After I stated banal facts about human biology, I found myself caught in a DEI web, without the support to do the job I loved. The only way out was to leave it.
I would encourage everyone to read the book or listen to the audio book like I did. I have a high school diploma and do a blue collar job and am never the smartest person in the room even when I am in a room by myself and was able to follow along and enjoy it. It is common sense to us that boys are boys and girls are girls but she breaks it down scientifically and leaves no room for debate and that is what they are scared of.
I have noticed that many of the worst bullies today are the same people who demand their safe spaces. They love engaging when they have a 10:1 or greater advantage . We saw this almost a decade ago at Yale when Halloween gate occurred and Dr Cristakis was surrounded in the courtyard. Many of these students have taken their show to DC and corporate America
"In 1998, before I started studies for my PhD at Harvard, I spent nearly a year doing field research in Uganda on the behavior of chimpanzees. In retrospect, this work turned out to be useful in understanding dominance hierarchies at the school. "
Reading this just filled me with so much anxiety. Many of us are experiencing this, even in our personal lives. Family members taken over by DEI concepts; shout-downs by friends who are insistent on their position and do not wish to discuss varied ideas; self-censorship everywhere in public now. This is a sad state of affairs for our nation.
My 17 year old daughter and I were having a discussion, actually she was having a particularly bad day (OK, I have to do this every time: An Orthodox Christian priest can be married and have children if they are married before they enter the priesthood), and we were discussing the need for her to fulfill her academic obligations for an online class.
She was insistent that I was disregarding her "feelings" and I was equally insistent that her "feelings" while valid and important, did not affect the reality of the situation for her to actually meet the deadline for her project.
And then it hit me, my own daughter had succumbed to the "spirit of the age" by believing her feelings somehow create a reality. Amazing. To be sure, feelings are significant, but only in bringing the person information about what's going on inside them. They should never be allowed to "drive the car!"
The truth is our culture has accepted a mind virus that is debilitating whole generations IF we don't use the tools of wisdom to help our precious children overcome what will inevitably become a mental slavery for their future growth and maturity.
DEI was put on steroids by the death of George Floyd (he of the golden casket) when the entire country lost its collective mind in a paroxysm of race bullying and saccharine guilt and public self flagellation. And just as we suspected - and as the FP exposed yesterday - the entire Floyd charade was just a pack of lies by the hyenas who run our media. Time to roll back DEI. the trans garbage, the climate racket and all of the scams of the Left that are intended to weaken America and destroy our beloved nation.
I am conservative but I was raised in a family of largely liberals. Free discussion was encouraged and expected. Your opinions on all things was subject to challenge. I became conservative over time because I believed in less government based on my life experience with the system. Having said that, I have never vilified, or wished to silence, any person who thought differently than I did. Good ideas and practices come from debate and the testing of ideas and concepts. We human beings are subject to our biases and our intellectual blind spots. Robust discussion is the only way to move society forward in a coherent fashion. But in our world of sounds bites and lazy brains it is so much easier to condemn with simplicity than to debate. Ms. Hoover's experience shows that the institutions of higher learning have fallen into the knee jerk trap of abandoning discourse to the narrow minded view of the few. Having an opinion, if it differs at all from those who believe they know better, is a cause of condemnation. If we don't change that paradigm soon, the strength of our pluralistic society will continue to fade away.
It’s amazing to me that older, wiser, more mature adults have put aside those important attributes to allow younger, naive, immature, and often mentally unstable young people to lead. We are seeing the destructive results of that insanity everywhere.
Thank you. Another of the few remaining sane professors resigns. Looks like Steven Pinker may be the last standing there at harvard. You are preaching to the choir here. I hope your article gets out to the MSM. You might not be able to change the minds of the indoctrinated woke prog cult but some mainstream liberals can be convinced your position was the correct one.
"As a sign of the political polarization that characterizes the U.S. today, my supporters have tended to come from the right—although I am a lifelong Democrat"
In a world where the definition of male and female is subject to debate, I'm loathe to assign labels, let alone subscribe to them. However, I have no problem assigning the label DEMOCRAT to those who've persecuted Ms. Hooven.
Nothing brave about a Lynch mob. A crowd of cowards as individuals finds “bravery” in a group. At least our society has progressed to the point where we don’t burn people at the stake anymore. I hope Dr. Hooven can find a work environment where people appreciate her.
Good Luck Dr. Hooven. This whole imbroglio is reminiscent of China's Red Guard era. The only thing lacking is putting a dunce cap on the "wrong thinker".
I am glad Ms. Hooven has found a measure of peace and a place to openingly debate. I work in the private sector, and the consequences of not self censoring among the professional class are profound. I have not encountered the scary levels of compelled speech that exist in other places, but the trend was headed there until just recently, and I work for heavy industry in a red state. I am praying all this has turned a corner.
I would encourage everyone to read the book or listen to the audio book like I did. I have a high school diploma and do a blue collar job and am never the smartest person in the room even when I am in a room by myself and was able to follow along and enjoy it. It is common sense to us that boys are boys and girls are girls but she breaks it down scientifically and leaves no room for debate and that is what they are scared of.
I have noticed that many of the worst bullies today are the same people who demand their safe spaces. They love engaging when they have a 10:1 or greater advantage . We saw this almost a decade ago at Yale when Halloween gate occurred and Dr Cristakis was surrounded in the courtyard. Many of these students have taken their show to DC and corporate America
This quote gave me a chuckle this morning.
"In 1998, before I started studies for my PhD at Harvard, I spent nearly a year doing field research in Uganda on the behavior of chimpanzees. In retrospect, this work turned out to be useful in understanding dominance hierarchies at the school. "
Reading this just filled me with so much anxiety. Many of us are experiencing this, even in our personal lives. Family members taken over by DEI concepts; shout-downs by friends who are insistent on their position and do not wish to discuss varied ideas; self-censorship everywhere in public now. This is a sad state of affairs for our nation.
My 17 year old daughter and I were having a discussion, actually she was having a particularly bad day (OK, I have to do this every time: An Orthodox Christian priest can be married and have children if they are married before they enter the priesthood), and we were discussing the need for her to fulfill her academic obligations for an online class.
She was insistent that I was disregarding her "feelings" and I was equally insistent that her "feelings" while valid and important, did not affect the reality of the situation for her to actually meet the deadline for her project.
And then it hit me, my own daughter had succumbed to the "spirit of the age" by believing her feelings somehow create a reality. Amazing. To be sure, feelings are significant, but only in bringing the person information about what's going on inside them. They should never be allowed to "drive the car!"
The truth is our culture has accepted a mind virus that is debilitating whole generations IF we don't use the tools of wisdom to help our precious children overcome what will inevitably become a mental slavery for their future growth and maturity.
DEI was put on steroids by the death of George Floyd (he of the golden casket) when the entire country lost its collective mind in a paroxysm of race bullying and saccharine guilt and public self flagellation. And just as we suspected - and as the FP exposed yesterday - the entire Floyd charade was just a pack of lies by the hyenas who run our media. Time to roll back DEI. the trans garbage, the climate racket and all of the scams of the Left that are intended to weaken America and destroy our beloved nation.
I am conservative but I was raised in a family of largely liberals. Free discussion was encouraged and expected. Your opinions on all things was subject to challenge. I became conservative over time because I believed in less government based on my life experience with the system. Having said that, I have never vilified, or wished to silence, any person who thought differently than I did. Good ideas and practices come from debate and the testing of ideas and concepts. We human beings are subject to our biases and our intellectual blind spots. Robust discussion is the only way to move society forward in a coherent fashion. But in our world of sounds bites and lazy brains it is so much easier to condemn with simplicity than to debate. Ms. Hoover's experience shows that the institutions of higher learning have fallen into the knee jerk trap of abandoning discourse to the narrow minded view of the few. Having an opinion, if it differs at all from those who believe they know better, is a cause of condemnation. If we don't change that paradigm soon, the strength of our pluralistic society will continue to fade away.
I am starting to seriously believe that the last sane generation was GenX.
And this story is PRECISELY why I discount degrees from the Ivy League when I interview candidates.
They do not get educations, they get indoctrination and that is not only not useful to me but it is actually a problem for me in my business.
It’s amazing to me that older, wiser, more mature adults have put aside those important attributes to allow younger, naive, immature, and often mentally unstable young people to lead. We are seeing the destructive results of that insanity everywhere.
Thank you. Another of the few remaining sane professors resigns. Looks like Steven Pinker may be the last standing there at harvard. You are preaching to the choir here. I hope your article gets out to the MSM. You might not be able to change the minds of the indoctrinated woke prog cult but some mainstream liberals can be convinced your position was the correct one.
"As a sign of the political polarization that characterizes the U.S. today, my supporters have tended to come from the right—although I am a lifelong Democrat"
In a world where the definition of male and female is subject to debate, I'm loathe to assign labels, let alone subscribe to them. However, I have no problem assigning the label DEMOCRAT to those who've persecuted Ms. Hooven.
N.B. Claudine Gay remains a tenured faculty member at Harvard. This ain’t over yet.
' It ended with a notice that there would be a “brave space for discussion” after the talk. '
You can't make this stuff up.
a “brave space for discussion”??
Nothing brave about a Lynch mob. A crowd of cowards as individuals finds “bravery” in a group. At least our society has progressed to the point where we don’t burn people at the stake anymore. I hope Dr. Hooven can find a work environment where people appreciate her.
Good Luck Dr. Hooven. This whole imbroglio is reminiscent of China's Red Guard era. The only thing lacking is putting a dunce cap on the "wrong thinker".
I am glad Ms. Hooven has found a measure of peace and a place to openingly debate. I work in the private sector, and the consequences of not self censoring among the professional class are profound. I have not encountered the scary levels of compelled speech that exist in other places, but the trend was headed there until just recently, and I work for heavy industry in a red state. I am praying all this has turned a corner.