The Coddling Of The American Mind (Trigger Warning Article In The Atlantic...)

I am resistant to saying that the journalist is lying because that would be silly. That are many ways to be wrong without lying: see, for example, yourself.

It would be wrong to say that the professor is not concerned at all about freedom of expression; but I think you are conflating the journalist's clear point of view in this piece with the professor's, as I think the journalist has done. I think the professor is very concerned about changes in student culture that are detrimental to the possibility of the open exchange of ideas; to call that "talking a lot about freedom of speech" makes it easy to dismiss with a hand wave, as your initial post seemed intended to do. You can be really very uncomfortable about the culture of shutting down without being against the protestors or their protests -- the assertions of protestors that this is not so to the contrary.

https://31.media.tumblr.com/cd4851c57accb3c9733efc5009014f49/tumblr_inline_njz6ipAWMo1r96r7k.gif

Yeah, I'm with Scott here, TWU. You really get butthurt over semantics.

Who's hurt?

i'm actually not paying too much attention. i got a little confused with the back and forth! carry on though. i'm watching a trump rally on youtube. oof!

That's ok. I was watching last nights Fargo. Probably that's why I think everyone is hurt.

(It's also kind of hard to pretend to be on the side of righteousness and use that awful word "butthurt", btw. A friendly tip.)

to call that "talking a lot about freedom of speech"

To be fair, this is what Frederik wrote: "how can a professor talk so much about the importance of 'freedom of expression', but then half his criticisms are 'they are shouting! making too much noise! why is she crying?'

x-post: Yeah, I thought about that afterwards, that it might have bad connections. I thought it was just something you said to assholes.

x-post: correction noted, but this isn't really a semantic point: the journalist went out to get "FREEDOM OF SPEECH" quotes from a professor for a "PC GONE MAD" article, and didn't really get one. The professor isn't harping on individual rights being trampled on in a way that makes it easy to boil down to "my speech is more equal than yours", but is talking about a student movement that apparently, in some circumstances, does not seek interaction or any kind of exchange -- whether the professor is right or wrong, that is a different question than the "shut up and let the white grownups speak" that a lot of articles on this subject have boiled down to.

It's also quite hypocritical to blame ones opponents for conducting their freedom of expression in ways that 'does not seek interaction or any kind of exchange' when doing a long anonymous interview, right?

Why?

Because you're not seeking interaction or any kind of exchange yourself.

I mean, not you, the professor.

The professor isn't a movement or a culture. We also don't know why he chose to be anonymous; it may have nothing to do with not wanting to answer for what he is saying. For example, I am very tempted to change my username and use another username on political threads not because I don't want people to disagree and engage with me but because there is a large enough number of posters who read my name and think they know what I am REALLY saying that conversation gets distorted and confusing very quickly.

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n27/GenomIndustries/ForumCrap/blahblah.gif

(It's also kind of hard to pretend to be on the side of righteousness and use that awful word "butthurt", btw. A friendly tip.)

This card fell out of your deck around 'Dum-dum', just so you know.

When did I ever pretend to be on the side of righteousness?

https://31.media.tumblr.com/227be639b6e81a19aa787f7fa0aa8c16/tumblr_inline_njz6iwLgoB1r96r7k.gif

sorry, thinking of ways to market my 2016 Girls Of Microagression calendar idea...

Is that last woman REALLY Icelandic or has she appropriated her sweater?

maria's e-mail to the student management at WMUA:

Who has the power at WMUA?

When there is conflict between people in an organization, it can be useful to examine who holds the power. In many social movements, those with less power challenge those with more power in an attempt to equalize power. Students lobbying the administration for a living wage for UMass workers is an example of those with less power (students, workers) appealing to those with more power (administration as an employer) for equity.

WMUA is student-run. Students hold the management positions. Students thus hold what sociologists call "legitimate power" or "positional power". Students with positional power can make choices that are not open to those who are not in that position. A student manager could request that the transmitter be turned off, for example.

Student managers also hold what sociologists call "reward power" and "coercive power". The General Body has been reminded repeatedly of this power, with statements such as "failing to properly refile CDs can be grounds for loss of membership". Fear among the general body that if they criticize the management, they might not get a slot for a show is a manifestation of this power. The ability of the General Manager to decide that the Music Director should receive a pay raise is an example of this power. The ability of the student management to appoint those they view as friends to DD positions or to "groom" individuals to step up into DD positions are examples of positional power. Student managers can bestow rewards (slots, other positions of power) or withdraw them (threat of loss of membership, loss of slots).

Student managers also have the power to try to diminish the power of others. Sociologists talk about "referent power" and "expert power". This is the influence individuals gain by being skilled or experienced or by building loyalty among allies. Community members can be said to have referent and expert power by virtue of their listeners and the experience they have gained in radio. This power can however be limited by, for example, not allowing community members to make posts on WMUA's social media sites.

Student managers can increase their own "referent power" by excluding community members from involvement in station events and by currying validation from student-centric venues like CMJ.

In the conflict at WMUA, community members have much less power than students do. Community members have appealed to "referent power" by seeking support in the Pioneer Valley from listeners. Community members have tried to appeal to the democratic power laid out in the station manual by trying to use the grievance committee process. This process revealed all the more starkly that the democratic power set out in the manual is entirely contingent on an acceptance by all parties that this process be respected. If the democratic process set out in the manual is ignored by those in power, community members lose any power to appeal to democracy.

Traditionally, "old, white men" have had the power in our society. It has become acceptable among progressives to disparage "old, white men". While claims of reverse racism are usually despicable and reactionary and ignore the historical context of power, in this case, it is important to view the power dynamics if one is to come to an equitable view of the situation.

Social activism among young people is to be encouraged, in my mind. In this case, I think there is some misplaced generational angst and some real age bias. This is not a case of students fighting power. This is a case of students using power to fight. There are good targets for a fight. Raising wages, giving the underprivileged a bigger voice, divesting from oppressive businesses, no longer glorifying perpetrators of oppression (e.g. Lord Jeffrey) – these are all honourable and justifiable battles against power. Making sure 70-year-olds can't keep playing tunes on the radio so that younger folks can instead? Not so much.

You've heard the saying "with power comes responsibility". As the holders of positional power, you should understand how your actions play out for those without power. I have had students tell me they are afraid to be seen talking to me, that they might not get a slot if they are viewed as friendly to the community. This is an example of how positional power can be abused.

Please think about this.

i think that's otm personally but i don't get the feeling that this idea that power should be analyzed in the context of particular circumstances a part from the broader societal theory of the case is v popular

maria's situation is why i started this thread and why i was thinking about this stuff. i realize that the thread has gone WAY beyond that though. and that most of the students brought up in this thread are NOT in positions of power. now i'm just thinking about power...

thumbs up for maria

(workplace power dynamics (and the abuse thereof) have always fascinated and astounded me particularly. that people willingly enter into that sort of agreement to be dictated to and all that that entails. and yeah we all have to eat but the results can be horrifying even now. institutional power dynamics also completely fascinating to me too. i should really read a good book on it all someday.)

Those microaggression girls are powerful! Did you... gif them, Scott?

that was a nice letter scott -- i wonder if/how it will be understood -- i'm curious to hear updates.

been reluctant to chime in because this is one of those things where it's best to listen but what is the deal w the WMUA thing and/because...

"Student managers also hold what sociologists call "reward power" and "coercive power". The General Body has been reminded repeatedly of this power, with statements such as "failing to properly refile CDs can be grounds for loss of membership"."

...being encouraged to wipe your own ass is a sign of a power imbalance?

also learning a lot from this thred so ty

Wait, scott, did people at your wife's radio station really invoke "fighting institutional racism" as a justification for firing totally nonracist yet old and white senior citizens from their long held positions as volunteer dj's at a publicly funded radio station? That's what I inferred from your wife's letter. If so, that's vile.

Vile and also bonkers.

If this thread has taught me anything, it is that there are (at least) 2 sides to every story.

We have heard only one side here, and given the reporting of the other side is from a guy who has repeatedly stated that he thinks microaggressions are bullshit (and in fact makes jokes about making "calendar girls" out of women complaining about microaggressions) I am really not sure how much weight I give his judgements on how racist the old guys holding all the financial and cultural Capital are.

I have no idea (and don't actually care) what the details of this beef are. But the words that people choose and the poses they strike always say a lot to me about how qualified they are to judge the existence or non-existence of biases they have never experienced!

Beef week for the multiplex, I see.

"Racism" isn't always "what they say", it's more often "what they do, or don't do"

Sometimes saying is doing though (arguably)

Sure it is, but often the things get "done/not done" without any explicitness.

Anyway, I'm not au fait with what happened, so..

Google "WMUA", look for information over the last year or so. Lots of stuff out there that might help you get a fuller picture.

We have heard only one side here, and given the reporting of the other side is from a guy who has repeatedly stated that he thinks microaggressions are bullshit

I suppose what some feel about 'microaggressions' is a kind of instant, probably kneejerk resistance to taking the idea seriously because we've all met people (and we've all been people) who do over-react to things which are just meant as a joke. And have met or been people who use this to claw a bit of power over other people (which isn't justifiable as 'punching up'). This doesn't invalidate the idea but does make it a hard sell

Not a lot from the point of view of the students - this partly explains why

http://www.gazettenet.com/news/townbytown/amherst/17751656-95/student-leaders-shed-little-light-on-wmua-shake-up

Naturally the story with "Station manager explains" has only one photo, of one of the geezers.

As I understand it, the point of microaggressions is not that any of them are a big deal (it's right there in the name, like), any of them can be dismissed as a joke on a good day - the point is noting that a constant murmur of tiny shit builds up to something larger than any individual issue.

It's not an arcane concept in itself, I'm sure it's something that anyone reading this is familiar with the pattern of, though it's more frequently "My co-worker annoys the shit out of me" rather than "This person, consciously or otherwise, doesn't think people like me have the right to exist in the same context as them".

the name is kind of oxymoronic tbh

Non-paywall (free account, but the man is always looking for ways to make you pay, dig?) version of the article Andrew posted: http://www.amherstbulletin.com/home/17761692-95/story.html

Must admit it's the name that gives me discomfort more so than the idea, as andrew says "My co-worker annoys the shit out of me" is instantly agreeable where "microagressions" isn't

So nobody actually knows the details of the incident that led to the djs being shitcanned?

x-post

Dunno -- I think microaggression is a good word for what I see as an immigrant in an anti-foreigner country. No clear stories of "Schleich Di, schass Tschusch", lots of little conversational hiccups, funny impolitenesses, social conventions quickly ignored. There's aggression; it's just little and blink and you might miss it unless you're the target.

Googled it and it seemed one of them violated the harrassment policy but it's not clear how. Not saying the charges weren't trumped up or whatever but that seems different from firing people just to make way for student djs under the guise of pursuing more diverse programming.

I just think the gifs are funny (and quite ambiguous), didn't realize "microaggression" was a tainted concept

Huh, I don't see a paywall on mine, sorry about that.

Microagressions is definitely a casting of the phenomenon in a particular type of context.

In November, Shea made a comment during a discussion about "rape culture" that others in the station were having in the studio while they were preparing for various programs.

Students at the student-run station were upset by his comment, he said, and he never had the chance to explain what he meant until a subsequent meeting a few days later, when he apologized.

But on April 21, police escorted him from the station and off campus, and issued a no trespassing order in effect for two years, requiring that he stay off campus for that time. His program was canceled.

I'm sure he said something gross but being escorted from campus and banned in this way seems possibly overkill. Need to know the actual statement/context to fully pass judgment on the students. However I sort of feel like someone with gross opinions but a wealth of knowledge on experimental music should still be allowed to have a show as long as the gross opinions aren't part of the programming.... If that is in fact the issue. It's still unclear