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Academe is a hotbed of craven snitches

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Re: Academe is a hotbed of craven snitches

#21

Post by oh_sigh »

giraffe_lady wrote: post #9

I'm having a serious "Gell-Mann Amnesia effect" moment on this one: I don't think that representation of the Ewell paper is quite accurate, though admittedly it's been over a year since I read it. Despite being Jewish (would have had different significance later than during his time!) Schenker was a proud german nationalist and in his own words considered his method one of the ways german people could assert their su…

Do you view anything hierarchical as racist via associated Whiteness? I'm confused how the origins were an "explicitly racist project". Was Schenker promoting a race that he didn't even belong to? Is it possible to think American culture is superior over other cultures, without thinking that white people are superior to black people?

Re: Academe is a hotbed of craven snitches

#22

Post by ars »

scandox wrote: post #6
ars wrote: post #3

Is this satire or something? Since when is being a snitch a bad thing? Isn't that what people complain about with cops, that they don't report each other? So now what, we want the same thing with academia? That they can do whatever they want, secure in the knowledge no one will report them? And isn't "craven snitch" an oxymoron? To be a snitch you need at least a bit of bravery, even if you are being anonymous, since…

> First let us pause to consider our terms: Was Schlissel’s narc a “snitch” or a “whistle-blower”? Whistle-blowers are generally attempting to topple or thwart the powerful, and Schlissel was certainly powerful. But the reported offense was, in the words of a lawyer I spoke with, “a nothingburger.” Let us provisionally define snitching as turning someone in anonymously, for either minor or nonexistent offenses, or pr…

So if it's a "nothingburger", then why is the administration not just ignoring it?

You can't have that kind of harassment without the assistance of those you are reporting to. Being how I'm not there, I'm going to defer to the administrators to decide what's important and what's not.

Re: Academe is a hotbed of craven snitches

#23

Post by archhn »

Any bureaucratic environment turns people into antisocial psychopaths. Too many rules and too much competition. Every single thing, no matter how small, like a policy about removing Keurig pods from the machine after using it, becomes fodder for institutional politics.

Re: Academe is a hotbed of craven snitches

#24

Post by humanistbot »

vvpan wrote: post #12
humanistbot wrote: post #8

If you are the President of a university (or a company) that has an explicit official policy prohibiting romantic relationships between superiors and subordinates, and you have a semi-secret romantic relationship with a subordinate that many people know about, then someone in the know who is upset with one of your management decisions retaliates by telling the truth to HR, then I have zero sympathy for you. Are they…

"Rules are meant to be broken" is a great maxim in my opinion. It's the expression of truly democratic attitude towards rules. Something that's "technically wrong" but taken by the majority as not an ethical issue deserves to live because it questions the legitimacy of the rule. How any progress happens.

But in practice, it is the people at the top who believe they can get away with it, like in this case. Rules for thee, but not me.

Re: Academe is a hotbed of craven snitches

#25

Post by drewcoo »

ars wrote: post #3

Is this satire or something? Since when is being a snitch a bad thing? Isn't that what people complain about with cops, that they don't report each other? So now what, we want the same thing with academia? That they can do whatever they want, secure in the knowledge no one will report them? And isn't "craven snitch" an oxymoron? To be a snitch you need at least a bit of bravery, even if you are being anonymous, since…

Blacklists are bad things. Whisper campaigns where people can't defend themselves are bad things. #metoo is a bad thing. The creeping realization that you're being surveilled by potentially any and certainly some of your peers is a bad thing. The incentive to snitch on others is a bad thing.

All of those exhibit cowardice because snitching is attacking someone without allowing that person confront the attacker.

Re: Academe is a hotbed of craven snitches

#26

Post by raincom »

xhkkffbf wrote: post #4

It's sad but true in my experience. My thesis advisor makes this a sport, apparently. I learned this after I graduated. One friend explained that my advisor would often call up colleagues at other universities and tell them not to hire particular people. He's apparently known for this habit. It's one thing to provide a recommendation when requested. It's another to routinely campaign against others and provide anti-r…

Does he do it for those who haven’t asked for his recommendation letter? Or he does it for those who asks for his recommendation letter?

Re: Academe is a hotbed of craven snitches

#27

Post by chrisco255 »

vvpan wrote: post #12
humanistbot wrote: post #8

If you are the President of a university (or a company) that has an explicit official policy prohibiting romantic relationships between superiors and subordinates, and you have a semi-secret romantic relationship with a subordinate that many people know about, then someone in the know who is upset with one of your management decisions retaliates by telling the truth to HR, then I have zero sympathy for you. Are they…

"Rules are meant to be broken" is a great maxim in my opinion. It's the expression of truly democratic attitude towards rules. Something that's "technically wrong" but taken by the majority as not an ethical issue deserves to live because it questions the legitimacy of the rule. How any progress happens.

It's a great way to breed corruption and decay. Turn the other way here and there and before long rules don't matter at all. Even a majority can be on the wrong side of right.

Re: Academe is a hotbed of craven snitches

#28

Post by recuter »

humanistbot wrote: post #8

If you are the President of a university (or a company) that has an explicit official policy prohibiting romantic relationships between superiors and subordinates, and you have a semi-secret romantic relationship with a subordinate that many people know about, then someone in the know who is upset with one of your management decisions retaliates by telling the truth to HR, then I have zero sympathy for you. Are they…

Zoot Allure. And what pray tell if these people fell in love? Is this not the plot of countless romance novels and movies for a reason?

Nobody is special. Must follow rules. You will be reported. Zero sympathy. No exceptions. Are we in East Germany?

Imagine if you were French. Or had a pulse. I swear, society is overrun with gross troglodytes.

Look, lets be real honest here. The snitch is usually an unattractive jealous busybody, regardless of "rule breakage".

Re: Academe is a hotbed of craven snitches

#30

Post by legalcorrection »

humanistbot wrote: post #8

If you are the President of a university (or a company) that has an explicit official policy prohibiting romantic relationships between superiors and subordinates, and you have a semi-secret romantic relationship with a subordinate that many people know about, then someone in the know who is upset with one of your management decisions retaliates by telling the truth to HR, then I have zero sympathy for you. Are they…

Those rules only exist because that same class of craven snitches becomes highly litigious when they feel scorned after getting pumped and dumped by a colleague.
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