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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: 1) by ewk on Wednesday August 31 2016, @10:09AM

    by ewk (5923) on Wednesday August 31 2016, @10:09AM (#395636)

    vulva, uterus, vagina AND now even a ball as well... now if you only had a brain...

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    I don't always react, but when I do, I do it on SoylentNews
  • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday August 31 2016, @04:50PM

    by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Wednesday August 31 2016, @04:50PM (#395738) Journal

    You don't read so good, do ya boy?

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    I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
    • (Score: 1) by ewk on Wednesday August 31 2016, @04:59PM

      by ewk (5923) on Wednesday August 31 2016, @04:59PM (#395740)

      You don't keep promises (about that ball and pissing off) so good, do ya sis?

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      I don't always react, but when I do, I do it on SoylentNews
      • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday August 31 2016, @05:24PM

        by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Wednesday August 31 2016, @05:24PM (#395754) Journal

        I can't help poking the idiots in their cages, is all. Bad habit of mine. I never, ever let things go without giving them what they deserve. You fail reading comprehension hard, then you double down and start trolling? Yeah, you're gonna have a Bad Time (TM).

        --
        I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
        • (Score: 1) by ewk on Thursday September 01 2016, @08:06AM

          by ewk (5923) on Thursday September 01 2016, @08:06AM (#396089)

          Bad Time(TM_) ?? Oh goodie... for now you're not even an itch that warrants scratching. So don't flatter yourself.
          As for the trolling, doubling down and lack of reading comprehension... seems you looked in the mirror when you came up with that.
          But, since I do have better things to do than try and attain the impossible, I'll leave the thread to you.
          Have fun and maybe you learn something from it if you reread a few times. Probably not, but who knows... stranger things have happened.

          --
          I don't always react, but when I do, I do it on SoylentNews
          • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Thursday September 01 2016, @05:08PM

            by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Thursday September 01 2016, @05:08PM (#396261) Journal

            Oh, I've learned plenty from re-reading your posts...and that is that I massively overestimated you. What a shame; you seemed reasonable and intelligent enough :(

            --
            I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...