Posted on 12/30/2016 6:41:21 AM PST by Prov1322
JONATHAN SWIFT is the world's most well-known practitioner of satire, trailed by Mark Twain and then, unintentionally, the Kardashian women.
Swift wrote about eating Irish babies to reduce the devastating effects of the famine in his classic essay "A Modest Proposal." His intent was clear, and he did not need to tell anyone he was joking because his brilliant interplay of words and implication was the work of a genius.
Genius, it seems, is at a high premium these days, particularly in the halls of academe and particularly in the city of Philadelphia. In fact, such mediocrity is evident on our local campuses that it is difficult to determine where the ivy is most poisonous (that was a pun, not satire, and you are not required to appreciate it).
I could talk about the schools that have decided to label themselves "sanctuaries" without checking on the legal significance of defying federal law, regardless of their good intentions.
I could talk about my alma mater and the despicable little fascists at Bryn Mawr who wielded social media posts as flaming torches and forced a student to withdraw from campus simply because she wanted a ride to a Trump rally. The irony in this is that Andi Moritz had described herself as a social liberal, but the Main Line brown shirts heard only "Trump supporter" and chose the nuclear option.
But since I started out on a riff about satire, I think we will focus on the amusing tale of George Ciccariello-Maher. George is an associate professor of politics and, until fairly recently, had an active social media presence. I tried to access his Twitter feed, but unless you ask very nicely, he will not let you into the inner sanctum of his brilliance.
(Excerpt) Read more at philly.com ...
*PING*
That proffeser needs a good beat down by a pack of ferals.
” as Santayana once said, “Those who erase their past are doomed to retweet it.””
I hope she trademarks that line . . .
If not I get dibs on it for FR!
Why doesn’t this prog does us a favor and hang himself in public?
People like this are why Latin American militaries fought “dirty wars” in their fight against communism (successfully, until we abandoned them when they were no longer necessary).
The lovely MrsProv1322 was a student at DIT when I swept her off her feet some decades ago...
Cool story; we probably crossed paths at the Jail House or Cavanaugh’s.
Proposing genocide of any kind as an option is grounds for termination
She lived at 8th and Spruce, working full-time at a very prestigious Architectural firm at 17th and Walnut (H2L2...as it was known by that time...) where we met.
She did not spend much time on campus...just to work, school and then to her apartment...wash, rinse, repeat...
A five year program is too long in today’s work environment. Bachelor’s degrees need to be cut to three years, Master’s four years and associate degrees 1-2 years.
I spent 45 years in higher education and those changes are easily accomplished without sacrifice to students. Focus on real core of each degree, sty or go back to quarter system, Semester was only to lower the workload of faculty.
As reprehensible as I find the professor's comments, I would almost respect him (almost) if he'd had the courage of his convictions and owned his comments. [...]
But the little coward couldn't even defend himself without whining about the hundreds of unsubstantiated death threats he'd received, or the "coordinated smear campaign" against him. I doubt that anyone needed to coordinate those tweets and emails that asked for his dismissal. I'm pretty certain that the average white person who doesn't like to be told he should be exterminated (ha-ha-ha, so funny!) was able to send those messages all by himself.
The ultimate point is this: When you say something controversial, put on your big-boy pants and deal with the repercussions. I do it. Other people who work at this paper do it. Don't make up half-baked excuses about satire when you don't have the talent of Jonathan Swift. Take the punches like a grown up.
And stop whining. Castro would be ashamed of you.
Amazing!!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.