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Professor suspended for saying 那个 nà ge

languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu

461–470 of 540 posts

Re: Professor suspended for saying 那个 nà ge

#461
post #249
post #40

> "Professor Greg Patton repeated several times a Chinese word that sounds very similar to a vile racial slur in English. Understandably, this caused great pain and upset among students, and for that I am deeply sorry. It is simply unacceptable for faculty to use words in class that can marginalize, hurt and harm the psychological safety of our students. We must and we will do better." It's unbelievable that this "un…

> Not only does this barely resemble the racial slur, it is indistinguishably used in a context where it's implicitly clear and even explicitly stated that it's a term from another language. In the linked video it sounds exactly like the slur, To a surprising extent. It was introduced with no warning and I’m not surprised people were shocked if this was the same context as the class - although we don’t know the full…

>It was introduced with no warning and I’m not surprised people were shocked if this was the same context as the class - although we don’t know the full details!

What possible other details could there be? We literally have the recording of what happened before. He explains that there is a filler word in chinese, gives the english translation and then the chinese word. Do you really think it's reasonable to expect an additional warning? Should every philosophy lecture come with a short preface that the word 'Kant' may come up and is not intended to cause any harm? (mind you, the dean's letter is actually way more strict: it literally straight up says that these words are 'unacceptable', no qualification about a warning or anything).

Hell, how far do you think this should go? If a student has a potentially offensive sounding name, do they have to give a warning before they introduce themselves? Or should they have to anglicize their name?

Re: Professor suspended for saying 那个 nà ge

#463
post #436

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm pointing out that the right is more closed minded. > Unless, of course, you're saying there's something inherently out-group about LGBT Yes, it's called being in the minority[0]. I'm not sure what gymnastics you're playing trying to make "out group" equivalent to "something wrong", but that's your addition to the conversation, and not something I ever suggested. Let me repeat that: there is nothing morally wrong…

> given that you appear to identify as part of "the right". What leads you to believe this? Because I'm asking probing questions about the left? Is asking questions in order to learn a trait of someone on the right, and not the left? Big if true, and I'm surprised that you're promoting this viewpoint. > To suggest such a thing is closed minded. First of all, this doesn't follow from any evidence in the discussion so…

> On what other grounds could I possibly continue the conversation?! Until you do that I can only assume you wish to continue in bad faith.

I've tried, to the beat of my abilities, to state my interpretation of your words clearly. As far as I can tell, you agree that my comments have value.

I invite you to clarify, but to accuse me of anything in bad faith is upsetting, unfair, and I'll note, a violation of the hacker news guidelines. It is possible that I misunderstood you, but you should address that by adding clarification, not by demanding that I remove my own statements. When you called me a liar, I didn't demand you remove the offending statement, not when you claimed, more than once now, that I'm acting in bad faith. I simply clarified since your accusations held no merit. I only ask that you do the same. Clarify, and de-escalate instead of accusing people of acting in bad faith. If my statements merit a response, respond.

This is made all the more confusing since I cannot know which statements you feel are me speaking for you. I don't believe I've spoken for you at all. I've provided my interpretation of your words. And you seem to want to respond to some of what I've said. Removing my clarifications or something that you wish to respond to is a disservice to the both of us.

And again, I invite you to clarify if I misunderstood, but I ask you to do so assuming good faith on my part. It's the same courtesy I extend to you.

On a more technical note, I believe I can only edit one of my posts, and it's the most recent one where I defend myself from your accusations that I am a liar.

Re: Professor suspended for saying 那个 nà ge

#464
post #457

I think it's important to note that nowhere in the article (nor anywhere else I can find) does it state that the professor was "suspended". Rather, it only says that the professor will "no longer be teaching this class for the remainder of the semester". I think this is an important distinction because it leaves the door open to the possibility that: 1) the professor voluntarily stepped down 2) the professor will ret…

Completely disagree. The professor did nothing wrong and shouldn't have to take the fall for anyone. It's ultimately a question of ethics if the scenario is as you play it out. Is it ethical to effectively declare your guilt when you are innocent.

We don't disagree on your point. I'm just pointing out that the degree of punishment enacted on the professor could be much less severe than most people are imagining.

Re: Professor suspended for saying 那个 nà ge

#465
See the history of this B-school dean. He was the dean of Wharton b-school before. Prior to that, he was a professor at Stanford.

B-school deans reflect the corporate America: virtue signaling. I think, USC must be paying Dean Garrett at least a million dollar per annum or even more. This is the expected behavior from people like him.

Re: Professor suspended for saying 那个 nà ge

#466
post #431

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. Or, say you're building some business logic and you need to make some exceptions for VIP partners. In times past, you would add these exceptions to a "whitelist" and have logic to check this list and apply the exception. Now, you need to be very careful to call this an "allowlist" lest the woke patrol pull you aside and warn you that your variable name is insensitive and non-inclusive. I wish I was joking.

In theory white list means allow only these things, and black list means allow everything except these things. In practice, white list means these are good things, and black lists mean these are bad things. Allow and deny lists are much precise since they only have the one meaning

And yet whatever the origin (I suspect nobody can seriously claim to definitely state the actual origin of such a term) its usage as such a list, not referring (necessarily, but indiscriminately so some might be!) to black people, dates back at least as far as the Restoration in 1660 England.

Re: Professor suspended for saying 那个 nà ge

#467
post #382

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't, but I believe "cancel culture" is entirely defined by the left, so again I find the notion of the left being "open-minded" entirely contrary to all lived experience. Can you point to a single piece of evidence for the left being more open-minded?

Gay marriage is still openly advocated against by the right.

(Continuing from bottom of original thread.)

If you are finally willing to accept an explanation of what I originally meant, instead of once again claiming that my immediate and complete repudiation of things I never said is just further evidence that I believe—checks notes—some different things I never said, then I guess that's good enough. But I'm merely restating something I already said, so I trust that anyone acting in good faith will not turn around and claim that I've changed what I'm saying.

> (Unless, of course, you're saying [snip for restatement below])

This entire parenthetical which has caused so much grief and/or hysteria is an attempt at counterfactual inductive reasoning. (I tried to set it off with "unless...you're saying...It would not be charitable of me to assume...it's the only way I can make [sense of something you said]". It was a classic ASD mistake for me to assume that this was sufficient for such an emotionally charged subject, I admit.) Maybe I can make it more clear:

You claimed that left acceptance of LGBT is evidence of open-mindedness. I pointed out that you don't get open-mindedness credits for accepting something you already believe. As an exercise in inductive reasoning I was trying to figure out what it would take for your original claim to be true in light of my addendum. For my protection, what should be an unnecessary disclaimer: THE FOLLOWING IS A COUNTERFACTUAL VIEWPOINT TO EXPLORE AN IDEA SPACE, NOT SOMETHING I BELIEVE. In order for the left's acceptance of LGBT to be an example of open-mindedness, it would be necessary for LGBT really to be an outgroup of the left (inductive reasoning), so that when the left would treat LGBT like an ingroup they were really practicing open-mindedness (counterfactual). But the only way LGBT could be an outgroup of the left (which it isn't: counterfactual reasoning) is if it were (hint: subjunctive means counterfactual) so "out" that it's a natural outgroup of everyone[0]. How could some group be an outgroup of everyone? They would have to be (counterfactual! inductive!) morally wrong according to the very few shared moral principles of the left and the right. But since this is obviously not the case, we conclude that it's impossible for left acceptance of LGBT to be evidence of open-mindedness.

> The right considers lgbt people to be morally wrong. The left does not. This makes the right more intolerant than the left.

Yes, yes, this is just the same argument in different words. I addressed it above by pointing out that you don't get open-mindedness points for making the ingroup an ingroup, because... they're already an ingroup. No ingroup gets you open-mindedness points. Only accepting and coexisting with outgroups is open-minded. But with your new statement of the same point I can address it in a different way too:

The left considers people born into wealth to be morally wrong. The right does not. This makes the left more intolerant than the right.[1]

Now of course you don't agree. The usual reasoning trotted out is "but being LGBT is something you're born with, so it's not okay to discriminate on that basis, but everything that the left discriminates on is different and it's okay!" Well first of all this is why I said "people born into wealth", as awkward as it makes the argument. But the objection is wrong anyways, because the left has simply defined all the spectra along which they accept all points as part of "identity" while all the spectra along which there are some unacceptable points (e.g., along the "believes in welfare only"..."believes in charity only" spectrum, only points closer to "believes in welfare only" are acceptable for the left) as part of not-identity, "mutable" characteristics. So in the end both the original statement and also this objection are just examples of assuming the conclusion by declaring that the left's ingroups and outgroups are "right" and the right's ingroups and outgroups are "wrong". According to this way of looking at the world, making LGBT an ingroup is righteous but making wealthy people an outgroup is also righteous, and doing the opposite is wrong and intolerant. Well of course when you make that assumption, then you can only possibly conclude that the right is "more intolerant", because they have made outgroups of all the wrong groups!

Neither the left or the right has a "more tolerant" or "more open-minded" set of ingroups and outgroups because, dare I repeat it again, you don't get open-mindedness points for who is in your ingroups and outgroups, only for how you treat the outgroups. How does the majority of the right treat LGBT? And how does the majority of the left treat people in their outgroups? I'd much rather be LGBT in a mostly right-leaning place than, say, publicly ask questions about the left on somewhere, like, say, HN. Because I've been both, and I am both. And the right treats me far better than the left does; in fact there's no contest because literally no one cares that I'm LGBT—I'm not even the only one in my way-to-the-right-of-me family, and no one bats an eye—but if I even have a question about leftist ideology, let alone actually identifying with an outgroup, it's end of the world level hysteria, making up wild stories about what a crazy right-wing fascist Trumpist racist misogynist Nazi like me must be dogwhistling about. What a nightmare.

The right has never been anything but entirely tolerant of whatever beliefs I hold which differ from theirs; and every time I'm accused of being on the right myself, I believe it a little more and more every time. Another non-personal example is Chick-fil-a. Let's see here... Chick-fil-a serves anyone and everyone with respect and doesn't give a shit who you are as long as you just want to buy a fucking chicken sandwich. And frankly in the south LGBT people love Chick-fil-a as much as anyone; maybe more because you are fucking guaranteed never ever to be discriminated against by their employees. It's not even conceivable. But the west coast elite now... they boycott a business for the sole reason that—how terrifying—the founder believes the wrong things! And therefore every franchisee, every employee, they are all outgroup and not deserving of patronage, and anyone who patronizes them is also evil. Being seen talking to someone wearing a CFA uniform is also sacrilege I'm sure. Wow. Many tolerant, so open-mindedness, wow.

[0] Even though AFAICT, as much as I dislike the guy Trump did have the most legitimately pro-LGBT post-primary presidential campaign ever in 2016; not a statement I expect you to agree with though.

[1]Incidentally, this isn't counterfactual, it's just equally as meaningless as your statement.

Re: Professor suspended for saying 那个 nà ge

#468
post #430
post #400

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you get upset when you learn the word for "black" in spanish?

No - I can’t remember when i learnt that; possibly because I’m English and due to geographical proximity. I was surprised by the linked video though, it could have done with a prior warning in my opinion.

I disagree, I think not acknowledging it is better, because there is no freaking relation with the word I'm not supposed to write

Re: Professor suspended for saying 那个 nà ge

#469
post #400

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you get upset when you learn the word for "black" in spanish?

Leftists are trying to change the Spanish language because all nouns are gendered. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_neutrality_in_Spanish

this "leftists are doing that" bullshit is usually an extreme right way of dismissing everything

Re: Professor suspended for saying 那个 nà ge

#470
post #467

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gay marriage is still openly advocated against by the right.

(Continuing from bottom of original thread.) If you are finally willing to accept an explanation of what I originally meant, instead of once again claiming that my immediate and complete repudiation of things I never said is just further evidence that I believe— checks notes —some different things I never said, then I guess that's good enough. But I'm merely restating something I already said, so I trust that anyone…

I actually already addressed this argument: claiming that to be tolerant you must be tolerant of people you are intolerant of is a circular argument. The LGBT community is an outgroup in society, and by being more open to said societal outgroups, the left is more open minded in general.

To rephrase, your assumption that to demonstrate open mindedness, one must act a certain way towards the outgroup is a self defeating premise. As soon as you provide the requisite amount of acceptance to the outgroup, they are no longer the outgroup, so you are no longer being open minded. Under this framing, everyone is exactly equally open-minded because open mindedness is encoded in our preexisting personal prejudices.

A more useful definition of open mindedness is less relative to the person under the lens. And under this lens, the left is significantly more open minded. Progressives have been the side of social progress since the beginning of politics. That's why they're called conservatives and progressives. Arguing that conservatives are more open to new ideas than progressives seems challenging, given the definitions of the words.

> The left considers people born into wealth to be morally wrong. The right does not.

This is a straw argument. The left does not claim it is immoral to be born into wealth. There are claims about certain systems that pereptuate wealth being immoral, but those arguments don't ascribe some sort of original sin to babies of wealthy people.

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