Why Are College Students So Afraid of Me? Because adults at places like Bucknell and Holy Cross have convinced them they are oppressed. By Heather Mac Donald
So here is my old college, in the pages of the Wall St Journal, as an example of the eagerness of students to shut down any speech they don't like. Not exactly the tradition of the classic Liberalism that we alumni were exposed to so very long ago. I've listened to various presentations MacDonald has made over some years, and she's not remotely racist, sexist, homophobic, or any of the currently ever popular epithets people are prone to instantly throw at anyone they have decided they don't like. Yes, she's by today's standards a conservative, although JFK would have found her someone to like. We've had a decade or more now of everyone in a minority of any sort being told they are victims of endemic oppression, they are under threats of all sorts, including to their very lives, and that they need to stand up aggressively in their own defense. Very aggressively. Aggessivily to the point that it not only doesn't really do anyone any good, it has far more downsides in polarization than any good sides.OK, do we have perfect "social justice" in this country? Of course not, no one ever has, anywhere at any time. Do minority people have a right to at least be conscious of the worst parts of our past, and be aware they may still find incidents in which they may be treated less than fairly? Absolutely. Take it all the way out, every woman in our society needs to remain aware that there are some not so nice men out there they need to watch out for. But that doesn't mean staying anxious and simmering every moment about every man they encounter and be totally convinced their life is less than it should be only because of male domination of society. The biggest danger to the lives of young Black Americans is other young Black Americans, and the level of racism actually in practice that affects various minorities has dropped to quite low levels. We see interracial couples, gay couples, trans characters in films and TV shows all the time, and in advertisements for everything from aspirin to zoom lenses. We are so much better than we have ever been, but somehow that we are not perfect (by standards that are really hard to figure out) has become the tail that wags the dog in society now. I don't know what to do about any of this, but I wish to heaven we had professors and school administrators that would find ways to dial this thinking back, not promote it. It's very bad for the nation, bad for all of us. Seeing it in action at HC is one more thing that keeps me praying every night for some kind of divine intervention to get us back towards the ideals of tolerance, understanding, mutual respect, and serious appreciation of what we have. --Del
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