Universities in the U.S. and all over the West today are no longer institutions of higher learning, but radioactive wastelands of far-Left indoctrination. Students aren’t taught how to evaluate ideas rationally and discover the truth on the basis of the evidence rather than political advantage, personal preference, or ideological prejudice. Instead, they’re programmed and propagandized to be good little cogs in the socialist internationalist machine, obeying unquestioningly the agenda of the international Left. And so when I received an email from a college student in Germany, asking me for an interview, I tried to break through the indoctrination and introduce her to some reality. But she, like humankind in general, could not bear very much reality. Here’s the exchange:
1. The student to Spencer:
Dear Mr. Spencer,
my name is [Redacted] and I’m a student of the University of Passau in Germany. Together with a bunch of my fellow students we are doing a project on the “Great Replacement” zooming in on Islamophobia for one of our cultural studies classes.
Since you are probably the most prominent public person in the field of Islamophobia, we would love to hear your take on certain aspects of the subject which is why I was hoping you would be willing to answer a few short interview questions for me.
If it will be possible for you to spare a few minutes, I would dearly appreciate it if we could either set up a short video conference or if I could send you my questions and you reply to them either in writing or a brief voice recording – whatever suits you best.
Thank you so much for your efforts and time!
Kind regards from Germany
[Redacted]
2. Spencer to the student:
Sorry, but “Islamophobia” is a propaganda term devised in order to intimidate and fool people into thinking it is somehow wrong to oppose jihad mass murder and Sharia oppression of women. Your whole endeavor is evidence of how thoroughly this propaganda neologism fools people into thinking they’re doing the right thing when they work to smear and silence those who defend free societies. I won’t play along.
3. The student to Spencer:
Thank you, Mr. Spencer, for your utterly polite and highly informative response – it already says a lot and we’ll be able to use that for our project for sure.
What really intrigues me, though, is how a bunch of university students are supposed to have such a grand impact on “silencing and smearing” you and your work that you won’t even answer a few simple questions. If you were convinced of the power of your arguments you could easily use this opportunity to further spread your beliefs. But that’s just my opinion.
Anyway, have a nice day and thank you for at least being kind enough to reply to my email in the first place. I respect your declining.
4. Spencer to the student:
Are you willfully misunderstanding? Or do you think you’re the only people who use the term “Islamophobia”?
And finally, to be clear, if you’re willing to understand – I don’t accept the premises of your inquiry so how could I participate in it?
5. The student to Spencer:
I don’t see why you would first have to accept my premises in order to be willing to answer my questions?
The way I see it is that if I believe in something and my vis-à-vis is of a different opinion, I will still talk to them and try and reason with them because I would want them to understand where I’m coming from and, best case scenario, convince them of my arguments.
We would have presented an opportunity for you to further voice your beliefs and possibly rectify our “false” interpretation of the term Islamophobia?
How do you want to truly “defend free societies” if you’re only presenting yourself to the people that already agree with you?
But I understand, confrontation is never pleasant.
6. Spencer to the student:
1. Because you’re interviewing “Islamophobes,” and I reject both the designation and the concept. And if I’m not an “Islamophobe,” then per the parameters of your inquiry, we have nothing to discuss.
2. I’d be happy to have a rational discussion with you, were that possible. However, the premise of your inquiry would put me immediately on the defensive, having to prove I am not what you label me to be. To understand this, imagine if I told you that I was interviewing “Evil People,” and since you’re evil, I wanted to interview you (this is just a hypothetical; I do not believe you’re evil). You would rightly doubt that we could have a rational discussion on those terms.
3. You don’t have a false “interpretation” of the term “Islamophobia.” Your very acceptance of the term as legitimate is something I can’t work from, as I don’t accept that the term has any validity whatsoever.
4. Apparently you know nothing of my work. That’s fine. You are under no obligation to do so. But since you claim I am only “presenting” myself to people who agree with me, I’ll inform you that you can find my debates with numerous imams and Islamic scholars on YouTube. Many others are, unfortunately, not available online. I’ve participated in innumerable hostile interviews, been the target of an assassination attempt, and was poisoned by one of your fellow Leftists when speaking in Iceland. I have nothing to prove to you or to anyone else.
5. Confrontation is indeed never pleasant. But I do hope you will eventually confront your own biases, prejudices, and unexamined assumptions. Here’s one to start with: the University of Passau is happy to have you studying the supposed phenomenon of “Islamophobia.” However, the University of Passau would be horrified and never allow you to study how Islamic jihadis use the core texts and teachings of Islam to justify jihad violence and Sharia oppression of women, gays, and others. In fact, the University of Passau would label that inquiry “Islamophobic.” But where is your concern for the many victims of jihad violence and Sharia oppression, such as, among innumerable others, Yazidi women who were forced into sex slavery by ISIS, as per the Qur’an, 4:3, 4:24, 23:1-6, 33:50, 70:30? Or is concern for them “Islamophobic” as well?
7. The student to Spencer:
1) I see your point. But what I am asking myself at this point, is the following: If I was to oversimplify the definition of the term Islamophobia, I would call it an extreme fear of Islam. Again, oversimplified, isn’t that what you are promoting? That one should be afraid of the jihad, the Sharia law and oppression which, according to you, is a threat opposed by Islam?
2. I have to disagree. If you call me having a different opinion when interviewing you putting you on the defensive, sure, but why would that be a problem as long as I don’t treat you disrespectfully and insultingly?
Also, of course my definition of “rational” will always be different from yours – coming from such different points of views – but I would not mind you interviewing me even if you, hypothetically speaking and coning back to your example, perceived me as “evil” because I am convinced of my opinions. And again, as long the interviewer treats me respectfully, I would not care what you label me as because I’m speaking for what I believe in.
3. Right. Why not say so in an actual interview? That’s all I wanted: Your perception of these kind of topics.
4. No, I don’t know each and every detail of your work but I know enough to think I could put up with you in an interview which is why I asked for one in the first place.
Frankly, I only claimed that you only present yourself to people who agree with you to trigger that exact response I got from you now. I do know you put up with opponents and you don’t avoid the public which is why I am surprised you wouldn’t talk to me (which you now still do? Again, thanks for all the material you are providing us with).
And sure, you don’t have to prove anything to anyone but why are you trying to then right now?
5. My concern is for any type of violence against the innocent. I know that violence, hate, oppression – anything evil- is not connected to what your societal, religious, racial or any other affiliation is.
8. Spencer to the student:
1. No, that’s not the definition of the word. That is etymologically the meaning of the word, but the word is generally used to mean irrational hatred toward Muslims, violence against innocent Muslims, and the like, which are never justified, as well as investigation into the motivating ideology behind jihad terror and Sharia oppression, which is urgently needed. The viciousness of the term arises from the conflation of the irrational hatred with the honest investigation, so as to smear the latter by association with the former. My work has nothing to do with fear or hatred, unless you think foes of the Nazis during World War II were animated by fear and hatred of Germans.
2. It’s not a difference of opinion. For me to participate (beyond this exchange) would be to validate your premise, that I belong among the people you consider “Islamophobes.” I do not. Hence I cannot participate.
3. I’ve explained this.
4. “I know enough to think I could put up with you in an interview” — that’s an amusing phrase. Are you aware of what it means in idiomatic English to “put up with” someone? In any case, I’m happy to try to explain these things here, but I cannot and will not validate your false premise. I am not trying to prove anything to you. I’m trying to teach you. I’m trying to open your eyes. This is not about me. This is about the propaganda you’ve swallowed uncritically.
5. Great. What kind of studies have you done or activities have you participated in to show solidarity with and to offer help to the victims of jihad violence and Sharia oppression? I suspect none. And why not. Don’t want to appear “Islamophobic”?
Also, some questions of my own.
1. Have you ever studied the Qur’an? Have you read it in its entirety?
2. Have you studied the Sirat Rasul Allah? Have you read in its entirety the recension of Ibn Hisham?
3. Have you studied the Hadith? Sunnah and fiqh?
4. Have you studied the teachings of the various Sunni and Shi’a madhahib regarding jihad?
5. Have you studied the history of Islam?
6. If your answer is no to any or all of the above, on what basis do you assume that jihad violence and Sharia oppression of women, gays and others aren’t really justified in Islamic texts and teachings, as you seem to assume in your point 1 below? Or is it that you don’t think those are serious problems? Are you aware of the scope and magnitude of jihad violence? Are you familiar with the teachings of Sharia (yes, in all its various forms and manifestations) regarding women, particularly non-Muslim women?
9. The student to Spencer:
Sorry but I am not comfortable sharing any information regarding your questions with you since, in my eyes, this conversation is still very much about you. In case you forgot: I contacted YOU to ask about your beliefs for our project’s sake not to learn anything from you since I don’t regard you as a valid source. This is merely about collecting statements from you which I now have plenty of.
This is why I will end this conversation here and once again thank you for your time and efforts.
Goodbye.
10. Spencer to the student:
As expected. Leftists love being the Grand Inquisitor; they hate it when the light is turned on them, and scurry like roaches.
Ken Johnson says
Robert, you were a little one sided and combatitive ith this stuent.,. By he way I am an ISLAM >Phobe, very much so, and I forsee a world war in the near future. Tht’s sufficiednt reasdon to hae a phobia.
Ken
Infidel says
Ken, a ‘phobia’ is an irrational fear of something. If one is afraid of a butterfly or a ladybug, that’s a phobia. If one is afraid of a scorpion or a wasp, that’s a very rational and legitimate fear! Similarly, fear of people who are Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Daoists, Confucians, Shintos and so on – those would be real phobias, since there is nothing threatening about them. But a fear of muslims would be perfectly rational, given everything we know about them
Brando says
When I think about it, sincere Leftists have this way of thinking:
1. ISLAMOPHOBIA= Irrational Fear of MAINSTREAM Islam.
ISIS,Al-Qaida,Taliban, Hamas,Hizbullah and other terrorist groups are NOT Mainstream,they are MARGINAL, crazy,fringe. And also Islam is NOT monolithic, there are different groups.
2.MAINSTREAM Islam is Not Anti-Human Rights.
HOWEVER
An IMPARTIAL analysis of the evidence(historical,doctrinal,the Koran,etc) shows that the MAINSTREAM Islam of 1,400 years
has Always been ANTI-HUMAN rights.
FOR EXAMPLE: Sex-Slaves( it is Anti-Human Rights) ( even Leftists/Radical Feminsits would agree)
1. SINCERE Leftists/Radical Feminists are AGAINST the MAFIA that is responsible for Forcing MILLIONS of Russian and East European women
into SEX SLAVES (prostitutes by Force) since the fall of Communism in 1989.
There are 20 MILLION slaves in the world today of which 70% are Sex Slaves ( 14 MILLION )
2. MAINSTREAM Islam for 1,400 years has always approved of having Sex Slaves, it is not a Marginal,Fringe Lunatic Position in Islam.
The question is: would sincere Leftists be willing to admit their thinking is wrong?
gravenimage says
How was Robert Spencer “one sided”? Do you think he should have offered himself us as an ‘evil Islamophobe’ for opposing Jihad terror? Very odd.
Beneath the Veil of Consciousness says
Robert- Have you seen the CNN article about the opening of a holocaust museum in the U.A.E.? The article lauds the U.A.E. for openly acknowledging the slaughter of millions of Jews with the museum even including displays covering the murders of Jews in various parts of the middle east during that time at the hands of muslims.
But here’s the kicker- CNN, and possibly the museum itself, blames these murders on muslims who adopted the nazi ideology. No mention of Islam in all of this and how the nazis may have been inspired by Islam.
wpm says
Islam was established in the 7 century a full 1200 + years before Hitler was even born they been trying to kill or enslave or force covert every Jew they come in contact with for the last 1300 years . It is in Islam “mission statement” it is written in their “Holy Books’ it is in their daily prays ,if CNN or the MSM would look .CNN has the same illogical though pattern as Islam .Islam drove Christianity and Jews from much of North Africa, Turkey, and many other lands before “Nazism” was a thing.
Rarely says
Not historically accurate
gravenimage says
Rarely, what has wpm said that is inaccurate?
wpm says
What did I say that was” not historically accurate”? Basically I said Islam was killing and or enslaving Jews and Christians over a thousand years before Hitler was born or Nazism was a thing. Germany was not even one country 1300 years ago.
Andrew Blackadder says
Old (ex) friends of mine live not far from this silly wee lassie and they wish nothing more to do with me, we had been friends, and lovers, since the 1970s,when we were all in our 20s, but I asked them why would they be, on the one hand, totally ashamed of what their Fathers and Grandfathers did during the Nazi times, and on the other hand, welcome hordes of people into Germany that follow a religion that despises the Jewish people and collaborated with the Nazi Regime during the days you are ashamed of….
This makes no sense to me…
They called me an islamoph… you know… thing..
It is really sad for me to lose such friends, as the times we had in Bavaria in the 1970s was magical when I look back at it, and of course this was another time when the World was not so bloody bat shit insane.
This wee German girl shows just how indoctrinated the current generation really are, and not just in Germany.
Im glad I am 73 now, and not 37, thats all I can say…
wpm says
Islam was established in the 7 century a full 1200 + years before Hitler was even born they been trying to kill or enslave or force covert every Jew they come in contact with for the last 1300 years . It is in Islam “mission statement” it is written in their “Holy Books’ it is in their daily prays ,if CNN or the MSM would look .CNN has the same illogical though pattern as Islam .Islam drove Christianity and Jews from much of North Africa, Turkey, and many other lands before “Nazism” was a thing.
commonsense says
At the end of this long exchange, we see clearly that this “student” finally lets her mask slip, ultimately admitting that she never deemed Robert to be a “valid source” of information, but a fringe character, a hater. Robert’s cutting reply to her was entirely apposite. Sadly, this clueless fraulein is probably all too typical of university attendees throughout what remains of the West.
commonsense says
Typo – only “fraulein” was meant to be italicized.
commonsense says
I also omitted the umlaut in “fräulein.” Wish one’s comments could be edited after they post.
Infidel says
She might have been a frau to a muslim, in which case, you wouldn’t have needed the umlaut ?
Keys says
+1
“In case you forgot: I contacted YOU” = snotty, disrespectful attitude !
The student does not want “to learn anything from you (RS) since I don’t regard you as a valid source.” It is “merely about collecting statements from you (RS) which I now have plenty.”
So, if RS is not a valid source she has no respect for RS and is not really open to anything he would say. Apparently she just wants “statements” from him to show how terrible he is – perhaps to do otherwise may result in a poor grade (evaluphobia at the University level).
She says “this conversation is still very much about you” (RS) and considers Robert Spencer to be an Islamophobe par excellence – “probably the most prominent public person in the field of Islamophobia”. Well, all this is ironic because Spencer is trying to get her to see that what he does is not about him, but about Islam, what it is and does. And if she knew more about Islam she could be enlightened about the term “Islamophobe”. The “field of Islamophobia” for cryin’ out loud !!!!
Render to Islam what belongs to Islam and render to Spencer what belongs to him.
*************************************
Interesting that this is for a project on the “Great Replacement” zooming in on Islamophobia”. Better zoom in quickly Germany, and all Europe !
Infidel says
Most Leftists think that it’s a conspiracy theory, despite statistical trends showing a baby bust in Europe and the EU trying to solve that w/ immigration. Japan is at least doing it right by getting robots to do work that humans ain’t available to do. But now China’s population is stagnant or decreasing, while India’s birth rate is at replacement levels
gravenimage says
Sadly true, commonsense.
Henry Mansfield says
Robert Spencer was invited to speak in frickin’ Iceland and had to be hospitalized after being poisoned.
No wonder he’s in no hurry to lend his expertise to people that start out by calling him an Islamophobe.
Pam says
People just can’t seem to grasp the concept to which people use things most people would be ashamed of being just to silence them. There are many used by the left like, racist, nazi, white supremacist, the newest is, January 6th. I do find it fun to throw facts that they can’t deny. Like with the Jan. 6th riot, I ask them why was there so little security at the Capitol when President Biden won, yet so much for when President Trump won? I then explain it’s because behavior like that is very out of character for Republicans, that we don’t conduct ourselves in that manner. Then I ask them to think what it would have been like if President Trump had the slim security Biden did. Think of how devastating it would have been. Then what if Biden had the same amount of security President Trump did, nobody would have gotten close. Nothing would have happened. Explain that the actions of them vile, disgusting revolting nutjobs do not represent me. That both sides have their undesirables and we have no control over them. This is what separates us from muslims, we make it clear that the undesirables people who cause harm don’t represent us, and don’t try to play the victim, and surely don’t let them shut us up. When people refer to a person having Islamophobia, and if it would be true and it’s not, think of all the people turning and running in complete utter fear. Try to explain why it’s just a bunch of BS, and I would be to scared to even read anything about Islam, and making a comment would send me into a coma. When on Ilhan Omars Twitter and she is whining about Islamophobia, I just ask them why she says nothing about the Christians who have to hide their religious beliefs, having the Holy Bible can be a death sentence. Then explain that she is the Vice Chair of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Global Human Rights, and why is she silent on the human rights in her home country. You will get crickets after that. Shutting up and backing down then they win.
Keys says
Reminds me of Sweet Dreams by The Eurythmics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeMFqkcPYcg
Some of them want to not hear you.
Some of them want to silence you.
Some of them want to kill you.
Joeyn says
Excellent email exchange. Brilliantly handled by RS. Exposed the true colors of the Left and Islamists. This one is for keeps.
gravenimage says
+1
wpm says
Very telling when she says she has nothing to learn from Robert Spencer. She makes it a point she contacted you ,that she is” entitled” to set the ground rules on what your website should be called she is uncomfortable in. Robert Spencer questioning her knowledge on the subject that she will question Robert Spencer on. Very brown shirt of her, nothing like a closed mind and a coward to boot .She is
Keys says
+1
And, if this student checks JihadWatch to see if Robert Spencer posts anything about their exchange, she will likely use some of our comments on the article for her Islamophobia section of the “Great Replacement” project.
Infidel says
Actually, the ‘Great Replacement’, done right, would have been a great topic for one of those university projects
Billy Chickens says
Well done, Robert. The “valid sources” of the Qur’an, Hadith, etc scared her to death and she escaped as fast as she could. She can now go out and meet the poor incoming young men raised in Islamic cultures and be their friend, welcoming them into her world of love and tolerance. She can even marry one to show her complete solidarity. When she is wrapped in a burqa concealing her bruises, black eyes and broken bones perhaps then she will secretly hide a Qur’an under her burqa and read it to find out what she refused to hear from you. Then the light of truth will shine on her poor bruised face and she will have to plan a way to escape her husband and Islam before the honor killers come for her. If she happens to be fortunate enough to escape she will never feel safe and always sleep with her eyes open. Oh well….c’est la Islamic vie.
Hoi Polloi says
But I [am so] understand[ing], confrontation is never pleasant [for those weaker than I, assessed on the basis of their refusal to bow down to me.]
as long the interviewer treats me respectfully…….while I herein provide a textbook example of disrespect.
my definition of “rational” will always be different from yours…. Well aren’t you special.
Frankly, I only claimed that you only present yourself to people who agree with you to trigger that exact response…… more respectful treatment.
My concern is for any type of violence against the innocent…..,and I will refuse to provide examples or a non-islamic definition of innocence.
I know that violence, hate, oppression – anything evil- is not connected to what your societal, religious, racial or any other affiliation…….Kiddie, you just declared all evil done in the name of islam to be, in fact, pure innocence. Victims be damned, you say?
In case you forgot: I contacted YOU to ask about your beliefs for our project’s sake not to learn anything from you since I don’t regard you as a valid source…..but I will at the same time inform you that I will use your [no doubt highly manipulated] statements. Logic and truth are, apparently other words whose common definition this kiddie refuses to accept.
And yes, the indoctrination at the university level is extreme. Great example.
gravenimage says
Good analysis, Hoi Polloi.
Hoi Polloi says
Thanks graven. I always respect your opinion, so high praise, indeed.
gravenimage says
Thank you. 🙂
Infidel says
One thing I wonder – is the University of Passau a rape free zone, which has no muslim rapefugees? Does Heike here live in a upscale, gated community which is unlikely to be invaded by Mohammedans? Given all the rapes that have happened since Merkel opened up Europe to these mohammedans, it’s amazing that there are still that many Germans who have no clue about what is going on
Also, from the interview
That woman has a future in journalism. Or she could be a Twitter influencer
Hans Michael Hensel says
I know the University of Passau and some of the teachers like Prof. Rüdiger Korff and Dr. Chalit Durongphan quite well (I even follow them) and I am in contact with some former and current students:
I simply cannot understand, how such an ignorant person like this student would even be accepted as a student by one of the teachers in Passau which I know.
gravenimage says
This sort of thinsg is very common with college students all over the west now, sadly.
Mark Spahn (West Seneca, NY) says
“… you can find my debates with numerous imams and Islamic scholars on YouTube.” Thanks, Robert; I didn’t know that. A search on
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Robert+Spencer+imam
yields, for example,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_mPD1F5RQw
Wellington says
Brilliant replies to a doofus (doofa) by Robert Spencer. While reading through this exchange I analogized in my mind to someone asking another someone why do you want to suppress black voters in America because you think an ID should be presented when voting?
When you start with a false premise, tendentious and highly erroneous, no good can come from further exchange before the false premise is challenged, thereafter rejected and an “even playing field” is finally established, and which is exactly what Robert Spencer was attempting to do throughout this correspondence, though I fear the college student in this exchange will have learned nothing even though Spencer was providing the college student priceless advice at no charge, contra the exorbitant tuition that avaricious Western universities charge, at least here in America, to teach students a mountain of rubbish masquerading as wisdom and truth.
College didn’t used to make people moral idiots without a capacity for logical reasoning but it sure is this way now, whether in Germany, America and, so sadly, throughout much of the West. The essence, the crux, of this error is that modern education no longer instructs a student how to think but rather what to think. Beyond tragic and very, very stupid, but welcome to modern college education in the West.
James Lincoln says
Wellington,
Some employers are taking a very hard look at where their potential employees attended college.
The “elite” Ivy League colleges are producing at least some graduates who are “too woke to work”.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/too-woke-work-editor-done-hiring-ivy-league-grads
Infidel says
The only reason to go for an Ivy League grad would be in fields like Engineering and Medicine. If it just involves politics or the arts, treat the Ivy League like one would treat the Yucca Mountain, and don’t take anyone from anywhere near it. As Tucker Carlson pointed out, kids of our politicians all attended there, like Chris Cuomo or Chelsea Clinton, and they’re pretty unimpressive
Wellington says
Even in engineering, the sciences and medicine, Infidel, chances are very good one is better off at some state university than at an Ivy League school. Indeed, most of the state universities were founded with an emphasis on the hard sciences, agriculture and engineering.
Wellington says
As I’ve written here before at JW, the worst lawyers as other lawyers know are Ivy League lawyers. My sister and her husband are both attorneys (as I am) and they have told me innumerable times that the most arrogant and ill-prepared lawyers they have come across in their long legal careers (each some 35 years now) are those from the Ivy League (and a few other “elite” schools).
My brother was in a position to hire people in the health insurance industry and he told me some twenty years ago that when he saw an Ivy degree on the resume, that was an automatic negative right there—not because of any snobbery on my brother’s part but because of his experience with Ivy Leaguers—a “mark of Cain” rather like someone coming into an interview with body piercings or a tattoo on their neck. Sometimes you only need to know one thing about a person to know the entire person.
Friends don’t let friends send their kids to snobbish colleges. Give me an Idaho State grad over a Harvard grad, everything else sight unseen.
There is a key word to describe the elite schools—Overrated.
gravenimage says
Good post.
LB says
Slightly off-topic, but this reminds me of an interview Jordan Peterson recently had with Jeonmi Park — a North Korean defector (actually, a “survivor” is a more fitting term).
To sum it up, she was born in North Korea and lived through what can only be described as literal “Hell on Earth” in her early childhood. After she escaped (another horror story in itself), she went to college in South Korea and eventually ended up going to Columbia U in New York. Basically, she described her years at the university as “being back in North Korea” (paraphrased) because she was unable to utter a single thought she wanted to say, lest her communist professors failed her. JP literally cried at the thought of how Western Universities have fully become communist brainwashing institutions.
I advise everyone to go watch the interview in full if you have the time. It’s a chilling description of what the end goal of marxist globalists looks like. The specific part about Columbia U starts at around 1:40:00 mark.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yqa-SdJtT4
gravenimage says
Scary stuff, LB. And I’ve heard this from others who lived behind the iron curtain.
gravenimage says
Email exchange: Trying to teach a college student
…………….
Kudos to Robert Spencer for his patience and measured response. I *hope* it made an impression on this foolish student–if not now, then perhaps some time later upon reflection. Might take a while, though…
James Lincoln says
gravenimage,
On rare occasion, a Leftist can become a Centrist – or even a Conservative.
David J. Horwitz had experienced a fascinating evolution from Leftism to Conservativism.
But you knew that already…
Infidel says
James
As they say, a Liberal is a Conservative who hasn’t been mugged. (Yeah, conversely, they also claim that a Conservative is a Liberal who hasn’t been jailed, but that’s far more complicated)
A lot of people who graduate Liberal start noticing things when their money is withheld in taxes. Or when crime goes up. Or things like that
gravenimage says
True, James. Some *do* change their views–for good or ill.
sidney penny says
What is Islamophobia?
Andrew Cummins once said, in a quote often misattributed to Christopher Hitchens, that Islamophobia is “a word created by fascists, and used by cowards, to manipulate morons.”
sidney penny says
Robert loves students
What is hate speech?
Time to listen again to what is free speech
Listen to the last ten minutes
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/05/cal-poly-free-speech-under-attack-in-academia
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/05/video-robert-spencer-at-cal-poly-may-13-2014
Robert is super in his answer, especially to the female student who tells Robert what is hate speech.
Giacomo Latta says
If any of our regular contributors is approached by any such animal inquisitive as to our view of ”Islamophobia” the first response should be, ”Have you read the Koran?” If the response, if any, is in the negative, the communication should end there, saving unnecessary wear-and-tear on the metacarpus.
Should such inquisitive animal reply that her study is on culture, she should be asked if a culture that promotes hatred of Jews and killing anything non-muslim that moves is morally equivalent to all other cultures then the communication should stop there. She has just justified the murder of all muslims should any other culture decide to act in the murderous ways of muslims.
Cherith says
DEATH SPIRAL OF AMERICAN ACADEMIA
Earlier this year, Eric Kaufmann of the University of London published a remarkably detailed and comprehensive study of bias in academia, “Academic Freedom in Crisis: Punishment, Political Discrimination, and Self-Censorship.” Kaufmann’s writing is a product of California’s Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology, a small think-tank set up to do research that is forbidden in today’s academy. His finding of rampant left-sided political bias in publication, employment, and promotion in the Academy — and discrimination against anyone right-of-center — qualifies as forbidden scholarship.
Kaufmann’s study is shocking in its depth, even to academics (like me) who experienced for decades what he describes. He documents all aspects of an academic career, from advanced graduate study to landing a faculty position, research funding, publication, and promotion. That normal career progression is all but derailed if a person expresses a scintilla of non-left views in casual conversations, faculty meetings, public discourse, teaching, grant applications, submitted publications, or the promotion process.
He surveys the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada using different markers for liberal and conservative views. Among others, in the US he used Trump-versus-Biden support, while for the UK he centered upon “leave” or “remain” in the controversy over membership in the European Union.
The result is a systematic poisoning of the peer-reviewed literature, which society accepts as its canon of knowledge. Fewer trends in the world of ideas could be more dangerous. This is the Frankfurt School on steroids.
The erosion of the academy is obvious. The implications are clear. The opportunity costs to society of handicapping, slowing, or preventing publication of new knowledge can only be staggering, prompting the obvious question: “What is to be done?”
This is depressing, for it seems that the death spiral of American academia is inevitable. Our problems are structural and intractable. Because the university faculty is empowered to dictate who its members are and what is permitted in the canon of knowledge, it will retain that corrupt absolute power. Self-selection by the faculty ensures an increasingly leftward tilt, not just in the social sciences and humanities; as the infection has now reached STEM. Political intolerance will increase, as will de facto and direct suppression of academic free speech. It encourages heinous self-censorship that silences teachers who might dissent—until they can no longer speak. Patrick J Michaels
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2021/06/10/death-spiral-of-american-academia/
Hoi Polloi says
It has, absolutely and unfortunately, reached STEM. Add to this the fact that many simply will not hire American citizens in the US and the pressure is intense.
OLD GUY says
Not only is the far left corrupting our colleges and universities so is Saudi Arabia through millions of dollars being given to their endowment funds. Islam and muslim propaganda is being taught and spread across this country by well placed professors from the islamic countries.
Islam and our enemies have found the weak spot in America, everything is FOR SALE.
Sunday says
Am glad she got the statement