Political Correctness

University of Chicago Goes COUNTER MoonBat!

Published by Papa Giorgio

More on this via THE OREGONIAN:

Higher education in the United States has been roiled in recent years by “microaggressions,” leading to demands for “trigger warnings” and “safe spaces.”

The issue went viral last fall when a Yale University student concerned about offensive Halloween costumes confronted a school administrator. “These freshmen come here and they think this is what Yale is!” the outraged student yelled.

[….]

The resulting national debate revealed that many comedians now avoid college campuses because of the political atmosphere. “I don’t play colleges,” Jerry Seinfeld said, “but I hear a lot of people tell me, ‘Don’t go near colleges. They’re so PC.’ I’ll give you an example: My daughter’s 14. My wife says to her, ‘Well, you know, in the next couple years, I think maybe you’re going to want to be hanging around the city more on the weekends, so you can see boys.’ You know what my daughter says? She says, ‘That’s sexist.’ They just want to use these words: ‘That’s racist.’ ‘That’s sexist.’ ‘That’s prejudice.’ They don’t know what the f–k they’re talking about.”

The campaign against offensive speech on campus is the result of good intentions gone bad: the effort by universities in the 1980s and ’90s to be inclusive led to the radicalization of hurt feelings.

But the University of Chicago, one of the country’s premier schools, has had enough of it. The online journal Inside Higher Ed reports that John (Jay) Ellison, the dean of students, sent out a letter to all incoming freshmen that tells them that during their time at the U of C they can expect to be exposed to ideas that make them uncomfortable and that challenge some of their most preciously held views. The letter pointed out that the university expects civility and respect to rule the day. It then added:

“Our commitment to academic freedom means that we do not support so-called trigger warnings, we do not cancel invited speakers because their topics might prove controversial and we do not condone the creation of intellectual safe spaces where individuals can retreat from ideas and perspectives at odds with their own.”

(read it all)

Some great articles on this can be found here:

★ F.I.R.E. – U. Chicago’s ‘Academic Freedom’ Letter a Win for Campus Speech
★ The Washington Times – University of Chicago to freshmen: We do not support ‘trigger warnings,’ ‘safe spaces’
★ Chicago Tribune – Editorial: Defending free speech on college campuses
★ Red State – University Of Chicago To New Students: Screw Your “Safe Space”
★ PJ Media – University of Chicago Defends Free Speech Against ‘Safe Spaces’
★ Zero Hedge – University of Chicago Tells Millennials to Suck It Up, “We Do Not Condone ‘Safe Spaces'”
★ Reason.org – Finally: University of Chicago Warns Freshmen Not to Expect Safe Spaces, Trigger Warnings

The Movie “Goonies” Is Now Considered Hate Speech! (U.C. Davis)

Published by Papa Giorgio

Dennis Prager reads from a National Review article about “hurtful words” and the cream-puffs it is meant to protect. (I use “cream-puffs” NOT to insult gays, but to include ALL [straight or otherwise] who are soo damned sensitive that their world falls apart upon hearing the English language.)

Here is an excerpt from the NRO article entitled “UC Davis: Saying ‘You Guys’ Is Using ‘Words That Hurt’ ~ Oversensitivity 101“

A guide titled “Words That Hurt” on the website of the University of California, Davis, warns students to avoid using the phrase “you guys” — because, apparently, that’s really harmful or something.

“You guys [e]rases the identities of people who are in the room,” the guide states. It “generaliz[es] a group of people to be masculine.”

The purpose of the guide, which is published on the school’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual Resource Center, is to remind students that “sometimes we say words without realizing the impact they may have on others.”

Sorry, but . . . no. If someone is actually “hurt” by hearing another person walk into a room and say, “Hey you guys!” then that person is the one with the problem…

[….]

The list also includes the words “lame” and “crazy.” Now, to me, saying “wow, this concert is lame” or “wow, this storm is so crazy” seems like, you know, fine. The guide, however, insists that doing so “targets mental, emotional, and physical disabilities as objects for ridicule.”

The guide also claims that calling someone “ugly” is not only mean, but also a term that “can be connected back to white supremacists standards of beauty.”…

I would like to sit-in on a movie night with these people watching classic 80’s movies with all these words bleeped out. It would be surreal.

Columbia University: Turkey Supports Islamic State (NATO Fail)

Published by Papa Giorgio

When NATO let Turkey in I was dumbfounded. When political correctness guides inclusion into a group of countries with a similar ethos… the project fails. NATO is a joke.

Columbia University researchers confirm Turkey’s links to ISIS (h-t, LiveLeak):

1) Turkey Supplied Military Equipment to ISIS

  • An ISIS commander told The Washington Post on August 12, 2014: “Most of the fighters who joined us in the beginning of the war came via Turkey, and so did our equipment and supplies.”
  • Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, head of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), disclosed on Oct. 14, 2014, documents from the Adana Office of the Prosecutor, revealing that Turkey supplied weapons to terrorist groups. He also produced transcripts of interviews with truck drivers who delivered the weapons to the terrorists.
  • According to CHP Vice President Bulent Tezcan, Turkish agents drove three trucks loaded with rockets, arms, and ammunition to ISIS in Syria, on January 19, 2014.
  • Cumhuriyet newspaper quoted Fuat Avni as stating that Germany and the United States had audio tapes confirming that Turkey provided financial and military aid to terrorist groups associated with Al Qaeda on Oct. 12, 2014.
  • Documents made public on Sept. 27, 2014, revealed that Saudi Prince Bandar Bin Sultan financed the transportation of arms to ISIS through Turkey.

2) Turkey Provided Logistical Assistance to ISIS Fighters

  • According to a June 13, 2014 article in Radikal newspaper, Turkish Interior Minister Muammar Guler issued the following directive: “Hatay is a strategic location for the Mujahidin crossing from within our borders to Syria. Logistical support for Islamist groups will be increased, and their training, hospital care, and safe passage will mostly take place in Hatay.”
  • The Daily Mail reported on August 25, 2014 that many foreign militants joined ISIS in Syria and Iraq after traveling through Turkey.
  • Britain’s Sky News obtained documents showing that the Turkish government stamped passports of foreign militants seeking to cross the Turkish border into Syria to join ISIS.
  • A senior Egyptian official indicated on Oct. 9, 2014 that Turkish intelligence is passing to ISIS satellite imagery and other data.

3) Turkey Trained ISIS Fighters

  • CNN Turk reported on July 29, 2014 that in the heart of Istanbul, places like Duzce and Adapazari have become gathering spots for terrorists.
  • Turks who joined an ISIS affiliate were shown on July 28, 2014, at a public gathering in Istanbul.
  • A video showed an ISIS affiliate holding a prayer-gathering in Omerli, a district of Istanbul.
  • According to Jordanian Intelligence, Turkey trained ISIS militants for special operations.

4) Turkey Extended Medical Care to ISIS Fighters

  • An ISIS commander told The Washington Post on August 12, 2014, “We used to have some fighters — even high-level members of the Islamic State — getting treated in Turkish hospitals.”
  • On Oct. 12, 2014, Taraf newspaper reported that Dengir Mir Mehmet Firat, a founder of Pres. Erdogan’s ruling party (AKP), divulged that Turkey supported terrorist groups and still supports them and treats them in its hospitals.

5) Turkey Supported ISIS Financially Through Purchase of Oil

  • On Sept. 13, 2014, The New York Times reported on the Obama administration’s efforts to pressure Turkey to crack down on the extensive network of oil sold by ISIS.
  • Fehim Taştekin wrote in Radikal on Sept. 13, 2014 about illegal pipelines transporting oil from Syria to Turkey.

6) Turkey Assisted ISIS Recruitment

  • Kiliçdaroğlu announced on Oct. 14, 2014 that ISIS offices in Istanbul and Gaziantep are recruiting fighters. On Oct. 10, 2014, the Mufti of Konya stated that 100 men from his city had joined ISIS four days ago.
  • OdaTV reported that Takva Haber served as a propaganda outlet for ISIS to recruit Turkish-speaking men in Turkey and Germany.
  • Minister of Sports, Suat Kilic, an AKP member, visited Salafi Jihadists who are ISIS supporters in Germany. These Jihadists recruit supporters by distributing free copies of the Quran and raising funds to sponsor suicide attacks in Syria and Iraq.
  • OdaTV released a video showing ISIS militants riding a bus in Istanbul.

7) Turkish Forces are Fighting Alongside ISIS

  • American investigative journalist Seymour Hersh asserted in the London Review of Books that “Prime Minister Recep Erdogan was known to be supporting the al-Nusra Front, a Jihadist faction among the rebel opposition, as well as other Islamist rebel groups.”
  • On Sept. 20, 2014, Demir Celik, a Member of Parliament representing the People’s Democratic Party (HDP), stated that Turkish Special Forces had joined ISIS in the battlefield.

8) Turkey Helped ISIS in Battle for Kobani

  • Anwar Muslim, Mayor of Kobani, revealed on Sept. 19, 2014 that trains full of Turkish forces and ammunition were delivered to ISIS. On September 30, 2014, a CHP delegation visited Kobani, where locals declared that everything from the clothes of ISIS militants to their guns comes from Turkey.
  • A Nuhaber video showed on Sept. 25, 2014 Turkish military convoys, carrying tanks and ammunition, moving freely under ISIS flags in the Jarablus region of Syria and the Karkamis border crossing.
  • Salih Muslim, PYD leader of Kurdish fighters, reported that 120 militants had crossed into Syria from Turkey on Oct. 20-24, 2014.
  • According to an op-ed written by a YPG Kurdish commander in The New York Times on Oct. 29, 2014, Turkey regularly allows ISIS militants and their equipment to pass freely over its border.
  • Diken reported on Oct. 1, 2014: “ISIS fighters crossed the border from Turkey into Syria in full view of Turkish soldiers.”

9) Turkey and ISIS Share a Worldview

  • RT reported on Oct. 3, 2014 on Vice President Joe Biden’s remarks detailing Turkish support to ISIS.
  • Hurriyet newspaper quoted a Turkish civil servant on Sept. 26, 2014: “I was shocked to hear words of admiration for ISIL from some high-level civil servants.”
  • An AKP council member posted on his Facebook page: “Thankfully ISIS exists…. May you never run out of ammunition….”
  • Erdogan’s son Bilal and Turkish officials met with ISIS fighters, according to Sariyer Gozlem. It is absolutely unacceptable that while ISIS is committing mass murder in Paris and other European cities, its NATO ‘ally,’ Turkey, is continuing to aid and arm these terrorists. It is high time that Turkey is expelled from NATO and its leaders are indicted and brought to justice for their role in these heinous crimes.

Student Gets Suspended For Posting “All Lives Matter”

Published by Papa Giorgio

PowerLine has this opener for us on the meat of this story:

Rohini Sethi is the student body Vice President at the University of Houston. After the assassination of five Dallas police officers at a Black Lives Matter inspired rally, she wrote on Facebook: “Forget #BlackLivesMatter; more like #AllLivesMatter.”

Sethi quickly deleted the comment, but it nonetheless generated outrage. In response, Sethi issued a statement in which she called her comment “inappropriate.” She said it was an emotional response to the tragic killings in Dallas. She ended with the message: “‪#‎LetsTalkUnity‬.” You can read her full statement here. There’s no reason to think it is insincere.

Sethi’s statement wasn’t enough to avoid punishment. Student body president Shane Smith suspended her for 50 days and ordered her to take a diversity seminar as condition of being reinstated…

MoonBattery bullet points the punishment for us:

…special powers were granted to SGA president Shane Smith to punish Sethi for saying that all lives matter. Here is her sentence:

  • A 50-day suspension from SGA starting August 1. This suspension will be unpaid (she currently receives a stipend of about $700 a month).
  • A requirement to attend a three-day diversity workshop in mid-August.
  • A requirement to attend three “UH cultural events” each month from September through March, excluding December.
  • An order to write a “letter of reflection” about how her harmful actions have impacted SGA and the UH student body
  • An order to put on a public presentation Sept. 28 detailing “the knowledge she has gained about cultural issues facing our society.”

If Sethi fails to comply with these requirements, she will be expelled from SGA….

The Truth About Milo’s Twitter Flop

Published by Papa Giorgio

(Just so you know, I reject Paul Watson’s affiliation with Alex Jones BS)

Twitter and the entire media are lying about why Milo was banned.

When future generations look back on this critical juncture in the fight for liberal western ideals of free expression, they’ll see that Twitter and Jack Dorsey were on the wrong side of history.

New York Values ~ Pronouns (UPDATED!)

Published by Papa Giorgio

I have recently started rereading “The Conservative Mind” and thought this was fitting:

  • The radical, when all is said, is a neoterist, in love with change; the conservative, a man who says with Joubert, Ce sont les crampons qui unissent une génération á une autre — these ancient institutions of politics and religion. [A great rudimentary definition of “newsspeak”]

  • Washington Post blogger Eugene Volokh revealed the New York City Commission on Human Rights has issued guidance that employers, landlords, professionals, and businesses can now be fined up to $250,000 for not using an individual’s preferred name, pronoun, or title under the New York City Human Rights Law – “regardless of the individual’s sex assigned at birth, anatomy, gender, medical history, appearance, or the sex indicated on the individual’s identification.” (NewsBusters)

Greg Koukl talks about “New York Values” in that if you do not use a preferred pronoun after it has been made clear the person wishes to be called “he,” “she,” “zhe,” no sex… whatever.

Breitbart notes the story:

Did you call a transsexual person “he” or “she” when they preferred to be called “zhe?” According to a newly updated anti-discrimination law in New York City, you could be fined an eye-watering $250,000.

In the latest, astonishing act of draconian political correctness, the NYC Commission on Human Rights have updated a law on “Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Expression” to threaten staggering financial penalties against property owners who “misgender” employees or tenants.

Incidents that are deemed “wilful and malicious” will see property owners face up to $250,000 in fines, while standard violations of the law will result in a $125,000 fine. For small business owners, these sums are crippling.

It’s not as simple as referring to transmen “he” or transwomen as “she,” either. The legislation makes it clear that if an individual desires, property owners will have to make use of “zhe,” “hir” and any other preferred pronoun. From the updated legislation:

The NYCHRL requires employers and covered entities to use an individual’s preferred name, pronoun and title (e.g., Ms./Mrs.) regardless of the individual’s sex assigned at birth, anatomy, gender, medical history, appearance, or the sex indicated on the individual’s identification. Most individuals and many transgender people use female or male pronouns and titles.

Some transgender and gender non-conforming people prefer to use pronouns other than he/him/his or she/her/hers, such as they/them/theirs or ze/hir…..

Daily Caller notes this craziness as well:

Calling a person “she” instead of “ze” could be grounds for a $250,000 fine in New York City under new civil rights guidelines published just before Christmas which ban the “misgendering” of individuals.

Discrimination based on gender identity has been illegal in New York since 2002, but last week the New York Commission on Human Rights released a new set of guidelines that specify the many ways one can violate the law. The guidelines apply to employment, housing, and public accommodations, though some exceptions exist for particularly small employers and for religious organizations.

New York officials claim the new policy makes it the most aggressive city in the country in terms of protecting the rights of the transgendered….

Ted Cruz wisely released a video (probably a set of them that will confirm his Manahaatan values brought up in the GOP debate:

HotAir notes that Cruz will pick up these attacks:

…“A thrice-married man is going to come into South Carolina expecting to be the Republican nominee?” [Charlie] Condon asked incredulously. “He’s pro-choice. He’s pro- gay marriage. He’s against traditional values. He’s New York, and he’s got to talk about that.”…

Gateway Pundit notes that “masturbation booths” have started to appear curbside in New York City:

Appropriate This! ~ Firewall

Published by Papa Giorgio

See my previous post on the example of dreadlocks, here: Cultural Appropriation Alert: Honkeys Cannot Have Dreadlocks

The Social Justice Warriors — the first warriors to faint at the sight of a penknife — have a new weapon to show off their unearned moral superiority: CULTURAL APPROPRIATION, where mainstream culture steals from minorities without being “authentic.” Surprisingly Bill Whittle agrees with this, and has a list of grievances all his own.

A Priest Stirs Up Racist Fears on Campus

Published by Papa Giorgio

Via The Blaze:

“If you feel unsafe, please contact me,” he added.

The “klansman,” however, turned out to be a priest searching for frozen custard.

According to the Daily Caller, the white-robed individual was actually just Fr. Jude McPeak, a Catholic priest who wears the traditional dress of the Dominican order of friars. As for the alleged whip: it was most likely McPeak’s rosary or the brown belt worn around his waste.

McPeak serves as an associate pastor at the St. Paul Catholic Center, which is Indiana University’s center for Catholic students, the Daily Caller noted….

Clapping and Raising Hands are “Triggering”

Published by Papa Giorgio

The Washington Times has a story on how clapping “triggers” anxiety in women:

A U.K. student feminism conference is asking attendees to refrain from clapping and use “jazz hands” instead so as to not trigger anxiety in others.

The National Union of Students (NUS) Women’s Campaign announced the clapping “ban” at the West Midlands conference on Twitter Tuesday, shortly after receiving a request from the Oxford University Women’s Campaign.

  • “@nuswomcam please can we ask people to stop clapping but do feminist jazz hands? it’s triggering some peoples’ anxiety. thank you!” Oxford representatives wrote.

Within five minutes, NUS tweeted: “Some delegates are requesting that we move to jazz hands rather than clapping, as it’s triggering anxiety. Please be mindful! #nuswomen15.”

The tweets received a wave of criticism and mockery by people who argued political correctness has run amok, Twitchy first reported….

Geeez. Talk about pansies! This is almost as bad as the sexist glacier study. Now, even raising one’s hand is deemed “triggering,” via Reason:

If you think that the sex and speech climate at U.S. universities has gone awry, U.K. college campuses are becoming downright dystopian. Remember last year, when British student leaders declared clapping too triggering and requested that students show approval with jazz hands instead? Now students have moved on to tackling another menacing movement: the raised hand.

Granted, raising one’s hand has long been the universal symbol of “I have a question,” especially in educational environments. But sometimes hand-raising can denote disagreement with a speakers’ position, or even exasperation, and that’s where we get into dangerous territory, say University of Edinburgh students. The move could be viewed as disrepsectful—and thus a violation of the school’s “safe space” policy.

Last week Imogen Wilson, vice president for academic affairs with the student association, was threatened with removal from her position after she “raised [her] arms in disagreement” during a council debate and shook her head disapprovingly.

Basically this is making people’s ideas and feeling “rights,” …an expression of their infantile emotive state that they express and expect others to accept.

This movement was forecast many years ago in such books as:

…But Then I Started College

Published by Papa Giorgio

This comes via the Harvard Crimson… which will surely be shut down do to it violating the feelings of a minority of students (h/t to Twitchy & Truth Revolt):

I used to believe that open discourse was a value all Americans hold dear. I presumed that when asked about what makes America so unique, many Americans would respond that our pluralistic society is the foundation of so much of our success. That it was understood that without a marketplace of ideas, our society simply could not flourish.

But then I started college.

Since the beginning of my freshman year, I have come to believe that a more fitting way to describe the current culture on college campuses is a culture defined not by open expression—but by sensitivity. This undue focus on feelings has caused the college campus to often feel like a place where one has to monitor every syllable that is uttered to ensure that it could not under any circumstance offend anyone to the slightest degree. It sometimes feels as though pluralism has become an antiquated concept. Facts and history have been discarded, and instead feelings have been deemed to be the criteria that determine whether words and actions are acceptable.

It is important to have organizations and movements on college campuses that work toward protecting individuals’ identities. The past few decades have witnessed an explosion of new identities, and students should become aware of and respect the plethora of new identities that have recently emerged. But many of these movements have gone too far.

Take the University of New Hampshire’s “Bias-Free Language Guide.” The list was compiled to inform students of words that are considered offensive in conversation. According to the guide, which was removed from the school’s website a few months ago after it incited controversy, the word “American” is unacceptable, for it fails to recognize people of South American origin. “American,” it argues, should be replaced with “resident of the U.S.” The words “senior citizens,” “older people,” and “elders” should also be eliminated, and instead replaced with “people of advanced age” and “old people.” If we’re at a point where it is offensive to say that your 90-year-old grandparent is a senior citizen, it seems that pretty soon, there may not be any neutral words left.

[….]

In a class I attended earlier this semester, a large portion of the first meeting was devoted to compiling a list of rules for class discussion. A student contended that as a woman, she would be unable to sit across from a student who declared that he was strongly against abortion, and the other students in the seminar vigorously defended this declaration. The professor remained silent. In a recent conversation with peers, I posed a question about a verse from the Bible. A Harvard employee in the room immediately interjected, informing me that we were in a safe space and I was thus not permitted to discuss the controversial biblical passage. And these are just stories from the past three months.

The assaults on free expression have dire consequences. The rise of the microagression movement has been reported to be detrimental to mental health on campus. Students’ emotional distress is increasing as educators presume that fragile undergraduates need to be protected from any form of dissent. Administrators must recognize that the current restrictions are incompatible with the very premise and goal of an education.

It is time to stop focusing on feelings as the criteria for speech and actions on the college campus.

(More by Rachel E. Huebner)

While we are on the topic of censorship… Dennis Prager gives us an update to Marquette University’s Censorship of Professor John McAdams and other students:

This next video brings a damning aspect to university campuses in that it speaks to the worst countries for freedom of speech: