Image 01 Image 03

Psych Scholar at USC Claims Viewpoint Diversity is a ‘Dog Whistle’

Psych Scholar at USC Claims Viewpoint Diversity is a ‘Dog Whistle’

“So many seemingly well-meaning academics are getting so played by these terms”

The left worships the idea of diversity, but only on the surface. Diversity of opinion is unacceptable.

The College Fix reports:

USC psychology scholar argues term ‘viewpoint diversity’ is a dog whistle

Twitter comments recently made by a University of Southern California psychology scholar sparked a lively debate regarding commonly used free speech terminology.

Leslie Berntsen, a lecturer for USC’s Department of Psychology, received some push back from Twitter users a few weeks ago when she condemned the expression “viewpoint diversity” and similar phrases.

Her tweet read: “I cannot emphasize this enough, but terms like ‘echo chamber,’ ‘viewpoint diversity,’ etc. are HUGE DOG WHISTLES for some unspeakably nefarious stuff.”

“So many seemingly well-meaning academics are getting so played by these terms and you (honestly and truly) really hate to see it.”

A dog whistle is defined as “a subtly aimed political message which is intended for, and can only be understood by, a particular group,” according to Merriam-Webster.

There is a “fine line…between understanding a perspective to refute it and understanding it on its merits,” continued Berntsen on her Twitter thread. “There are tons of folks who are drawn in by this idea of listening to ‘both sides’ (irrespective of content) as a Fair Thing To Do, and then end up going *FULL IDW* and it’s truly horrifying to watch happen in real time.”

IDW stands for the Intellectual Dark Web, which is described as a group of influential thinkers “willing to disagree fiercely, but talk civilly, about nearly every meaningful subject worthy of public discourse: religion, abortion, gender identity, race, immigration, the nature of consciousness.”

DONATE

Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.

Comments

Taking her thesis sentence out makes this a bit baffling to follow.

Her thesis sentence in the tweet: Last week, I tweeted that the term “viewpoint diversity” has the ability to function as a dog whistle defense of bigoted speech.

Knowing that, then you ‘get’ that she is arguing that ‘free speech’ is by its nature unacceptable because ideas, that she terms as racism, are allowable under free speech. We, as people need to be ‘protected’ from encountering ideas that may change the single worldview that she is an adherent of.

Just remember, she and her fellow psychiatrists will be determining your #2A rights in secret hearings you know nothing about under “red-flag” laws.

BerettaTomcat | August 7, 2019 at 5:59 pm

Thank you, Frankfurt School, for this subversive, pseudoscientfic thinking you sowed among us.

Q: What’s the proper term for a guy who flunks out of med school?
A: Psychologist.

If you see that anyone who tries listening to both sides ends up joining the other side, then maybe that should tell you something about the relative merits of your position and theirs.

the headline for this poast should read: “Psycho Scholar…”