Perhaps we can also look at this in terms of power dynamics. It's possible many of the students are not as devoted to their cause as it may seem. Instead, the cause has given these students power, over administrators, and others. That power can be intoxicating. So the students will use any opportunity they can to exert power over others, and expand that power. I think Evergreen is worth examining through the lens of Lord of the Flies.
Inside the Madness at Evergreen State
21–30 of 54 posts
Re: Inside the Madness at Evergreen State
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
>"Day of Absence is a day for community building around identity groups." It sounds more like an event encouraging and celebrating tribalism.
That's a valid critique of identity politics. The original article is not. And again, I didn't think HN was a forum for debating these sorts of political / cultural issues in the first place. What does this have to do with science, technology, or startups?
Politics has always had its niche on HN.
Re: Inside the Madness at Evergreen State
#23From https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html :
Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon. Ideological or political battle or talking points. Videos of pratfalls or disasters, or cute animal pictures. If they'd cover it on TV news, it's probably off-topic.
Re: Inside the Madness at Evergreen State
#24Wow, this is really reminiscent of the Cultural Revolution. These retaliatory attitudes towards 'white' people are hostile and racist and do not work towards building an inclusive society. Edit: Why was this flagged?
Why flagged? Read the submission guidelines:
"Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon. Ideological or political battle or talking points. Videos of pratfalls or disasters, or cute animal pictures. If they'd cover it on TV news, it's probably off-topic."
Re: Inside the Madness at Evergreen State
#25Wow, this is really reminiscent of the Cultural Revolution. These retaliatory attitudes towards 'white' people are hostile and racist and do not work towards building an inclusive society. Edit: Why was this flagged?
Why flagged? Read the submission guidelines: "Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon. Ideological or political battle or talking points. Videos of pratfalls or disasters, or cute animal pictures. If they'd cover it on TV news, it's probably off-topic." https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
"unless they're some interesting new phenomenon".
This article is that.
Re: Inside the Madness at Evergreen State
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
>"Day of Absence is a day for community building around identity groups." It sounds more like an event encouraging and celebrating tribalism.
That's a valid critique of identity politics. The original article is not. And again, I didn't think HN was a forum for debating these sorts of political / cultural issues in the first place. What does this have to do with science, technology, or startups?
HN has a constant stream about current events and opinion discussed on the front page pretty much every day. You can use the hide button if it does not interest you.
Re: Inside the Madness at Evergreen State
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
Academia. 'Anti Whiteness is pro humanity,' according to a professor teaching a course "The Problem with Whiteness," who UW Madison defends[0]. "In this class, we will ask what an ethical white identity entails, what it means to be #woke, and consider the journal Race Traitor's motto, 'treason to whiteness is loyalty to humanity" Any professor teaching anti-(any other race'ness') would be instantly a pariah and unabl…
> Any professor teaching anti-(any other race'ness') would be instantly a pariah and unable to keep a job. Whiteness isn't really a race, so that's not the same thing. In America, it's been a social construct whose members have shifted over the years. > I have a question. When I grew up I heard 'colorblindness' was a good thing. What happened to that? It appears we are going in the opposite direction. People started…
I feel like I don't understand this. Consider the hypothetical courses: "the problem with Jewishness," or "the problem with Blackness." Are those at all acceptable? I am certain they are not! So what is acceptable about "the problem with Whiteness?" I think you are saying that Whites do not constitute a race in the same way that Blacks do?? Does that make sense?
Re: Inside the Madness at Evergreen State
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
Academia. 'Anti Whiteness is pro humanity,' according to a professor teaching a course "The Problem with Whiteness," who UW Madison defends[0]. "In this class, we will ask what an ethical white identity entails, what it means to be #woke, and consider the journal Race Traitor's motto, 'treason to whiteness is loyalty to humanity" Any professor teaching anti-(any other race'ness') would be instantly a pariah and unabl…
> Any professor teaching anti-(any other race'ness') would be instantly a pariah and unable to keep a job. Whiteness isn't really a race, so that's not the same thing. In America, it's been a social construct whose members have shifted over the years. > I have a question. When I grew up I heard 'colorblindness' was a good thing. What happened to that? It appears we are going in the opposite direction. People started…
Colorblindness is the only way to live in a multicultural society. How does it ignore the experiences of 'black' people?
Re: Inside the Madness at Evergreen State
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Any professor teaching anti-(any other race'ness') would be instantly a pariah and unable to keep a job. Whiteness isn't really a race, so that's not the same thing. In America, it's been a social construct whose members have shifted over the years. > I have a question. When I grew up I heard 'colorblindness' was a good thing. What happened to that? It appears we are going in the opposite direction. People started…
I feel like I don't understand this. Consider the hypothetical courses: "the problem with Jewishness," or "the problem with Blackness." Are those at all acceptable? I am certain they are not! So what is acceptable about "the problem with Whiteness?" I think you are saying that Whites do not constitute a race in the same way that Blacks do?? Does that make sense?
> So what is acceptable about "the problem with Whiteness?"
You got the answer yourself:
> I think you are saying that Whites do not constitute a race in the same way that Blacks do?? Does that make sense?
Re: Inside the Madness at Evergreen State
#30Why is this article considered suitable for Hacker News? It's political fodder, not sci/tech. In any case, there appears to be many overheated claims around this event, with precious little context. This was a voluntary event, where both minority and white students were allowed to go off-campus for discussions around "identity politics"; https://evergreen.edu/multicultural/day-of-absence-day-of-pr...
Ask Bret Weinstein about overheated claims. Also plenty of videos on youtube that show what is going on.