Campuses getting less political as '60s professors retire • Hacker News Board

Re: Campuses getting less political as '60s professors retire

#41

Post by noonespecial » Fri, Jul 04, 2008, 2:26 AM UTC

jfornear wrote: post #30

edw519 wrote: post #11

This article completely misses the point. Instead of citing outlying cases, maybe it should have dealt with the elephant in the living room: Vietnam College students in the 60's weren't "playing politics". They were protesting an illegal, immoral, and unwinnable war. Hell, half the men on campus were there so they wouldn't have to go to Vietnam. I imagine today's generation of professors would feel a little different…

I agree. Iraq is no Vietnam. Iraq doesn't affect anyone in the US except for the volunteer military made up of mostly people who are more than happy to be there, so the harsh reality is that no one cares. I know if you asked the students at my campus if America was at war, they would probably give you a funny look before continuing on to their frat party. This doesn't mean they are stupid or apathetic to politics in…

Iraq doesn't affect anyone in the US except for the volunteer military made up of mostly people who are more than happy to be there,..

Because there's nothing quite like 2 back to back extended tours in third-world hell while they foreclose on your house back home and kick your wife and 3 year old out on the street to put a smile on your face and a song in your heart. Sheesh.

Re: Campuses getting less political as '60s professors retire

#42

Post by gaius » Fri, Jul 04, 2008, 5:07 AM UTC

rkts wrote: post #40

gaius wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have to understand where we're coming from on this. The present-day law on gay marriage was changed due to the wording of the original law, written in a time when gay marriage wasn't even being considered, which happened to say something like "two persons" rather than "a man and a woman". The Republic will not fall because Adam marries Steve. What consenting adults get up to on private property is no-one's busine…

Do you have any data to support that claim? The conservatives I know oppose gay marriage because they consider it immoral, not because of some abstract stuff about the democratic process.

Well, my "data" is the same as yours, people I know (including myself).

Re: Campuses getting less political as '60s professors retire

#43

Post by jfornear » Sat, Jul 05, 2008, 4:23 AM UTC

noonespecial wrote: post #41

jfornear wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. Iraq is no Vietnam. Iraq doesn't affect anyone in the US except for the volunteer military made up of mostly people who are more than happy to be there, so the harsh reality is that no one cares. I know if you asked the students at my campus if America was at war, they would probably give you a funny look before continuing on to their frat party. This doesn't mean they are stupid or apathetic to politics in…

Iraq doesn't affect anyone in the US except for the volunteer military made up of mostly people who are more than happy to be there,.. Because there's nothing quite like 2 back to back extended tours in third-world hell while they foreclose on your house back home and kick your wife and 3 year old out on the street to put a smile on your face and a song in your heart. Sheesh.

Emphasis on mostly. I'm just speaking from my personal experience with friends who are marines that describe the Battle of Fallujah as the best video game ever. Don't get me wrong, I respect those who serve in the military. I could never do what you do.