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The Miseducation of Americas Elites

bariweiss.substack.com

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Re: The Miseducation of Americas Elites

#41

Post by legacynl »

padastra wrote: post #36
the_why_of_y wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is your argument that the ethnic conflict and genocide in several former Yugoslav republics in the 1990s was caused by an education system indoctrinating people with anti-racist attitudes? I didn't grow up in Yugoslavia, so please elaborate a bit how that worked, because I don't understand.

My parents grew up during the Cultural Revolution. I'm slightly modifying some terminology so the parallels become more clear (original terminology was in Mandarin anyways, so...): It started off as pro-equality and for the people. Then, any evidence that you are outperforming others in a "capitalist" way became evidence that you are anti-equality and therefore against the people. This quickly devolved into merit not…

There are some pretty big and critical differences you're glossing over.

- The forcing of ideals in Yugoslavia was done 'top-down', by people with power, not bottoms-up.

- Citizens have no authority over others.

- The United States is a democracy, with separation of political powers.

I hope you understand that this makes the comparison to Yugoslavia nonsensical.

Re: The Miseducation of Americas Elites

#42

Post by ceilingcorner »

Context_free wrote: post #4

When Bari Weiss was a student at Columbia, she was part of a group that targeted Arab professors that criticized Israel, like Joseph Massad. She did a lot to foster "cancel culture", but it seems to be backfiring on her now.

Yes I agree that one’s actions as a twenty-year old college student should define them permanently and that no further personal development should be allowed, ever.

I call it Woke Calvinism.

Re: The Miseducation of Americas Elites

#43

Post by ceilingcorner »

inglor_cz wrote: post #3

This really sounds like late Communist Czechoslovakia to me, where lying at school was an obvious norm, everyone knew what was publicly unspeakable and which one of your colleagues was a snitch. The difference is that by late 1980s there were few true believers. Those who held the power and dictated the indoctrination standards were mostly tired pragmaticists who were in power to be in power and little else. There we…

Yup. Americans really ought to spend more time studying the USSR and related states. This stuff isn't new and it doesn't end well.

Re: The Miseducation of Americas Elites

#44

Post by padastra »

legacynl wrote: post #41
padastra wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My parents grew up during the Cultural Revolution. I'm slightly modifying some terminology so the parallels become more clear (original terminology was in Mandarin anyways, so...): It started off as pro-equality and for the people. Then, any evidence that you are outperforming others in a "capitalist" way became evidence that you are anti-equality and therefore against the people. This quickly devolved into merit not…

There are some pretty big and critical differences you're glossing over. - The forcing of ideals in Yugoslavia was done 'top-down', by people with power, not bottoms-up. - Citizens have no authority over others. - The United States is a democracy, with separation of political powers. I hope you understand that this makes the comparison to Yugoslavia nonsensical.

Do you think Mao just forcibly hoisted the Cultural Revolution on the populace, or did he just take advantage of a sentiment that was sweeping the times?

Or a softer version: do you think McCarthy in the U.S. was potentially dangerous, or will our democracy inherently protect us against being too extreme for all time?

Re: The Miseducation of Americas Elites

#45

Post by refurb »

legacynl wrote: post #41
padastra wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My parents grew up during the Cultural Revolution. I'm slightly modifying some terminology so the parallels become more clear (original terminology was in Mandarin anyways, so...): It started off as pro-equality and for the people. Then, any evidence that you are outperforming others in a "capitalist" way became evidence that you are anti-equality and therefore against the people. This quickly devolved into merit not…

There are some pretty big and critical differences you're glossing over. - The forcing of ideals in Yugoslavia was done 'top-down', by people with power, not bottoms-up. - Citizens have no authority over others. - The United States is a democracy, with separation of political powers. I hope you understand that this makes the comparison to Yugoslavia nonsensical.

Citizens have no authority over others.

Didnt a bunch of woke high school students get a decades long NY Times writer fired recently?

Re: The Miseducation of Americas Elites

#46

Post by [deleted] »

austincheney wrote: post #7

Pffft expensive private school. They have those in Texas but it’s curious why anybody would attend if the goals are elitism or competition. Texas has wealthy public schools that are absurdly competitive, such as Southlake and Katy. If you want a full ride for your child at one of the most prestigious universities in the country just attend one of those public schools and be a top performer in both academics and sport…

[deleted]

Re: The Miseducation of Americas Elites

#47

Post by readflaggedcomm »

ceilingcorner wrote: post #42
Context_free wrote: post #4

When Bari Weiss was a student at Columbia, she was part of a group that targeted Arab professors that criticized Israel, like Joseph Massad. She did a lot to foster "cancel culture", but it seems to be backfiring on her now.

Yes I agree that one’s actions as a twenty-year old college student should define them permanently and that no further personal development should be allowed, ever. I call it Woke Calvinism.

Observing petard hoisting isn't the same as adopting it as an all-encompassing worldview, if you allow the commenter any charity at all.

Re: The Miseducation of Americas Elites

#48

Post by tzs »

> Woe betide the working-class kid who arrives in college and uses Latino instead of “Latinx,”

I wonder if that still happens even when that working class kid is Latino?

Among US Latino adults, 76% say they have never heard of "Latinx", 26% have heard of it but do not use it, and only 3% use it [1].

Among 18-29 year old US Latinos, that rises to 42% have heard of it and 7% use it. It's got 14% usage among 18-29 year old women.

https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/2020/08/11/about-one-in...

Re: The Miseducation of Americas Elites

#50

Post by imbnwa »

inglor_cz wrote: post #8
parsimo2010 wrote: post #5

I feel sorry for these people that can afford to send their kids literally anywhere have to make the decision about whether they should continue supporting the elitist system that they rode to the top, now that they found something they disagree with. You don’t like that the school is teaching that capitalism is wrong? Do the capitalist thing and vote with your wallet, send your kids somewhere else. If you don’t like…

Individuals can probably opt out of the system, even though at a possibly very high price paid in opportunities of their children. The question is what happens to the entire country if its elite adopts critical race theory as The Truth. It could tear itself apart in a way not too dissimilar from 1861-5. Systems in which your skin color is the most important attribute have little space for meritocracy and movement amo…

> Systems in which your skin color is the most important attribute have little space for meritocracy and movement among classes, and create an explosive reservoir of resentment.

This sounds pretty familiar

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