Evergreen Prof. Bret Weinstein’s greatest alleged sin? Not suffering in silence
Media coverage has called attention to social justice racism and abuse, and the perpetrators aren’t happy.
By now you hopefully are familiar with the plight of Evergreen State College professor Bret Weinstein. You can follow our prior coverage at the Evergreen State College Tag.
The short version of the story is that for the sin of objecting to a racist proposal that white students and faculty leave campus for a day, Weinstein has been subjected to well-documented harassment, threats and abuse by a coalition of “social justice” students and faculty on campus. The administration further enabled the attacks on Weinstein through cowardly capitulation to student demands.
I addressed the distressing racist aspect of the “social justice” agenda at Evergreen in The Campus Inquisition at Evergreen State College:
Students are being steeped in an ideology and attitude in which racism in the name of social justice is accepted. That’s a dangerous situation for the nation.
If you read our coverage, you will see how Weinstein, with the help of his brother Eric, desperately tried to call attention to his situation, initially through Twitter. That garnered coverage, but not from major liberal media. Weinstein’s appearance of Tucker Carlson’s show on Fox News was the event that catapulted the goings on at Evergreen to national attention.
But still, outlets like the NY Times didn’t deem what was happening to Weinstein as news that was fit to print. Until recently.
On June 16, 2017, The Times ran a news story and an Op-Ed, each of which present Weinstein as the villain, and his tormentors as the victims. The thrust of this coverage is that Weinstein should have just kept his mouth shut and suffered in silence.
The Times news article title gives away the story line as do the opening two paragraphs, A Campus Argument Goes Viral. Now the College Is Under Siege.
It started with a suggestion that white students and professors leave campus for a day, a twist on a tradition of black students voluntarily doing the same.
A professor objected, and his argument with a loud and profane group of protesters outside his classroom soon rocketed across the internet.
Get it? The problem is that the professor (Weinstein) objected. The story continues to focus on that aspect, questioning why Weinstein went public to conservative and “right” media:
After the dispute gained national exposure — amplified by the professor’s appearance on Fox News, his op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, and right-leaning websites’ heaping derision on their newest college target — the professor, Bret Weinstein, said he had to stay away from campus for his own safety and move his family into hiding….
“There is a tradition of trying to work things out,” said Ruth Hayes, a professor of animation. Referring to Professor Weinstein, she echoed the feelings of a number of her colleagues: “That he took this public I just feel like is a breach of trust.” …
The Times article goes on to note that the campus has received threats as a result of the publicity, though neither the Times nor any other news outlet has reported the identity of who made the threats — were they real or the types of hoaxes we’ve seen dozens of times?
The Times also sets up two faculty members as victims.
On the other side, Naima Lowe, a media professor who has opposed him, and Rashida Love, the director of Evergreen’s First Peoples Multicultural Advising Services, who sent the email announcing the format of the Day of Absence, have also made themselves scarce, after being mercilessly ridiculed online.
Weinstein noted on Twitter the absurdity, particularly as to Lowe:
Here’s the image attachment to the tweet, showing what appears to be a Tweet from Lowe’s account threatening Weinstein’s wife (who also is a faculty member):
Lowe, presented as victim by The Times, is the profane faculty member in this viral video (language warning):
The Times article notes that Weinstein declined to be interviewed by The Times’ reporter. Can you blame him?
The Times also published an Op-Ed by rising Evergreen senior Jacqueline Littleton, which like the news coverage, faults Weinstein for obtaining media coverage of his plight, The Media Brought the Alt-Right to My Campus
….But the media saw in Mr. Weinstein a self-proclaimed progressive who appeared to be vilified simply for voicing a dissenting opinion. Evergreen students were accused of violence and of trying to enforce a divisive political correctness.The fallout from that coverage hit our campus like a hailstorm. It may not have been his intention, but Mr. Weinstein’s many interviews effectively became a call to arms for internet trolls and the alt-right. Online vigilantes from 4chan, Reddit and other forums swarmed to unearth Evergreen students’ contact information. They have harassed us with hundreds of phone calls, anonymous texts and terrifyingly specific threats of violence that show they know where we live and work….
Bret Weinstein’s interview with Tucker Carlson aired on the same day students met with President Bridges. We were surprised to hear Mr. Weinstein’s claims, which seemed far removed from what we had witnessed, and saddened to see how almost overnight his version of events became the entire narrative.
Mr. Weinstein’s story about Evergreen’s regressive campus culture fit neatly into many misconceptions about the “new left,” so it seemed to go unquestioned. However, for many students, staff and faculty at Evergreen, the harassment that came after the negative coverage of the protesters was a shocking and bitter twist. It is not lost on us that students of color are the ones who have been disproportionately targeted.
Again, the claim is that Weinstein should have just kept silent, and that calling attention to his plight is the real problem.
The President of Evergreen, George Bridges, gained infamy for his subservient response to student intimidation:
President Bridges has an Op-Ed in The Seattle Times that makes less direct, but unmistakable, accusations that Weinstein should have kept quiet:
Although activism on campus was only part of the story, it was distorted, amplified and endlessly repeated via social media and cable news. As we took steps to de-escalate conflict on campus, Twitter feeds blew up with misinformation.
This small liberal arts college was then hit with a tsunami of hateful harassment targeted at staff, students and faculty. Anxiety rose, and there were confrontations on campus. Threats to Evergreen from outside the college compelled us to suspend classes twice on advice from law enforcement.
We all know that once an issue is raised, there can be internet reactions beyond anyone’s control.
So what should Weinstein have done? Remained isolated, and cut off from support, while being tormented and threatened?
This video produced by VICE effectively captures the insanity that has surrounded Weinstein as he struggled to cope (language warning):
The problem is not that Prof. Bret Weinstein called attention to the racism in the name of social justice that has infected a progressive college.
The problem is the racism in the name of social justice that has infected a progressive college.
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Comments
Weeding out good professors for the sake of pacifying snowflakes……..send her home.
Send them all home until they grow up and live a little in the real world, earn an income (minimum wage is too much for them, if this is any indication of intellect), and see what it is like should they choose to do this to another person when not in their protective, cocoon-like “safe space” campus environment.
Thankfully for all of her ilk, there are others with their heads on straight……..even after college.
— Kodachrome, by Paul Simon (with my modifications)
Think we are going to have to home school our children of college age.
Trade school. On line college?
No, Evergreen is “special”. I have a kid in community college on the east coast, and unless one asks for this sort of “engagement” by taking those classes I guess (and I don’t know what happens then) the place is very placid. Black, white, hispanic students all just trying to get their credits.
That’s what some are doing already – home schooling for college.
You would not believe how many tests, and certifications there are out there already.
They are used to verify the learning and to award college credits to people who have already learned things outside the college classroom.
I’d really like to take a hiatus from work and do a serious study of the increasing stupidity of American youth. How do you become and remain so stupid?
Becoming stupid often starts with genes, and then it is enhanced by a culture with embraces ignorance.
Genes determine the upper limit of ones capabilities, but even good genes are not a cure all for really poor parenting.
When black racism reaches such a level, the only fix may be to take off and nuke them from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.
But be sure the blast radius is big enough to include Weinstein, who deserves a bit of comeuppance himself just by virtue of his disgusting progressivism, and his colossal ineptitude in failing to notice that his religion was carrying them all straight to hell.
Is anyone surprised that the MSM didn’t initially cover this story? They’ve been ignoring these stories (with conservative victims) for years. They were outted this time, and have been forced to spin the story with SJWs as the victims. Even as they now cover the story, it’s meant to be lesson to other progressives – Step out of line at your own peril – enforcing the cultish group think of legions of “unaware and compliant citizens”.
The feature blonde would fit right in with the Hitler Young – except for the body mutilations and her apparent habit of scarfing down donuts.
This is a COLLEGE?
What might they learn here? I’d bulldoze the place right away and plant a few thousand trees. Otherwise the ‘professors’ might be doing the planting after the ‘students’ put them in a re-education program.
Rachel Corrie was “educated” at Evergreen. You might be triggering with the bulldozer comment.
It’s a diploma mill. More expensive than traditional ones, but a diploma mill nonetheless.
Every time Hadley- the upper lip piercing wielding and too much makeup can’t save that mess snowflake- in the VICE video spoke, my eyes rolled so forcefully I feared they would pop out of my skull.
So let me see if I have the Times Version of this story straight:
– A simple disagreement between a teacher and some students over their “suggestion” attracted unwanted attention over something that was no big deal. .
-Instead of working with them to solve this trivial little issue, Weinstein ratted out these poor defenseless kids to evil right wing FOX news, who made this into a big deal.
– White teacher = evil aggressor, Black Teacher = blameless victim.
– Outside scrutiny from non liberal media = harassment.
I’m so glad to see the New York Times finally weighing on this story.
Did Weinstein rat them out to Fox, or was Fox the only media that contacted him for comment? I’m willing to wager on the latter.
An article in the Chronicle of Higher Ed says Fox reached out to him. You’ll love the headline: “How a Campus Fight Drove 2 Left-Leaning Professors to Fox News.”
It’s premium content, but here’s the first line for extra kicks: “For months Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying had worried that Evergreen State College was spiraling out of control. When Tucker Carlson’s producer came calling, they were “horrified” by the decision they faced.”
The way the Times and the Evergreen thugs see it, Weinstein left the liberal bubble and told his story to the enemy of all that is liberal: FOX news. If Weinstein hadn’t done that, this story probably would have died out weeks ago. So they probably do feel like Weinstein squealed on them and brought all this extra attention to their twisted little school…
I always objected to Rogers and Hammerstein’s “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught” since I thought all that stuff came naturally. But stupidity like this must be taught. It simply cannot come naturally.
“A quality education destroys many fine minds.” (Author unknown)
Long ago a man named Kim DuToit posted an “about me” on his blog a statement that has stuck with me.
In essence, it said that he dropped out of college when he realized that college was not furthering his desire for an education.
Seems that is still true today.
Thankfully, I never let school interfere with my education.
This is clearly ta case of he inmates running the asylum. College kids who may be “bright” but have less than a few years of life experience. Yet they carry out charges of racism when it is clearly not, and invoke false narratives like “white privilege” and broad brush everyone as a white supremacist. These “students” have zero respect, calling professors by their first name and hurling expletives. What these “students” are doing is acting like spoiled, immature, fascists.
Not particularly bright. Evergreen has pretty much open admissions.
First the college taught people how not to think. Now they are teaching how not to speak. What comes next?
There is a bit of justice in that these SJW types are turning on this professor and those like him. They do eat their own.
Trump’s apprenticeship initiative couldn’t have come too soon. They (present company excepted) have turned the “institutions of higher learning” into Marxist/Leninist indoctrination camps. Time to drain the academic swamp.
Cut. Off. Their. Funding.
Yes. This is a PUBLIC college. Even on the Left Coast this sort of behavior should not be funded by taxpayers.
Bring back the draft for 25 and under. Male and female and those who aren’t sure.
“Yes comrade, remain silent and do as you’re told, and you won’t be hurt. This time.”
“Shocking!” “And bitter!” “Waaaaaaah!”
“It started with a suggestion that white students and professors leave campus for a day …”
And if you object to the “suggestion” there will be consequences? Yes of course, it’s just a “suggestion” that you’d better not be on campus that day.
Yes, ending public funding would be a start.
But beyond that there need to be alternatives to the present system of increasingly dis-functional higher ed. Of the three functions of higher ed. (research, teaching, credentialing), credentialing (via comprehensive exams?) alternatives will be the most difficult to create and implement, as all the stakeholders in the current system will fight to the end to preserve their enforced-by-accreditation privileged positions as monopoly suppliers.
Do you just love the old moniker “small liberal arts college.” Newsflash: It’s sooo passeé. Editor please correct to “small illiberal arts college.”
[…] Professor William Jacobson at Legal Insurrection points out, liberals are arguing that “Weinstein should have just kept his mouth shut and suffered in […]