Thanks, Deutsch. Sure, we oldsters are guilty as charged -- kids are not that smart, and after all, there is nothing new under the sun.
The institution I left behind was replete with duplicative departments of area and identity studies, in some instances boasting of innovation. All too human, and not unlike the MAGA, children and young pe…
Thanks, Deutsch. Sure, we oldsters are guilty as charged -- kids are not that smart, and after all, there is nothing new under the sun.
The institution I left behind was replete with duplicative departments of area and identity studies, in some instances boasting of innovation. All too human, and not unlike the MAGA, children and young people delight in cults of opposition. They are after all and at least in this culture trying to stand on their own two feet by denying the worth of everything thus far given. Rebellion is an exciting term. Resistance even more so. Alliance, coalition, movement -- these are the supports to overcoming the sins of the past, and the lackeys who have not come to the collective endeavor of turning the world underfoot in giant strides.
But it gives a lot of room to mask bias and bigotry, or to rationalize it under the justification of the nature of evil thus challenged. Hate the sin and hate the sinner too. What is paradoxical is the international cause affixed to national movements. Bad parenting, no one affirmed that You can't go on the street to earn a trousseau.
My less than beloved institution was in a hurry to adopt land acknowledgements a decade back -- without a bit of investigation to be certain that claimants were not self-serving since the principles were so fully true and honest. LBJ once said that whenever someone comes saying it is not the money but the principle -- I always reach for my wallet. In any case, the motives locally and in the broader scheme were not simply to remember the peoples who once lived here and were cruelly driven out, with an eye to honest reconciliation, but instead dropping an anchor for larger demands of repair, remuneration and, frankly, revenge.
Thus, if one wonders where the language of those who are today in the streets refusing to condemn Hamas gets reinforced, try looking at the Indigeneous rights movement and Land Acknowledgements. Here are two statements from a guide to Land Acknowledgement, published in 2019.
The guide says, "Use appropriate language. Don’t sugarcoat the past. Use terms like genocide, ethnic cleansing, stolen land, and forced removal to reflect actions taken by colonizers."
And Northwestern University follows:
“It is important to understand the longstanding history that has brought you to reside on the land, and to seek to understand your place within that history. Land acknowledgements do not exist in a past tense, or historical context: colonialism is a current ongoing process, and we need to build our mindfulness of our present participation.”
Needless to say, children did not come upon this themselves, they learned it from us.
Thanks for sharing. You make a lot of good points. I'm always in search of a middle ground, as so many of the debates that we all have, as with others elsewhere, go from one side of the spectrum to the other when in fact there likely is ample fertile ground in between where we all could meet. There are issues in higher ed that legitimately should be addressed, and some bad actors who misuse their authority. And there are areas where the anti-higher ed crowd overestimates and overdramatizes the situation, and selectively cherry-picks information and sources, in an effort to foster their own agenda and win the less informed over to their side. I'd rather we all agree on that as we can, try to find ways where each side can be better, and make real progress rather than merely argue across a fencepost. The young people see this to some extent and are turned off by it all. Perhaps we would be better served to make them part of the discussion and talk with them more than just about them.
Thanks, Deutsch. Sure, we oldsters are guilty as charged -- kids are not that smart, and after all, there is nothing new under the sun.
The institution I left behind was replete with duplicative departments of area and identity studies, in some instances boasting of innovation. All too human, and not unlike the MAGA, children and young people delight in cults of opposition. They are after all and at least in this culture trying to stand on their own two feet by denying the worth of everything thus far given. Rebellion is an exciting term. Resistance even more so. Alliance, coalition, movement -- these are the supports to overcoming the sins of the past, and the lackeys who have not come to the collective endeavor of turning the world underfoot in giant strides.
But it gives a lot of room to mask bias and bigotry, or to rationalize it under the justification of the nature of evil thus challenged. Hate the sin and hate the sinner too. What is paradoxical is the international cause affixed to national movements. Bad parenting, no one affirmed that You can't go on the street to earn a trousseau.
My less than beloved institution was in a hurry to adopt land acknowledgements a decade back -- without a bit of investigation to be certain that claimants were not self-serving since the principles were so fully true and honest. LBJ once said that whenever someone comes saying it is not the money but the principle -- I always reach for my wallet. In any case, the motives locally and in the broader scheme were not simply to remember the peoples who once lived here and were cruelly driven out, with an eye to honest reconciliation, but instead dropping an anchor for larger demands of repair, remuneration and, frankly, revenge.
Thus, if one wonders where the language of those who are today in the streets refusing to condemn Hamas gets reinforced, try looking at the Indigeneous rights movement and Land Acknowledgements. Here are two statements from a guide to Land Acknowledgement, published in 2019.
The guide says, "Use appropriate language. Don’t sugarcoat the past. Use terms like genocide, ethnic cleansing, stolen land, and forced removal to reflect actions taken by colonizers."
And Northwestern University follows:
“It is important to understand the longstanding history that has brought you to reside on the land, and to seek to understand your place within that history. Land acknowledgements do not exist in a past tense, or historical context: colonialism is a current ongoing process, and we need to build our mindfulness of our present participation.”
Needless to say, children did not come upon this themselves, they learned it from us.
Thanks for sharing. You make a lot of good points. I'm always in search of a middle ground, as so many of the debates that we all have, as with others elsewhere, go from one side of the spectrum to the other when in fact there likely is ample fertile ground in between where we all could meet. There are issues in higher ed that legitimately should be addressed, and some bad actors who misuse their authority. And there are areas where the anti-higher ed crowd overestimates and overdramatizes the situation, and selectively cherry-picks information and sources, in an effort to foster their own agenda and win the less informed over to their side. I'd rather we all agree on that as we can, try to find ways where each side can be better, and make real progress rather than merely argue across a fencepost. The young people see this to some extent and are turned off by it all. Perhaps we would be better served to make them part of the discussion and talk with them more than just about them.