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posted by CoolHand on Monday August 29 2016, @01:42AM   Printer-friendly
from the it-takes-all-kinds dept.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/08/opinion/sunday/a-confession-of-liberal-intolerance.html?_r=0

WE progressives believe in diversity, and we want women, blacks, Latinos, gays and Muslims at the table — er, so long as they aren't conservatives. Universities are the bedrock of progressive values, but the one kind of diversity that universities disregard is ideological and religious. We're fine with people who don't look like us, as long as they think like us.

O.K., that's a little harsh. But consider George Yancey, a sociologist who is black and evangelical. "Outside of academia I faced more problems as a black," he told me. "But inside academia I face more problems as a Christian, and it is not even close."

I've been thinking about this because on Facebook recently I wondered aloud whether universities stigmatize conservatives and undermine intellectual diversity. The scornful reaction from my fellow liberals proved the point.

"Much of the 'conservative' worldview consists of ideas that are known empirically to be false," said Carmi. "The truth has a liberal slant," wrote Michelle. "Why stop there?" asked Steven. "How about we make faculties more diverse by hiring idiots?"

To me, the conversation illuminated primarily liberal arrogance — the implication that conservatives don't have anything significant to add to the discussion. My Facebook followers have incredible compassion for war victims in South Sudan, for kids who have been trafficked, even for abused chickens, but no obvious empathy for conservative scholars facing discrimination.

The stakes involve not just fairness to conservatives or evangelical Christians, not just whether progressives will be true to their own values, not just the benefits that come from diversity (and diversity of thought is arguably among the most important kinds), but also the quality of education itself. When perspectives are unrepresented in discussions, when some kinds of thinkers aren't at the table, classrooms become echo chambers rather than sounding boards — and we all lose.


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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by dyingtolive on Monday August 29 2016, @03:10AM

    by dyingtolive (952) on Monday August 29 2016, @03:10AM (#394419)

    Yes. I'm generally liberal leaning, overall. That being said, every time I hear someone on the internet or even a few times in person takes that condescending, manipulative stance to try to sway people to their new version of leftism, I can't help but find myself grimacing and turning a little bit more conservative in knee-jerk reaction. You know the stance I'm talking about. That whole, higher-than-thou smiley-gladhands, "well, do you REALLY think that's the kind of opinion you should have? Can you explain it a little more to me? Maybe we can talk through that a little," thing they get going on.

    I swear to someone else's god, the left will eat themselves in the end as much as the right has. I just wonder what will be left behind.

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    Don't blame me, I voted for moose wang!
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