who avoid actually talking to people. This professor had a great opportunity to address inappropriate behavior head on, and she chose to slink away and have others do the tough work for her. Have someone else make a rule that punishes everyone. Create new training seminars that no one cares about. Devise safe spaces so no one ever says anything you disagree with ever again. This is passive-aggressive authoritarianism at its finest. Make everyone else bend to your will without taking the first step yourself.
This happens in classrooms across the country these days. A student doesn't like a grade? Don't have a conference with the teacher; go the dean of the university and complain until you get your way! You think someone said something vulgar in the dining hall? Don't tell them to shut their mouth and act like a grown-up; run to the Gender Equity office and demand a sexual harassment hearing! Our campuses have become training grounds for avoiding interaction with others, where we promote fear and loathing rather than honesty and resolution. Joining a "story circle" (yes, this is one of the professor's ideas--whatever that is) has replaced a good ol' fashioned, "Hey, knock it off." And bureaucratic paperwork is a more feasible answer than...you know...just walking away from idiots who say stupid things.
If this professor's story is true, it truly is a shame, and I hope the name-callers end up apologizing. But her reaction could have been so much more powerful if she would have actually addressed the problem when it occurred. All she taught them was that if they wait long enough and keep denying the accusation, it will all go away eventually. And every other innocent person will be forced to attend "sensitivity workshops and...in-depth educational programming on microaggressions." You guessed it, more of her ideas. She got what she wanted--her name on a major education website and a lot of taxpayer money likely spent for her social justice causes. Passive-aggressive responses sure do pay.