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aristarchus [soylentnews.org] writes:

The Trump "transition" team has backed off the "Climate change questionaire" [cnn.com], and the crazy lady in Chicago [heavy.com] probably has learnt some manners, but the chilling effects of the President-Elect continue.

Often this is only the marginal racist right coming out of the shadows, but there is a long-standing target of the right in America. People with higher education. No doubt part of this is a belief in egalitarianism, but when it turns into a false equivalency, well, one wonders about the state of the union.

The latest manifestation of this is the Professor Watchlist [professorwatchlist.org], created by the conservative website Turning Point USA [tpusa.com], founded and created and made up by Charlie Kirk, [bookwormroom.com] [For the love of God, do not click that link, some things cannot be unread!] It's stated purpose is to "watch" professors who are attempting to convert good American Conservatives into being liberal commies . . . Sorry, editors, I am trying! But there does not seem to be any other way to state the aim of these people.

Of course, this is not new. David Horowitz, former "red-diaper baby" and Black Panther collaborator turned Bill O'Reilly has written a book called The Professors: The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America [wikipedia.org], and there are several other "efforts" along these lines. However, with the apparent election of President Trump, the stakes have been raised? A professor in California has gone incognitio after criticizing Trump in the classroom [truthdig.com] and receiving death threats.

  But more important is how the attempt to blacklist liberal academics has actually backfired. George Yancy published a response, "I Am a Dangerous Professor" [nytimes.com] in the New York Times, and since then it seems to have become de rigueur for all academics to get their name on the Professor Watchlist in order to cement their tenure. An entire hashtag on Twitter has taken form: #trollprofwatchlist! People have taken to mocking the list by suggesting candidates such as Thomas Jefferson, Gandhi, and Jesus, not to mention Socrates [insidehighered.com], who obviously belongs.

Watchlist: Charlie Kirk may not be dangerous, but he did start this list. http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/11/30/chilling-professor-watchlist-aims-expose-leftist-educators [commondreams.org] [commondreams.org] [commondreams.org] I am watching him now.

[And! Self-referential Philosophy Watchlist nomination: If you are among the number of our "conservatives", you can stick to the aristarchus! Please submit my name to the Professor Watchlist! You will both vindicate your conservative alt-white street cred while helping to preserve my credibility as a free thinker and person of science! It's a win-win situation! Just list me as teaching at "The School of Alexandria", before it was destroyed by Christian mobs.]

Original Submission