tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956838.post1245320303435787426..comments2023-11-22T01:14:54.298-08:00Comments on amor mundi: More Than CustomersDale Carricohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02811055279887722298noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956838.post-16037918093945736812015-12-21T18:49:07.719-08:002015-12-21T18:49:07.719-08:00Rape culture on college campuses seems to me a big...Rape culture on college campuses seems to me a bigger story.Dale Carricohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02811055279887722298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956838.post-42440471583412192272015-12-21T18:44:26.955-08:002015-12-21T18:44:26.955-08:00> . . .poor harassed straight white male instru...> . . .poor harassed straight white male instructors menaced<br />> by lurking predatory females eager to hurl charges of<br />> sexual misconduct narrative. . .<br /><br />Well, of course, Myers (of all people) would repudiate that narrative<br />as well, as indeed he does in the 2015 commentary on the 2010 post<br />(thrown in his face by MRAs, apparently).<br /><br />Nevertheless, it's clear that the possibility is something he has to<br />think about and take steps to guard against.<br /><br />My ex-roommate, who is a (gay) film studies professor,<br />while he has never AFAIK been threatened with extortion, has<br />nevertheless been faced with pretty extreme pressure to change grades,<br />including threats to complain to the college administration.)<br /><br />Anyone can be accused of anything. And there **are** psychopaths,<br />of whatever race, sex, gender, sexual orientation or social class,<br />willing to make accusations, no matter what the damage, if they can<br />thereby further their own ends. If the opportunity arises, if the<br />planets line up just right.jimfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04975754342950063440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956838.post-77526432680738211562015-12-21T17:56:49.552-08:002015-12-21T17:56:49.552-08:00My experience of the academy doesn't square ve...My experience of the academy doesn't square very well with the poor harassed straight white male instructors menaced by lurking predatory females eager to hurl charges of sexual misconduct narrative I must say -- very much to the contrary.Dale Carricohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02811055279887722298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956838.post-34924696295409359222015-12-21T17:19:28.846-08:002015-12-21T17:19:28.846-08:00> . . . it wouldn't be the worst thing in t...> . . . it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to<br />> monitor and track bowel movements to get early warnings<br />> of health problems. . .<br /><br />Oh, I didn't mean **health** insurance. I meant **liability**<br />insurance!<br /><br />I was reacting to the awfulness of being a teacher (or a college<br />professor, or a day-care center worker) in a world where you have<br />to be constantly on your guard lest you be accused of improprieties<br />with your students or charges. Of course, the same is true<br />for doctors or dentists or hairdressers. But being a college professor<br />seems to be a particularly prickly thing these days. Maybe my<br />paranoia is being hyped by the media here. But of course all it takes,<br />as Myers mentioned, is one accusation.<br /><br />That isn't to suggest, of course, that there aren't all-too-genuine<br />instances of improprieties.<br /><br />Hm, that reminds me of something. Did you ever catch that TV series from<br />10 years ago, _Jack & Bobby_?<br />https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_%26_Bobby<br />I caught it all on YouTube this past summer. Christine Lahti (the mom)<br />is a college professor, and one of the plot lines has to do with the<br />fact that she's having an affair with a grad student who is both her<br />teaching assistant and thesis advisee. **Very** messy. Especially as<br />he is, as it turns out, not particularly academically talented **or**<br />ethical (just really cute). There was one particularly famous episode<br />of that show where the older brother's best friend comes out as gay (and admits<br />he's in love with him, thus destroying the friendship) and then commits<br />suicide. The gimmick (if that's the right word) of the whole show was that<br />the younger of the two brothers (named after the Kennedy brothers by<br />their uber-liberal single mom) eventually becomes president of the US<br />(ca. 2050 or so), and there are flash-forwards to people being interviewed<br />about "President McCallister's" personal history.<br />jimfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04975754342950063440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956838.post-81201626370209189762015-12-21T14:43:31.611-08:002015-12-21T14:43:31.611-08:00In a world with a racist war on drugs and for-prof...In a world with a racist war on drugs and for-profit insurance/healthcare quantification is a technique of neoliberal precarization. But it is worth noting that in a world without a racist war on drugs and in which free quality healthcare was guaranteed to all, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to monitor and track bowel movements to get early warnings of health problems and make nutritional recommendations. This suggests to me that the libertarian/individualist surveillance framing of these issues may be less helpful than it seems, and that our focus should be ending racist/puritanical/BigPharma Drug War carceral prohibition and nationalizing insurance/healthcare provision as a public good.Dale Carricohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02811055279887722298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956838.post-91372704179763069862015-12-21T13:57:10.222-08:002015-12-21T13:57:10.222-08:00> Who wouldn't want to watch the bowel move...> Who wouldn't want to watch the bowel movements of the one-percent?<br /><br />Oh, nobody'll **watch** 'em. They'll just be archived<br />by your insurance company. :-(<br />jimfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04975754342950063440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956838.post-73773443881243376652015-12-21T13:17:54.387-08:002015-12-21T13:17:54.387-08:00Who wouldn't want to watch the bowel movements...Who wouldn't want to watch the bowel movements of the one-percent?Dale Carricohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02811055279887722298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956838.post-923098916665609722015-12-21T09:49:19.262-08:002015-12-21T09:49:19.262-08:00> Part of what we teachers must provide are exp...> Part of what we teachers must provide are experiences of<br />> sociality and publicity in which students do not understand<br />> themselves as customers.<br /><br />And without, hopefully, being subject to threats of extortion. :-(<br /><br />http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2015/12/19/speaking-of-coddled-white-guys/<br />---------------<br />(quoting an ancient post)<br /><br />PZ Myers<br />May 15, 2010<br /><br />. . . I won't meet privately with students either -- I always<br />keep my office door wide open, and when I'm working with students<br />in the lab, I find excuses to move out and let them work on their<br />own if it turns into a one-on-one event. I just can't afford the<br />risk.<br /><br />I was also subject to accusations of harassment, once upon a time.<br />A female student came into my lab when I was alone, unhappy about<br />an exam grade, and openly threatened me -- by going public with a<br />story about a completely nonexistent sexual encounter right there.<br /><br />Zoom, I was right out the door at that instant; asked a female grad<br />student in the lab next door to sit with the student for a bit,<br />and went straight to the chair of the department to explain the situation.<br />I had to work fast, because I knew that if it turned into a<br />he-said-she-said story, it wouldn't matter that she was lying, it<br />could get dragged out into an investigation that would easily destroy<br />my career, no matter that I was innocent.<br /><br />I was in a total panic, knowing full well how damaging that kind of<br />accusation can be. Fortunately, I'd done the right thing by blowing<br />it all wide open at the first hint of a threat, and getting<br />witnesses on the spot.<br />====<br /><br />Apropos the "panopticon" -- I predict that one day, in the not<br />too distant future, it won't be just the police wearing<br />"body cams". It'll be everybody. **Parents**, even,<br />**spouses**.jimfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04975754342950063440noreply@blogger.com