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Monday, November 23, 2015

The Yale Incident - Some More of the Story

You've probably seen by now the video rant of the Yale student who was so undone by a professor's call for students to be more tolerant of Halloween costumes that she berated him in a way that would make a sailor blush - and then put up his dukes.

The student, who has been identified as Jerylyn Luther, has gone underground.  Her facebook and twitter accounts have been deleted.  And her profile has been removed from the website of the PR firm owned by her mother.  Despite her attempts to wipe out her digital existence, the internet sleuths have learned a few things about her:

1) She had an apparently privileged upbringing.  Her parents live in affluent Fairfield,  Connecticut where the median home price is around $530,000.  The house they live in is actually worth around $760,000.  (This should surprise no one.  She was attending Yale after all)

2) She was on the search committee that hired the professor she verbally assaulted in the video. (This is a bit of a surprise considering her emotional and incredulous inquiry as to "who the f^%k hired him.  It turns out she did)

3)  She is a journalist.  That's right, she works for the Yale Globalist and actually oversees other journalists at the paper.  (This should be a surprise considering her considered effort to stifle free speech, but sadly it is not.  Journalists like Ms. Luther are okay with free speech as long as they agree with the point of view)

 4)  She describes herself as having a passion for social justice and she volunteers to help the homeless.  (No surprise here either.  The self righteousness has to come from somewhere)

After Ms. Luther's rant concluded, more calm, though not more cogent, students were also captured on video continuing the discussion with the professor.  The Yale Daily News has removed the video from the internet with a copyright claim. But it wasn't removed before the writers at turtleboy.com had time to create the following transcript:

................

Professor: I’ve said I’m sorry for causing you pain.
Student 1: That is different.
Prof: That is different. That is different, in fact. That’s different than the statement that I’m sorry for what I said. There’s a big difference between the two, guys. The fact-
Student 1: Do you fundamentally stand behind what she said?
Prof: I stand behind free speech; yes, I do.
Student 2: Well then that sorry doesn’t mean anything.
Student 3: Even when it’s offensive?
Prof (addressing Stud 3): Even when it’s offensive. Especially if it’s offensive. Even if-
Stud 3: Even when it denigrates me?
Prof: Even when it denigrates you, even though I don’t agree with the content of the speech. I have the same objections to the speech that you do. The same ones.
Stud 2 (interrupting): But it doesn’t submit(?) to you-
Stud 1 (interrupting): But what about the swastika-
Prof (cont’d): But, I defend the right for people to speak their mind.
Stud 3: So when the IAC(?) sends out an email saying…
Prof: So who gets to decide what’s offensive? Who gets to decide guys?
Stud 2: When it hurts me!
Stud 1: When it’s offensive to me!
Prof: What if everybody says, “I’m hurt”? Does that mean everyone else has to stop speaking?
Student 4: But that’s not what was happening!
Stud 1: No! Because you don’t- No, but you don’t under-
Prof: Hold on. So I agree with the content of your speech. I am as against racism as you are. I am as against social inequality as you are. I have spent my life addressing these issues, even some of the students in my class can speak out to this, but that is different than the freedom of speech. The right to defend people to say whatever they want including you! Including your right to write what you want and speak to me; which I will also defend.
Stud 3: Th-The IAC
Girl to the camera: Joana(?), just ask him when he apologized. This is all interesting(?).
Prof: And one more thing, when I was at other institutions, I have defended people with your views against tremendous opposition. People with your views that the administration tried to ferret out and expel.

...........

My take?  

The professor was right on and the students are so lost they may never recover.

And now you know some more of the story.

KM

Good day.

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