Earlier quoted context omitted.
Calling yourself a "victim" when your against gay rights? That's like calling the white slave land owners "victims" when they were against the abolishment of slavery.
I don't consider myself a victim. Please read up on the use of scare quotes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scare_quotes Also, I don't recall saying I was against gay rights. For the record, I favor giving gays the same set of rights that straight people should be given (as opposed to the set of rights straight people are actually given). But this is widely interpreted by lazy people as meaning I'm against gay rights.
Bat fellatio causes a scandal in academia
31–40 of 47 posts
Re: Bat fellatio causes a scandal in academia
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
does anyone here seriously expect me to believe there is a perfectly innocent, professional explanation for a clinical psychologist to give a paper on bat fellatio to a colleague? Yes. The article refers to "an ongoing discussion on human uniqueness"; I've personally been part of discussions where people have made (entirely incorrect) assertions along the lines of "animals don't engage in reproductively ineffective s…
"As part of what he says was an ongoing discussion on human uniqueness..." Context is everything. Even if what he says is true, what's acceptable as a one-off joke takes an entirely different meaning when it's just the latest in a series of affronts. If you haven't read it already, the other side of the story paints a pretty different picture to the article: http://felidware.com/DylanEvans/c1.jpg http://felidware.com…
Re: Bat fellatio causes a scandal in academia
#33* Judging just from the story, it does indeed sound like the showing of the article was a bit of a joke, to carry a shock value to the recipient.
* However, the punishment should fit the crime. In this case the university grossly went overboard into a possibly career wrecking punishment. Maybe a private meeting with the professor and a semi-public chastising in the form of a message from the dean would have been more logical.
* Which makes you think: Why do the universities behave in this manner (this incident is by no means unique). Answer is they want to send a "clear message that sexual (or other kinds of) harassment is not tolerated". Problem is, due to recent surge of political correctness, this has been a blanket term to mean anything that may offend your audience. You say Socrates was not black in your lecture? You've offended the Afrocentric crowd (see Mary Lefkowitz's experiences at http://www.wellesley.edu/CS/Mary/contents.html). You suggest men and women may have innate cognitive differences, you, of course, offend everyone (see Steven Pinker). I could go on but the margin is too small to hold the full list.
This is sad for two reasons: i) The lesser reason is that, well, increasing levels of PC is stifling for all society. ii) But the main worry point is that these things happened in academia, the bastion of free thinking. For one thing, I think the threshold of academics to handle PC-sensitive topics should be higher than the general public. That's why they're academics.
Re: Bat fellatio causes a scandal in academia
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
does anyone here seriously expect me to believe there is a perfectly innocent, professional explanation for a clinical psychologist to give a paper on bat fellatio to a colleague? Yes. The article refers to "an ongoing discussion on human uniqueness"; I've personally been part of discussions where people have made (entirely incorrect) assertions along the lines of "animals don't engage in reproductively ineffective s…
Didn't some guy win the ignoble prize a few years ago for documenting the occurrence of homosexual necrophilia in ducks? You'd be surprised at all the things being researched.
Re: Bat fellatio causes a scandal in academia
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
does anyone here seriously expect me to believe there is a perfectly innocent, professional explanation for a clinical psychologist to give a paper on bat fellatio to a colleague? Yes. The article refers to "an ongoing discussion on human uniqueness"; I've personally been part of discussions where people have made (entirely incorrect) assertions along the lines of "animals don't engage in reproductively ineffective s…
Didn't some guy win the ignoble prize a few years ago for documenting the occurrence of homosexual necrophilia in ducks? You'd be surprised at all the things being researched.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2005/mar/08/highereducat...
Re: Bat fellatio causes a scandal in academia
#36If someone's words make me "hurt and disgusted", does it mean I can have them "monitored and counseled" for two years and take away their tenure? Or do I have to be a woman to do that?
You can if it's an ongoing pattern of behaviour. From the initial complaint, it doesn't sound like this is a one-off.
Re: Bat fellatio causes a scandal in academia
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
does anyone here seriously expect me to believe there is a perfectly innocent, professional explanation for a clinical psychologist to give a paper on bat fellatio to a colleague? Yes. The article refers to "an ongoing discussion on human uniqueness"; I've personally been part of discussions where people have made (entirely incorrect) assertions along the lines of "animals don't engage in reproductively ineffective s…
"As part of what he says was an ongoing discussion on human uniqueness..." Context is everything. Even if what he says is true, what's acceptable as a one-off joke takes an entirely different meaning when it's just the latest in a series of affronts. If you haven't read it already, the other side of the story paints a pretty different picture to the article: http://felidware.com/DylanEvans/c1.jpg http://felidware.com…
1. He asked her to comment on a scientific paper involving sexual behavior in animals.
2. He told her about a book he was reading on Casanova — specifically that he admired Casanova's adaptability to different situations and skill at gambling (Note: This is the emphasis she herself gives; I'm not downplaying any sexual component)
3. He said he would like to do a course on "sinful" behavior such as gambling, in which he might dress like the devil on some occasion
4. He asked her out to dinner, saying she could bring her husband and he would bring his girlfriend. He showed up without his girlfriend, but did bring another companion in her place. At the end of the night he gave her a hug and kissed her cheek "in the presence of [her] husband"
5. He likes to come into her office in the morning and chat, often about technical fields outside of his degree
6. He initially complimented her along the lines of "You look good in that outfit," she told him she didn't appreciate that sort of talk, and since then he has been more distant and kept his conversation with her strictly to scholarly matters
The picture she paints of him is very much that of a friendly guy who likes to talk to his peers about the things he's thinking about. Particularly the incident where she was scandalized that he hugged her and gave her a kiss on the cheek in front of her husband combined with how upset she was that he'd thought about dressing as the devil makes me think this is a culture clash between somebody extremely conservative and somebody much less so.
Re: Bat fellatio causes a scandal in academia
#38So why exactly is the accuser's identity protected, as opposed to Dr. Evans'?
Re: Bat fellatio causes a scandal in academia
#39SNL had some fun with this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBVuAGFcGKY (moderately not safe for work, but no nudity).
It's interesting to have a law that says, not "X is bad behavior," but "X is behavior that you can only get away with if other people like it." It would be like having a law that banned porn of ugly people.
Re: Bat fellatio causes a scandal in academia
#40During the Slashdot discussion, someone pointed out this archive of correspondence for more detail: http://felidware.com/DylanEvans/ The woman in question makes allegations that it was ongoing much longer than this single bat-fellatio-paper incident, and that that was just the last straw. The investigators however appear to clear him of any wrongdoing with regard to anything prior to the bat-paper allegations ("Repor…
If he's been cleared of all the other allegations then they should be ignored. Otherwise all we have is "Innocent until accused of something".