RE the Harvard issue....the issue is that Harvard explicitly DIDN'T provide a "safe space" for Jewish students, and the president of the school clearly waffled on saying if actual real death threats were bad, in an age where a perceived "microaggression" can get you fired. It's yet another case of "not for you if you're a Jew." The absolutely stunning silence of "progressive" women's groups (including the UN -- another anti-Israel criticism machine and little more at this point) when faced with reels of evidence of sexual violence against Jewish women by Hamas terrorists is also telling. The Jewish population of America has always been there for just about every major Civil Rights movement in the country. Now that we need some support, crickets, absolute crickets. And, there is absolutely no reason why Jewish donors shouldn't pull their donations if they want to. Remember, that even though we are a tiny portion of the population, being Jewish was never seen as qualifying as a "minority" for financial aid, diversity purposes, etc. I found that out when I was applying for colleges back in the day, even though we were broke due to my parents' divorce. I was finally able to give to Cornell, my alma mater, last year. Then I got to see a professor tell a mob chanting "from the river to the sea" (you DO know what that means, yes?) how he found the mass murder, rape, and kidnapping of Jewish kids at a rave was "exhilarating." Then of course said professor walked it back and claimed that he *checks notes* identified with Jewish people because oppression something something and we should all just forget what he said and took a "voluntary" leave of absence when he realized that his cushy job was in danger. So, this year, I wrote to the alum office instead and let them know that even though my donation would have been a small one -- I'm not rolling in it -- I didn't want one cent of any money that I earned going to his salary. Jews have never had a good time on Ivy campuses -- when I went there, there were no kosher dining options, no regular worship space for the High Holidays (we got some space in one of the academic halls instead every year), and groups like Cornell Campus Crusade for Christ (ugh) were allowed to hand out New Testaments to people going to Kol Nidre and otherwise harass us. I'd thought we'd made progress but apparently not. The whole thing has really made me question what "allyship" and "intersectionality" really looks like.
That Gaza video made me cry and I DO NOT CRY! I did not cry when I got diagnosed with breast cancer (I'm good now). I've tweeted to the edge of what I think I can get away with as a Black woman academic. I wish there was more I could do!
Also, have you heard about the plagiarism debacle of the youtubers? Someone has lost their platform, as they should, for flagrant theft of journalists and reviewers and authors. But it also has a much bigger implication of how large scale computing (ahem, "AI") is just a giant theft machine. Fascinating times. Search Hbomberguy, plagiarism to find out more!
RE the Harvard issue....the issue is that Harvard explicitly DIDN'T provide a "safe space" for Jewish students, and the president of the school clearly waffled on saying if actual real death threats were bad, in an age where a perceived "microaggression" can get you fired. It's yet another case of "not for you if you're a Jew." The absolutely stunning silence of "progressive" women's groups (including the UN -- another anti-Israel criticism machine and little more at this point) when faced with reels of evidence of sexual violence against Jewish women by Hamas terrorists is also telling. The Jewish population of America has always been there for just about every major Civil Rights movement in the country. Now that we need some support, crickets, absolute crickets. And, there is absolutely no reason why Jewish donors shouldn't pull their donations if they want to. Remember, that even though we are a tiny portion of the population, being Jewish was never seen as qualifying as a "minority" for financial aid, diversity purposes, etc. I found that out when I was applying for colleges back in the day, even though we were broke due to my parents' divorce. I was finally able to give to Cornell, my alma mater, last year. Then I got to see a professor tell a mob chanting "from the river to the sea" (you DO know what that means, yes?) how he found the mass murder, rape, and kidnapping of Jewish kids at a rave was "exhilarating." Then of course said professor walked it back and claimed that he *checks notes* identified with Jewish people because oppression something something and we should all just forget what he said and took a "voluntary" leave of absence when he realized that his cushy job was in danger. So, this year, I wrote to the alum office instead and let them know that even though my donation would have been a small one -- I'm not rolling in it -- I didn't want one cent of any money that I earned going to his salary. Jews have never had a good time on Ivy campuses -- when I went there, there were no kosher dining options, no regular worship space for the High Holidays (we got some space in one of the academic halls instead every year), and groups like Cornell Campus Crusade for Christ (ugh) were allowed to hand out New Testaments to people going to Kol Nidre and otherwise harass us. I'd thought we'd made progress but apparently not. The whole thing has really made me question what "allyship" and "intersectionality" really looks like.
That Gaza video made me cry and I DO NOT CRY! I did not cry when I got diagnosed with breast cancer (I'm good now). I've tweeted to the edge of what I think I can get away with as a Black woman academic. I wish there was more I could do!
I'm glad I'm not alone in my feelings about The Fraud. I finished it over the weekend only because I was so far in, I might as well get to the end.
Related to lying politicians, I just want to make sure you've seen the brilliant Ziwe and George Santos interview
That goodreads nonsense is wild.
Also, have you heard about the plagiarism debacle of the youtubers? Someone has lost their platform, as they should, for flagrant theft of journalists and reviewers and authors. But it also has a much bigger implication of how large scale computing (ahem, "AI") is just a giant theft machine. Fascinating times. Search Hbomberguy, plagiarism to find out more!
Very interesting and informative and the penis mention was shocking 💥 many thanks for the audio option on this post!