Thursday, August 23, 2007

When Tim Was a Potbanger

Tim Tyson is one of two Duke faculty members (the other is Faulkner Fox, who has repeatedly declined comment about her behavior on the weekend of March 24-26, 2006) to admit to attending one of the potbangers’ events.

In a March 27, 2006 interview, Frank Stasio asked Tyson why he had done so.

Q: You were one of those who took part in a vigil over the weekend at the house where the alleged rape took place. Why were you there?

Tyson: Well, I was there as a teacher . . . somehow these young men have had available to them the best liberal arts education that money can buy, and they yet somehow failed to absorb any of its lessons. And so I guess I was there really because the women in the house that night were somebody’s daughter and somebody’s sister and somebody’s mother and somebody’s sweetheart. I think that we have to come together as a community and say that this is unacceptable on a number of different levels.

Just a few hours after Tyson attended—in his capacity as a “teacher”—the vigil outside of 610 N. Buchanan (below), where the crowd sang This Little Light of Mine, the “little light” herself, Crystal Mangum, was captured (below) on a video from the Platinum Pleasures Club, dancing in a most limber fashion.

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.usFree Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us

No evidence exists that Tyson attended any vigils outside of the Platinum Pleasures Club, even though Mangum, presumably, remained “somebody’s sweetheart” on March 25, 2006.

Why was Mangum dancing that night? Tyson blamed society, while lionizing Mangum.

One of those young women, who is a mother of small children, is a student at North Carolina Central. Our society has not chosen to support people as they try to advance themselves and our economy by pursuing an education, so that people without means find themselves in desperate situations and seek desperate means of supporting themselves, while meanwhile we have this ghastly spectacle of these rich boys wanting her to dance naked, and making racially degrading remarks. The neighbors who have no ax to grind in this, presumably, seem to confirm the charges of the women that there were a lot of racial insults thrown.

The always quotable Butch Williams providing a devastating retort to the scarcely concealed paternalism evident in Tyson’s comments: “C’mon, kids. She wasn’t this little poor North Carolina Central student working the fields. She was a whore.”

Unlike Tyson, who presented Mangum as a stereotypical lower middle-class black woman, H.P. (“Fats”) Thomas actually knew the false accuser. Thomas described her motivations to Don Yaeger: Mangum was “more of a hooker than a stripper. She was stripping as advertising for hooking.” Defense lawyers, meanwhile, uncovered no evidence that Mangum even was a full-time NCCU student, much less that she was looking to—in Tyson’s words—”advance herself and our economy(!).”

Tyson never revealed—either in that March interview or anytime thereafter—who the neighbors were that confirmed “that there were a lot of racial insults thrown.” In fact, there was one neighbor who confirmed one racial slur—which, as we know now, was a response to a racial taunt from Kim Roberts. But why let the facts interfere with the metanarrative?

When asked how Duke should respond, Tyson hailed Brodhead as he ignored basic constitutional rights:

I have a lot of faith in President Brodhead. I think he’s a humanist of the first order and a wise man. I’m not content with Duke’s response partly because one of the really terrible things about this is that these young men are banding together and refusing to cooperate with the police investigation. I think that may be illegal. It’s certainly a violation of the spirit of the honor code of the university. It’s a terrible moral miscalculation that I think you have to be utterly blind to pursue . . . I wouldn’t—if I were in President Brodhead’s shoes, and I think he fills those shoes mighty well—I think I wouldn’t let this team continue to exist until the police get some cooperation from them. [emphasis added]

On March 27, 2006—the very same day that Tyson uttered those words—Bob Ekstrand, a lawyer for many of the lacrosse players, met with DA Mike Nifong, who three days previously had assumed personal command of the police investigation. Ekstrand stated that he had proof of innocence. But Nifong was interested only in statements that would confirm one of Mangum’s myriad, mutually contradictory stories. He told Ekstrand, “If you’ve come here to ask me questions instead of telling me what you know about who did it, then we don’t have anything to talk about. You’re wasting my time. You tell all of your clients I will remember their lack of cooperation at sentencing. I hope you know if they didn’t do it, they are all aiders and abettors, and that carries the same punishment as rape.”

In effect, Tyson wanted Brodhead to present the players with the following choice: they could (falsely) implicate one or more teammates in a crime that never occurred; or they would never play lacrosse again at Duke. Upon hearing his remarks, an outsider might suspect that Professor Tyson is a secret admirer of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who has taken a very similar approach to civil liberties.

Tyson is listed as among the instructors in the Duke History Department. Stasio asked the professor to use this academic training to provide historical context for the lacrosse players’ behavior. Tyson’s reply—which, of course, relied solely upon the version of events presented by the Nifong-led investigation—was nothing short of mindboggling:

It also smacks of a kind of minstrelsy. You know, rich boys used to hire black people to—they’d tie their hands behind their back and have them dip around in a barrel of flour for coins and bills. This used to be a thing that rich college boys liked to do . . . White men have been abusing black women for generations—you know, since the days of slavery. And this kind of sexualized mistreatment of people has been really at the heart of our racial caste system over the course of its history. I think the spirit of the lynch mob lived in that house on Buchanan Street, frankly, and I think that we prefer to think of white supremacists as ignorant, pot-bellied, tobacco-chewing sheriffs and Ku Klux Klan members from Mississippi, but here we have the sons of power and privilege, the wealthy and well-educated among us, who are acting out this history. You know, James Baldwin said, “We’re trapped in history, and history is trapped in us.”

It certainly appears that Tyson was “trapped in history” in his rush to judgment about the case.

I e-mailed Tyson to ask whether—in light of the facts that have emerged since March 27, 2006—he considered his attendance at the vigil to be consistent with his responsibilities “as a teacher,” and whether he still believed the players’ approach to the Nifong-led DPD investigation “may [have been] illegal.”

Tyson’s response, in its entirety: “You can read my book and I’ll read yours.”

Chapter Six of the Duke Faculty Handbook requires professors to treat all Duke students—regardless of their race, class, gender, or athletic status—with “respect and consideration,” as “fellow members of the university community.” Despite its timidity in confronting apparent faculty misconduct, I don’t think even the Brodhead administration could credibly claim that a Duke professor publicly comparing Duke students to KKK members conforms to the provisions of the Faculty Handbook.

127 comments:

Anonymous said...

JLS says....,

1. I see no reason for Professor Johnson to make an unsourced slap at the US Attorney General of the type he consistently criticizes members of the gang of 88 and others for making in this case. Particularly the paragraph saying:

In effect, Tyson wanted Brodhead to present the players with the following choice: they could (falsely) implicate one or more teammates in a crime that never occurred; or they would never play lacrosse again at Duke. Upon hearing his remarks, an outsider might suspect that Professor Tyson is a secret admirer of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who has taken a very similar approach to civil liberties.

suggests:

A. Attorney General Gonzales has at some time presented a suspect with a similar choice. Documentation of an example of that "similar approach" is necessary.

B. More broadly this unsource slam on Attorney General Gonzales begs for some documentation of ANY lack of support for civil liberties on his part.

C. It really is just beneath Professor Johnson and the usual high standards of this site for such and unfair, unsourced and unprofessional slam on Attorney General Gonzales.

2. Tyson was certainly right when he said Mangum was trying ”advance herself and our economy(!).” you may not care for the goods she chooses to consume nor the part of the economy she was advancing but she was apparently quite the active independent contractor.

Gary Packwood said...

For the younger group here, the song This Little Light Of Mine, an old Negro Spiritual, became a Civil Rights anthem in the 1950s and 1960s thanks to the efforts of Fannie Lou Hamer and Zilphia Horton.

The Duke G88 followed (follows) the Civil Rights training from the 1960's point by point and sure enough, the Duke lacrosse case has turned out to be very much a case about civil rights.
::
GP

Anonymous said...

Onne of Tyson's two Fall courses is titled "Freedom Stories" with a synopsis of:

Synopsis of course content
Documentary writing course focusing on race and storytelling in the South, using fiction, autobiography, and traditional history books. Producing narratives using documentary research, interviews, and personal memories. Focus on twentieth-century racial politics.


I suggest that Tyson's students have a 21st Century opportunity to do some research "on race and storytelling" using "personal memories' about "racial politics."

One Spook said...

JLS writes @ 12:28 AM:

C. It really is just beneath Professor Johnson and the usual high standards of this site for such and unfair, unsourced and unprofessional slam on Attorney General Gonzales.

I couldn't agree more. I'm no fan of Gonzales either, but this very partisan type of commentary has been avoided throughout the history of this Blog and it seems ill-advised and unwise to introduce it now.

One Spook

Anonymous said...

Attorney General Gonzales?

Let's see...

In early 2007, FBI agents raced to Guilford College in NC when a claim of a hate crime was made against some muslim students (false, as it turned out). They interviewed the 'victims' even before the local police. (No waiting for 'the process' to conclude.)

FBI agents arrived in Durham "to reassure the community" after some crosses were burned there in 2005 (according to strong rumor, the work of black activists themselves).

But no FBI agents turned up when uniformed members of a racist hate group (one that believes in the literal extermination of all whites), threatened a defendant inside a courtroom; held marches and rallies in town; and met privately with the DA. (If these had been klansmen, does anyone doubt the FBI would have opened a branch office by now in Durham?)

No FBI agents showed any interest in the Blinco's incident ("Rodney King South") when drunken off duty white police officers threw a citizen of color to the ground and beat him.

No FBI agents showed any interest in the blatant intimidation of witnesses in the lacrosse case (the fraudulent case against Elmo, against David Evans, the arrest of many of the acquaintances of the accuser--leaving their fates to be determined by the DA; the favorable deal given to Kim, the second dancer; etc.

Nor did the FBI show any interest in the fact that the DPD made no arrests for prostitution for two years' running (after having previously been investigated for running a prostitution scheme). Or that $12 million in federal grant aid disappeared in Durham. (no arrests have been made and no charges brought).

And there is a great deal more which should interest the feds in Durham, if they are interested in fulfilling their job description. Apparently, they are not. . .

Anonymous said...

God, the hypocricy of these Profs is almost awe inspiring.

Keep slamming them, KC, they need to emerge from the cocoon of their cozy academic setting, and get a nasty dash of reality.

It also does not pass my notice, and unending amusement, that they have by and large handled scorn badly. They strike me mostly as cowards, and I would have more respect for the Prof that said "yeah, I did it, got a problem with that?" I have seen none that have done this to date. They can dish out criticism, yet seem unable to handle it when the shoe is placed on the other foot.

Priceless.

-Esquire-
-Maryland-

Anonymous said...

Another great post.

Is Tyson in a time warp? If the civil rights movement can be viewed as two separate struggles; one struggle against public racism (Jim Crow and other racially discriminatory laws) and one against the private (inherent racist ideologies) and if history can claim that the struggle for civil rights has been an overall success, would not the movement have succeeded as to both struggles?

How could have the movement been successful in the public struggle and not in the private struggle? The answer is that it was successful as to both. The public struggle led to a monumental change in the law but the private struggle also led to a monumental change in the personal belief systems of nearly an entire generation. In a generation, the movement nearly eradicate commonplace racism. It is now, thankfully, the very rare exception to find individuals holding the views described by Mr. Tyson, rather than the rule. "It also smacks of a kind of minstrelsy" What?!? It's as though Mr. Tyson is still living in 1950's Alabama or, rather, he believes his students are still living in 1950's Alabama.

Anonymous said...

Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom are still dead.

Gary Packwood said...

Anonymous 12:47 said...

...Attorney General Gonzales?

...Let's see...

...Nor did the FBI show any interest in the fact that the DPD made no arrests for prostitution for two years' running (after having previously been investigated for running a prostitution scheme). Or that $12 million in federal grant aid disappeared in Durham. (no arrests have been made and no charges brought).

And there is a great deal more which should interest the feds in Durham, if they are interested in fulfilling their job description. Apparently, they are not. . .
::
Concerning the DPD...

Officer arrested after fight at club
August 20, 2007
RALEIGH - A Durham police officer was arrested in a Raleigh nightclub early Sunday morning after a fight with a Raleigh woman.
Talisa Little, a uniformed Durham officer, was charged with affray after an alleged fight with Ashica Tyler, 28, outside the West Side Stories nightclub at 200 S. West St.

The fight, according to Raleigh police, began inside the club and spilled out onto the sidewalk after the two women were thrown out. Off-duty Raleigh police working as security arrested Little, 25, and Tyler.

Little, of 1621 Discovery Way in Durham, was released from Wake County jail after giving a written promise to appear in court.

Durham police Lt. Andy Miller said Little works as a uniformed patrol officer. He said the department's Professional Standards Division would be investigating the incident.
::
GP

Reference: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/durham/durham/story/676209.html

TruthHurts001 said...

White men have been abusing black women for generations—you know, since the days of slavery.

I'm curious...

Out of hundreds of millions of white men who have lived "since the days of slavery", how many have ever actually abused black women?

And out of hundreds of millions of black women who have lived "since the days of slavery", how many have ever actually been abused by a white man?

Anonymous said...

___________________________________
Psychiatric Help 5 cents. The Doctor is IN:
___________________________________

Like Mike Nifong, Professor Tyson sees himself as a modern-day Atticus Finch. Even his sister was nicknamed "Boo." He is dripping with more white guilt than Walter Cunningham, Jr.'s plate of vegetables and meat dripped with syrup.

His rash decision to leap on the Duke Hoax must be especially painful for him. He ended up playing the role of Robert E. Lee "Bob" Ewell. He is obviously trapped in the metanarrative, and the metanarrative is trapped in him.
_____________

"K.C. Johnson has to concentrate so as NOT to bend the spoon." Groupe d'Etudes Experimentales des Phenomenes Parapsychologiques, July Newsletter. MOO! Inman

One Spook said...

KC Posted at 12:01:

Tyson’s response, in its entirety: “You can read my book and I’ll read yours.”

Tyson is probably referring to his very successful book, Blood Done Sign My Name, which is an autobiographical account written by Tyson of a 1970 murder of a black man, Henry Marrow, who was attacked by three white men (one the father of a childhood friend of Tyson's) and died of injuries sustained in the attack.

An all white North Carolina jury acquitted the men, sparking serious racial tensions and arson in Oxford, NC.

I've not read the book and perhaps others know more of the details than I, but based on Tyson's comments in KC's posting, it appears that his view of "injustice" is quite different when white men are the accused.

Or, perhaps Tyson is writing a new book titled, "Precious Done Sign My Name."

In any event, Tyson's actions and words regarding the Duke case are shameful and utterly without merit.

One Spook

Anonymous said...

"And out of hundreds of millions of black women who have lived "since the days of slavery", how many have ever actually been abused by a white man?"

Durham had over 100 claims of rape in 2006; most of these were black-on-black; a very few were black-on-white. Only ONE case involved an allegation of white-on-black rape.

And that is probably the only case you ever heard about; it is certainly the only case the NAACP seemed to take an interest in; or that the MSM took the trouble to report.

Anonymous said...

I like his quote, "My daddy taught me that God has called us to love people and to use things but that we are often tempted to love things and use people."

Maybe his daddy should have taught him something about casting the first stone, not giving false witness, and seeking forgiveness when you wrong others.

He had a pecuniary motive, just as Nifong did. He used these young men to sell his books.

-RD

Anonymous said...

I'll save y'all the trouble:

Faulkner Fox

She fits the archetype pretty well...southern white liberal, and all of that.

I bet she hums "Down By the Riverside" while reading Mother Jones and listening to Talk of the Nation.

(That could be construed as a rush to judgment...I apologize unreservedly.)

Anonymous said...

Notice even Professor Johnson himself feels perfectly justified in taking a shot at the AG without a need to back it up. It's a Lib thing. But I already knew he was a big Lib and I forgive him. I long ago learned to respect someone's opinion when they make sense and ignore them when they just talk nonesense. But it is funny that he would never have made such a statement about Brodhead or any G88 member without backing it up. I happen to admire his professional courtesy even though the ones he's showing respect for show him none.

Anonymous said...

Folks like "Prof." Johnson are precisely why Duke is in a whole lot of trouble as a university. My God, the BOT must be awfully proud of these clowns.

"You can read my book...." Oh, that's just precious (and pithy!). Ironically, the more we read what Johnson writes and says, the more he is revealed for a complete idiot. And he *still* doesn't get it.

Anonymous said...

As a nation - we have let a lot of fradulent behavior become common place where we hardly bat an eye when we see it. While Duke hard sciences may well be the best education money can buy - the Liberal Arts side of the house certainly seems to be lacking. And if, indeed, this is the best that Liberal Arts in America has to offer, the academic fraud on a national scale is much worse than I ever envisioned.

KC - thanks for taking your time to help reset the standard for acceptable behavior in the Liberal Arts realm. Keep up the pressure.

Duke - come on - clean up your Liberal Arts shop and lead the way.

Broadhead - You can't actually be proud of what you have from a Liberal Arts perspective. Clean house and maybe they will let you keep your job over the long term. Otherwise, your days are most certainly numbered.

Tim Murray said...

No one denies the historical injustices that have occurred to blacks. But Tyson must be fired for his own bigotry. It has to work both ways -- prejudging individuals because of a stereotype about the group to which they belong is wrong, period. It denies the victim their dignity, their humanity. Why does any parent send a child to a place where such "teachers" roam free? He's a disgrace. P.S. Let's see if the fool writes a book!

Anonymous said...

1:01 Bingo!

"...It is now, thankfully, the very rare exception to find individuals holding the views described by Mr. Tyson, rather than the rule..."

Their meta-narrative is built upon fraud and is one of the reasons why the race/gender/class warfare studies mirrors Karl Marx and communism.

It is why Levicy, Brodhead, and the Klan of 88 are so important. Without their abetting and enabling conditions, this hoax would likely never have happened. Nifong would not have derived the mis-guided belief that he could move forward...

Marxism and race/gender/class warfare studies are both fraudulently build there cases on data that is outdated and conditions that are obsolete.

How many of any race have literally been lynched over the past fifty years? How many gang bangers have executed innocents (not counting other gang bangers)since January 1, 2007?

It's like comparing today's manufacturing to that of a meat packing plant 100 years ago and then ignoring all the reforms that have been put in place. That's a fraudulent presentation of facts.

In that sense, yes the Klan and abettors are Marxists. Some may not even realize it, and others would no doubt likely embrace that notion

One wonders how they mirror Marx in other ways. Like many other "intellectuals", Marx refused to keep himself personally clean, treated those closest to him with utter contempt (includng Engels), had no, or very little actual contact with laborers, and was a horrible manager of his personal finances. They also were not self-critical, much less accepting critique from others, hence their disenfranchisement from those close to them who provided advice they didn't like.

Marx, was above spending time conducting primary research with laborers and had he established relationships with them would have found that their experiences generaly did not match his meta-narrative), I doubt Tyson will be havnig CGM over for Thanksgiving this year.

As mentioned before, one wonders how many of the Klan of 88 defaulted on their student loans used to secure the educations received that levered them into positions at Duke?

Anonymous said...

Inre: Tyson's comments "...the women in the house that night were somebody’s daughter and somebody’s sister and somebody’s mother and somebody’s sweetheart..."

One recalls the great Speedy Gonzales.

As Speedy races by two mice. One comments, "Their goes Speedy Gonzales, he dates my sister."

The other mouse respond, "Speedy Gonzales is the fastest mouse in all of Mexico, he dates everybody's sister."

Tyson either wasn't aware that CGM was the fastest mouse in Durham, or worse, and like others, ignored her background chosing to intentionally present her as something she was not. Regardless he remains unmoved after the facts were presented. Pitiful

Gary P. - Thanks for the background on the spiritual...I never knew. Were it not for some of the spirituals and hymns I'd go to church less than I do now - it too have become horribly PC.

Anonymous said...

The mythos underlying political correctness needs to be systematically examined. You would think Cultural Anthropology would have the tools and expertise to do so. People like Tyson don't know better, they have been brought up in an atmosphere poisoned by victimology and racial stereotypes. They have been manipulated by experts, like Jesse Jackson, and Al Sharpton. They appear to be locked into urban legend, or more worrisome, Tyson was quoted, "you can read my book". Wasn't Kim Roberts looking to spin events to her own advantage? Are these folks movin' on up to become race hustlers themselves?

Anonymous said...

Attorney General Gonzales? Someone other than Prof. Johnson must have written this post. I have been reading Prof. Johnson almost from the beginning and not once has he made such an unwarranted, Group of 88 like comment.

Anonymous said...

Does Tyson work as an adjunct sherriff?

He certainly fits his own description.

mac said...

Timmy is researcher? Really? From his comments, it really doesn't show.

As for KC's comment on Gonzalez:
I think of the AG as "Feckless Fez," mostly because he isn't big enough to stand up to his own mistakes, and he hasn't shown any interest in the Lacrosse Burning. (Don't count my comment as a criticism of the Bush administration in general, just of the Attorney General.)

Then again, who would've known that the Feds were ready to swoop down on Mike Vick's evil lair? (they pounced as soon as Poindexter showed that all he was gonna do was sit on his thumbs and let the warrant expire.)

Maybe Fez has a team-in-waiting?
Maybe Fez is getting his research data from Timmy.

Anonymous said...

Is Tyson a Communist?

mac said...

Much as the NAACP has given Michael Vick an honorary PhD in Dogfightology, Timmy Tyson has invented his own research - at least as far as the Lacrosse Burning goes.

Researchers depend upon credibility.

Timmy should just confine himself to writing letters to the editor - (or perhaps merely confine himself.)

Anonymous said...

12:28 AM

Professor Johnson is exactly right in his understanding what the likes of Tyson and Nifong were about . . . what they were attempting to do. The white boys as Tyson describes them. . . true to their character did not lie about the situation. Was it and act of character? I think so . . . but others including Tyson, who doesn't seem to understand the difference between what he reads and a particular real life situation, tried to make a characterization of the team that was just plain wrong in his description of circumstances that existed in the house that night. In other words, Tyson didn't know what he was talking about. Moreover, the lacrosse team unfortunately were, for the most part, raised to believe in the system . . . many were too young to understand people like Tyson or the pot-banging mentality of a lynch mob apart from some academic expeience. The lacrosse players attempted to co-operate, but their anwers were wrong to the template metanarrative offered by Tyson. It is the same in any lynching. It was the lacrosse team who were the ones being exploited all the way around in this. It is hard not to enc this posting with a harsh consideration of Tyson that, to say the least, would not be flattering to him.

Anonymous said...

KC, This once I am shocked at your swipe at Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Tell everyone what your research has revealed to make such a hideous, negative remark! Remember "Innocent Until Proven Guilty"?!

Anonymous said...

"Chapter Six of the Duke Faculty Handbook"

Oh come on already, we know that book doesn't apply to members of the faculty who "are more equal than others."

Anonymous said...

Attempting to preempt our perpetual anonymous visitor, I've don a little googling and found no evidence that Tim Tyson is a Communist.

His problem seems to be that he took this quote too much to heart:
'James Baldwin said, "We’re trapped in history, and history is trapped in us."'

One of the greatest things about America is having the option to move to another place and change our lives. Unwillingness to do so, obsession with group membership, and Marxism seem to me the three defining factors in the cluster of idiotic political and social views we call PC.

Anonymous said...

Haskell:

"The mythos underlying political correctness needs to be systematically examined. You would think Cultural Anthropology would have the tools and expertise to do so."

And they would if they wanted to, so clearly they don't.

They also have the tools and expertise to deflect and distract criticism of PC and keep it alive, which is what they have been doing.

It's time to question your implicit presumption of others' good faith.

Anonymous said...

When will we see new leadership at the head of the Duke Board of Trustees?

Some say it is coming in September.

New leadership cannot come soon enough. It is the only way to begin the housecleaning at Duke of such incompetents as Brodhead, Tyson and the rest.

BRING ON THE BROOMS!

Anonymous said...

Tyson's title is "Research Scholar." He is listed under "Secondary Appointments on the departmental web site. Anybody know what a "Research Scholar" is?

Anonymous said...

KC, don't waste your time on Timmy's book.

It starts out well but, in the end, the book is all about Timmy. From what I understand, he is about 48 years old and was a young child during the 60's. It seems like his envy of those who were a relevant part of the quest for racial justice at that important time drives his need to find and fight the demons of racism today. That these demons often do not exist is irrelevant.

Bottom line . . . the book is ultimately a product of Tyson's self-absorption and, aside from providing the details of a disgusting crime, does not contribute to a better understanding of America's racial problems or a potential solution. I could easily write a book about some racist crime in the redneck town I grew up in that would be just as useful.

Anonymous said...

This is a brief response to the 7:08 and others who have expressed displeasure at Prof. Johnson’s allusion to Alberto Gonzales.

If the aim of this blog is to expose the Duke Rape Hoax, achieve justice for its victims, identify its perpetrators and enablers, and explore some of the social, political, and intellectual background that made it possible, you have my enthusiastic support. If there is an additional requirement that I praise the administration of our current chief executive—perhaps the most incompetent and probably the most disastrous in the nation’s history—that is an entirely different matter. Prof. Johnson’s analogical use of Alberto Gonzales, while not particularly effective, is not entirely without force either. Mr. Gonzales has indeed revealed two traits eminently characteristic of the 88ers: a casual attitude to elementary civil liberties and an inability or unwillingness to defend his dubious positions when challenged. And although I cannot admire the man, I do think I owe him the courtesy of spelling his name correctly. That seems to be more than can be managed by the New York Times OR Professor Johnson.

Anonymous said...

An excellent post which is an outstanding use of irony (both in words and in pictures) in an important rhetorical argument. While KC may be right about AG Gonzales, the comment detracts from the rest of the post.

Anonymous said...

5:46 --

If you mean Professor Tyson, say Professor Tyson. If you mean Professor Johnson, then stop referring to him as a Duke professor and the originator of the quote "You can read my book..." and go away, Polanski.

Anonymous said...

Oh, goody! Another hard-hitting expose on ... someone nobody reads, no one cares about, and who is non-tenure track, who makes no decisions about anything besides his reading list, at the far periphery of his department. Way to go, KC! Next up, detailed write-ups of pot-sellers and housewares employees at Sears who fuel this angry mob!

Anonymous said...

Gonzalez is a politician. As such he is fair game. That's part of the contract. Private citizens, and I include the G88 in this, are a little more immune from reproval UNLESS they choose to interfere in a public process. The G88 CHOSE to overtly interfere with a public process and thus become politicians. They become "fair game".

Anonymous said...

"we prefer to think of white supremacists as ignorant, pot-bellied, tobacco-chewing sheriffs and Ku Klux Klan members from Mississippi,"

Amazing. Simply amazing. The death of shame at Dook, indeed. I await the straight-faced argument that Tyson does not promote stereotypes. If there is any other construction of the foregoing phrase other than, "Yes, 'we' all know that type of racists exist, but I am hear today to tell you that there are other types as well", I am all ears.

Dook should be embarrased, but unfortunately it's not just Dook. Liberal arts is in its death spiral.

If you had to choose between telling your son to go to work in the private sector at the best job he could get with a high school degree for four years, after which time you would give him $175,000 dollars (the estimated cost of a four year degree at Dook) to start his own business, or just paying $175,000 to Dick Brodhead so that your son could be exposed to "the best liberal arts education money can buy", what would you do?

Anonymous said...

To KC and my all my friends at DIW:

Will the Administration and the faculty ever be held accountable in any way for their individual failures, lack of judgment and misconduct during the course of events since March 2006?

If yes, how and when?

If not, shouldn't we just relax and realize this is the way the world works?

I have been so upset these many months with the powers that be at the University I love.

I am discouraged.

I sense the futility of thinking that any significant changes in administration or faculty will take place.

In fact, I sense a defensiveness and hardening in their (the BOT, Brodhead, faculty) determination to resist at all costs those who have spoken against their words and deeds... and a determination to concede nothing to their critics.


Dukie Mom

Anonymous said...

"If there is an additional requirement that I praise the administration of our current chief executive..."

I was just hoping for agnosticism: I disagree with your assessment of "the most incompetent and probably the most disastrous in the nation’s history" - I'd rate Bush better than Carter but not as good as Clinton or Reagan, and all four vastly superior to Ulysses S. Grant. But that is not the subject of this blog and I do not present my rating in hopes of changing your mind on this subject, merely to illustrate that opinions differ sharply among the contributors, and therefore we're best off not going there.

However, I'm willing to give KC a pass on this because:

(A) It's his blog.
(B) More importantly, such tropes help make liberals more comfortable, thus increasing the likelihood of their hearing what KC has to say despite the painful cognitive dissonance it can cause. It's not easy for liberals to accept that some of the PC principals they hold dear are wrong, and if a little gratuitous Bush-bashing helps them stabilize their sense of self I can let it pass.

Conservatives and libertarians are quite used to shrugging such things off.

Anonymous said...

Tyson is a phony, a physically and intellectually lazy tub-o'-lard who never speaks the truth when the alternative is to mouth pious falsehoods that are politically comfortable and convenient for him.

Tyson has been riding the bloated success of one book which practically wrote itself, because he happened to witness a particular event which is both compelling (as a description of the past), and a perfect fit for his bigotries (about the present).

Too bad for Timmy that not everything in life is still all about the big, bad white men of past decades, taking advantage of the innocent coloreds of Timmy's childhood.

The world, thankfully, has moved on since those bad old days, but Timmy has not, leaving him now a useless and obsolete gasbag.

Anonymous said...

I think the civil liberties comparison has more to do with the AG office itself than the person who holds the office. Might not Prof KC have used John Ashcroft or Janet Reno to illustrate his point as well?

Anonymous said...

david m brooks @ 12:34 AM --

I agree, but we shouldn't leave out the part about "fiction." There's a whole lot of fiction in Tyson's commentary on the Hoax.

Such deficient scholarly research on his part surely belies his assumed title of "Research Scholar."

8:34 -- I, too, am puzzled by that designation. Isn't everyone who teaches at an institution that strives to be ranked with the Ivies presumed (until evidence proves the contrary) to be a research scholar (no caps)?

Anonymous said...

"It's as though Mr. Tyson is still living in 1950's Alabama or, rather, he believes his students are still living in 1950's Alabama."

An acute observation, 1:01. It's my belief that a great many teachers believe that in order to truly impart the knowledge they have to teach, they must first sweep away the prejudices and preconceptions and assumptions already existing in the minds of their students. The problem is that "what is already existing in the minds of their students" is something for which they often rely on their own assumptions and preconceptions and yes, prejudices. Many of these people, especially the older ones, have called for social change, have worked for social change, have in some cases sacrificed for social change -- and yet the notion that social change may have happened has escaped them.

MikeZPurdue said...

Another white liberal who fancies himself as a
champion of the African-American community --
the same with Faulkner Fox. It seems like all the
major enablers and propagators of this hoax were
white liberals - Nifong, Levicy, Selena Roberts,
Tyson and Fox, etc. I assume Duff Wilson is white
too? I couldn't find a picture.

With respect to two other white males who were
major players in this case, Gottlieb and Wilson:
Gottlieb's actions appear to be motivated by his
hatred for Duke students (as many have pointed out)
and Linwood Wilson is just basically corrupt.

Anonymous said...

One wonders if pot banging could be considered hate speech?

Regardless of how unjust and silly those and others like them are, the neighbors must not have enjoyed the noise.

Besides if they really believed in what they were doing, why didn't they lie down on a busy street to create grid-lock or have a photographer take a collective nude shot of them on a glacier.

You know, something powerful, that really encourages change? Those kids do the zaniest things...

What's that you say? He's a teacher...

Anonymous said...

The AG Gonzales comment did not work for me, as has been well- said by others.

At least that comment will drown the suspicion by some that kc is a right-wing Republican in hiding.

Debrah said...

I agree with some others that the Alberto Gonzales comment is a distraction from KC's signature objective analysis; however, who am I to criticize another for including whatever personal opinion one might have on a given topic?

LOL!

And it's his show, after all. Perhaps it isn't so bad that he has begun to reveal his ideology.

****************************

Regarding Timothy Tyson, it appears that he has never received a valid education. Not the kind of panoramic experience that most of us receive in school.

Just hearing him speak and then reading about him are a very nauseating endeavor. How on earth can someone like Tyson teach at Duke? How could any young, bright student want to take any of his classes?

This is a man who obviously grew up in a rural environment with a Southern preacher man for a Daddy. Probably just a garden variety Bible-pusher to people in the town made up of those with barely fifth-grade educations.

When Daddy Tyson tasted the fruits of a bit of notoriety by being "open-minded", well......the rotund and ready Timothy took off down that narrow road to sainthood that always occurs when anyone chooses to become the white dog and the uncritical apologist for the race hustling industry in this country.

Apart from this occupation, Timothy Tyson is worthless. His writing is Southern carnivale.

Anonymous said...

KC:

Re: reference to AG Gonzales

This comment seems out of character for you.

The AG has received unending partisan attacks from the left (and the MSM), similar to the treatment received by the Duke players. I am sickened by these types of attacks.

If you have actual evidence of crimes, please post the links. Otherwise, these statements are beneath you.

Ken
Dallas

Anonymous said...

HERE'S MY QUESTION-

Why is it that every Duke Professor who KC emails is afraid to respond and have a dialogue in order to defend their actions?

From Lubiano saying she would block his messages, to Tyson's response, to others who have simply ignored KC's emails, I can't remember a single Professor responding with a a well thought out answer and saying anything of substance. Why is that?

I guess if my actions were indefensible I might not want to say anything and just "move forward" as well.

Anonymous said...

The blog author really should have sourced his comment about AG Gonzales.

Example:
McCarthy was right.
Source: KGB

Steven Horwitz said...

Anon at 932 writes:

It's my belief that a great many teachers believe that in order to truly impart the knowledge they have to teach, they must first sweep away the prejudices and preconceptions and assumptions already existing in the minds of their students. The problem is that "what is already existing in the minds of their students" is something for which they often rely on their own assumptions and preconceptions and yes, prejudices. Many of these people, especially the older ones, have called for social change, have worked for social change, have in some cases sacrificed for social change -- and yet the notion that social change may have happened has escaped them.

If anyone needed proof of the social value of this blog, extremely insightful (and accurate, IMO) comments like this one should suffice.

I think it is true that many folk, not just faculty, who start their work for social change by assuming the attitudes of *their* generation characterize this one are often mistaken. It also explains why students feel personally targeted and offended by pedagogies that start by assuming they are racists/sexists etc.. It's not that they are in denial - it may be manifestly true that they are notably less those things than the students who came before them were.

It's fine to want to teach about race/class/gender, but you don't do it by starting with the assumption that your students are all guilty, and you sure as hell don't call them out as such in the classroom.

Anonymous said...

The fact that these 88 (or is it really 89?)parasites continue to be employed and that Duke may have paid tens of millions to shield them from lawsuits is astounding!

kayman007

Anonymous said...

12:47 AM

You said:

"Nor did the FBI show any interest in the fact that the DPD made no arrests for prostitution for two years' running (after having previously been investigated for running a prostitution scheme)"

Is that true? Was the DPD implicated in a prostitution ring?

If so, it would buttress the hypothesis that, in fact, there was a nexus between CMG and the DPD, that there was a potential nexus between CMG's "sponsor"** and someone within the DPD, that CMG was perhaps a known quantity to some within the DPD, and that the HOAX could, in fact, have been a conspiracy and a true frame.


**pimp

Anonymous said...

The mythos underlying political correctness needs to be systematically examined. You would think Cultural Anthropology would have the tools and expertise to do so.

One would think so, but unfortunately Cultural Anthropology is *built* on political correctness. Cultural anthropologists will never systematically examine and "deconstruct" political correctness because that would be to deconstruct their own field as it has come to be constituted. It's a shame.

Anonymous said...

Gregory @ 1:25 AM

First, don't you sleep at night?

Second, MOOchos gracias for the attribution.

Anonymous said...

Fascinating, isn't it?

Tyson's great crusade against lynch mobs led him to join a lynch mob.

Anonymous said...

Faulkner Fox had no problem commenting to the news early on in the hoax. She was an organizer of one of the first demonstrations held in front of 610 Buchanan. I saved this particular quote from the coverage of the demonstration.

"The students need to realize they live in a community, and people are going to talk back if they do something, or potentially do something, that is disrespectful to women," said Faulkner Fox, a visiting instructor in the English department and one of the organizers of the candlelight vigil.

"Potentially do something, that is disrespectful to women"??? I found this astounding.

Fox organized a demonstration outside a private residence because she felt the residents had the "potential" to do something disrespectful to women.

The early demonstrations outside the lacrosse house, before any facts were known, were particularly damaging and supplied fuel to the media fire that swept the country like wildfire. Fox should be ashamed of her actions.

Fox is married to Duke Professor Gunther Peck and may be another spousal hire.

Anonymous said...

Description of Tyson's course: "Documentary writing course focusing on race and storytelling in the South, using fiction, autobiography, and traditional history books. Producing narratives using documentary research, interviews, and personal memories. Focus on twentieth-century racial politics."

Documentary writing coule be a challenging and worthwhile course. What a pity this particular course is focused so narrowly on race. How to get an automatic "A"--do research on CGM and write a paper sympathetic to her that at the same time indicts the white race.

Anonymous said...

To:commenters
From Corwin
Subject:Metanarrative
CertainlyI (andI assume others) have been agog oiver the unwillingness of some(most) of the G 88 to admit contrition or tender apologies.I wonder if people could speculate as to why it's so hard for them.Two explanations that won't be acceptable;
1.Love is never having to say you're sorry
2.Trust in inertia Archie.It's the mosr powerful force in the universe.
But I am serious about wondering why.

Anonymous said...

Tim is a junior varsity 88er. Let's move to the big boys.

Anonymous said...

It is not clear what title the man holds at Duke. According to the faculty directory he is another one of those "visiting professors" in the Divinity School. So his appointment is in the Divinity school, but he is teaching courses in writing in the history department. WTF?

Could he be a spousal hire? Does he hold a Ph.D.? Does he publish?

How can Duke charge $40,000 a year and claim to provide an excellent liberal arts education? Their faculty appears to be filled with losers

Anonymous said...

Can't believe KC mentioned Tyson without posting his opus in the local newspaper.

http://www.newsobserver.com/164/story/424299.html

It was a dreadful, accusational piece then, and its borderline libel now.

What a misguided individual. I'm not very religious but was raised in a somewhat faithful Christian home. That this guy indulges in his religious morality in his decidedly un-Christian accusations and lack of repentance is a slap in the face to people with truly good intentions.

This guy isn't a teacher, there's nothing to learn from him and his bigoted mindset.

Anonymous said...

Let me first say I think we all owe KC a tremendous debt of gratitude for his magnificent work on this history-making blog.

That said, I was floored by his gratuitously nasty comment about AG Gonzales that in my mind flies in the face of all the good that's been done and said here.

Perhaps the detailed profiling of the Klan of 88 has finally taken its toll on KC. Hope it's only a temporary condition.

Still lubya KC!

Anonymous said...

8:50 AM

Past wrongs do not innoculate anyone from being wronged or wronging. In this case, the case of the innocent Duke lacrosse team, it would appear that they were wronged from the beginning of it all. Asking for a certain type of stripper (read white), they were sent something that they had not asked for (read someone mentally disturbed) only to find themselves robbed of the price of this person's employment. As it was dancing appears to have been merely a part-time employment for the talented pair performing that night. One of the dancers who was uncooperative with the other was found drunk and passed out in a car by a police officer. It was at this point that the "story" began to be the "story" that it became. It is interesting to use the word "story" here as a lesson in the inability of language to sort itself out and describe reality to others (read lie) whereas stupid has a manifest meaning in action (read the Duke Group88) and that action is the meaning of stupidity itself.

Anonymous said...

"And it's his show, after all"

Like Nelson Rockefeller told Diego Rivera: "After all, it's my wall."

Debrah said...

Everyone needs to read this for a taste of what a piece of filth Tyson really is.

Anonymous said...

Gonzales was (and still is) missing in action in the Duke hoax. You judge a man by what he does and the choices he makes. He deserves to be slammed IMHO.

Anonymous said...

It's interesting how the strippers' defenders always try to depict the women as economically deprived, but otherwise noble, strivers who were forced into their sleazy occupation by a racist society that denied the women any other way of earning a living. In fact, it wasn't a dearth of economic opportunities that led these two women to be dancing around partially clothed and simulating sex acts in front of a group of strangers on the night of the LAX party. It was actually a combination of personal dishonesty, sexual promiscuity, and some "accidental" pregnancies that landed both women in the jobs they occupied on that fateful night.

Mangum had been accepted into the U.S. Navy, and could have taken advantage of the many educational opportunities that path offered, had she not chosen to engage in an adulterous affair with another sailor, which led to a pregnancy (and then another) and helped Mangum earn herself a less-than-honorable discharge.

Roberts was a student at U.N.C-Chapel Hill when she unexpectedly became pregnant, dropped out of school, briefly married the baby's father, then divorced him. To help support herself and her baby, Roberts later took a bookkeeping job. While employed at that job, Roberts decided that stealing would yield dollars faster than working, and she was busted when her employer discovered she had embezzled $25,000 from the company.

There are lessons to be learned from the LAX case, but those lessons won't be learned unless people deal with the actual facts of the case, rather than the fairy tales that so many of the 88ers want to spin around the case.

J.B.A.

Anonymous said...

The 88rs appear unanimous in not explaing their silence on the finding of innocence. Why?
The 88 may make for a textbook example of the worst kind of unyielding "group think" that can afflict a group - from far left to far right - once it tilts all in one direction.
Why, since they were all pretty much in error, would not a large number of the 88 want to get some distance between themselves and the extreme hard core? Surely some of the folks outside of the core are well intentioned and fully capable of knowing when they are in the wrong. JLjr

Debrah said...

12:46PM--

I quite agree that Gonzales should have shown up here. He could have at least given a very public nod to Walter Jones' effort.....however...

.....you might not fully appreciate the degree to which the Ultra Left would have skewered him for assisting in the "lynching" of a righteous, hard-working black woman.

The Left would have made it a political issue against him and Mangum would have been turned into Mother Teresa.

So you see, he could not have won either way.

There is no more rabid animal than a Far Lefty with a cause.

wayne fontes said...

Villanova has a progrom where they chhose one book that all of the incoming freshmen must read. The book is the the focus of class discussion. Not surprisingly the faculty chose "Blood Done Sign My Name" as the single most important book for all incoming freshmen to read.

There has been a lot of hand ringing on this blog about whether or not radical faculty are warping their students mind. Read this students response to tyson's book and the ensuing discussion. It will put your mind at ease.

Anonymous said...

Mike Lee writes: "I can't remember a single Professor responding with a well thought out answer and saying anything of substance. Why is that?"

I recall Prof. Johnson posting an email exchange between himself and Prof. Chafe. I further recall that Prof. Chafe responded to Prof. Johnson's emails graciously and eloquently. Though he did not apologize or show any contrition for his prejudgment, he was willing to engage in dialogue in a respectful and professional tone.

Tyson is not in the same intellectual league as Chafe; that Chafe can now rightly be referenced in the same breath as Tyson is so disappointing.

Heartache.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if Tyson's daddy taught him anything about righting wrongs.

My father (Northerners aren't quite so folksy) taught me to apologize to someone for having done something wrong to them, even if it was unintentional.

Tyson owes the lacrosse players a very public apology.

Anonymous said...

Just to be clear- I wasn't saying that no Professor had responded to KC's emails with a well thought out and reasonable answer. Only that I couldn't recall that ever happening.

I'm glad to hear that Chafe at least had the stones to answer KC and give his side. I can say that the majority of the 88 have spent their time running away from the conversation they claimed they wanted to start about race/class/gender once the hoax was exposed.

I find it very cowardly and sad that the 88 have disappeared now that the conversation has really started.

If these problems are so real and Duke and Durham are in such dire straits, why have the 88 hidden and refused to discuss their positions and actions?

Admitting error and apologizing seem to be foreign concepts to Duke Professors. Sad, very sad.

Debrah said...

To "inman"--

I must tell you when I read your message to Spook on the other thread....

....(taking a backstroke in Glenlivet in a Waterford pool)...or something....

I died laughing. Good one.

Anonymous said...

How many of the 88 were spousal hires? Kim Curtis, m cooke, now possibly Fox. Do they feel protected by tenured spouses?

Anonymous said...

""Why, since they were all pretty much in error, would not a large number of the 88 want to get some distance between themselves and the extreme hard core?"

Fear of destroying their careers?

When you look at things like academic honors, student awards, and which programs and departments have recieved funding increases and upgrades in status, you see that anyone who joined or helped the 88 can reasonably expect to be rewarded by Duke.

I'd imagine that public aspostasy would have the opposite effect.

Anonymous said...

wayne fontes at 12:55,

Thanks for your link to the Villanova student's comments on the book all freshman had to read, his class experience, and Diversity Week at Villanova.

Villanova, too!!! So where to you send your kid not to get indoctrinated?

Anonymous said...

Many great comments today -- no need for KC's blue pencil on this one.

I wonder how many here know that Tyson ("and friends"!) was named a Dukie-Of-The-Year last year. Then again, so were the boys Tyson calls the new Klansmen.

Anonymous said...

Wayne Fontes

Thanks for making the point that many students are simply not fooled by 88 chat.

It would have been a shame if they had really been corrupting the youth - you know, the Socrates thing.

That link you provided was great. The student blogger -Catherine?- is a hoot. I bet she could do ten rounds of "Goon the Agenda Studies Perfessor" any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Too bad there isn't someone like her to do a successor blog.

Anonymous said...

The AG Gonzales comment seems fairly mild to me. And very appropriate.

But, have no fear. This comment doesn't make KC Johnson a closet liberal. Or even a left winger. It simply indicates that he pays attention to other issues of civil rights than merely those of the bloggers.

Fair enough.

Debrah said...

FBI agents arrived in Durham "to reassure the community" after some crosses were burned there in 2005 (according to strong rumor, the work of black activists themselves).

***********************

This is a great point.

It should be said that there has been more than a little evidence that points to those having staged that hate crime....but the DPD will never allow that to go to the media.

I am struck by the similarities between the way Muslims and black perpetrators in this country are treated.

There are many similarities.

Steven Horwitz said...

anon at 134 asks:

Villanova, too!!! So where to you send your kid not to get indoctrinated?

Doesn't that blog show precisely that they are NOT being indoctrinated, despite what might be seen as efforts to do so? Students are smarter than critics of left-wing faculty give them credit for.

And 149 says:

This comment doesn't make KC Johnson a closet liberal. Or even a left winger.

KC, wanna tell them who you support for president for the umpteenth time?

Sorry to disappoint all of you looking for a right-wing "prince" or knight in shining armor: KC is a liberal. Deal with it.

Anonymous said...

Mike Lee write: "I find it very cowardly and sad that the 88 have disappeared now that the conversation has really started."

Your observation could not be more accurate. Wonder if any of the faculty will organize a "shut up and teach" type forum to review the events of the last year.

12:58

Anonymous said...

"comment doesn't make KC Johnson a closet liberal"

He outed himself long ago as a (gasp) Obama supporter.

Anonymous said...

Supporting Obama for president doesn't make someone a liberal. I can understand that it might suit the agenda of the radical right to call him a liberal--and he probably is to them--but he is no liberal. A libertarian, perhaps, but he rejects many of the values liberals hold dear. You know, those values that are attacked on this site regularly.

Does being to the left of Ghengis Kahn constitute liberal in your book?

Anonymous said...

2:53

Is support for Obama all it takes to be a liberal? Not hardly.

Anonymous said...

Horwitz, I don't suspect a right libertarian, which is how I'd classify you, is probably the best judge of what is liberal. And, KC doesn't meet the broadest criteria.

Better stick with your Ayn Rand.

kcjohnson9 said...

I have (on several occasions) noted my support for Obama.

But I suppose the Group of 88 would consider me chair of the Pro-Gay Marriage, Pro-Choice Ultra-Conservatives for Obama in '08. We're a very small bunch.

Anonymous said...

KC...

What is your view of Obama's capability to conduct an effective foreign policy, given his relative lack of experience in this area? Or is my understanding of him insufficient to properly frame that as an issue?

And wasn't he in some way affiliated with Islam while living as a child in Indonesia (not that this necessarily would make much of a difference)?

Debrah said...

To Horwitz--

You know, I responded to your sarcasm last night and KC helped you out by not posting it.

Please go back and read my response to "Trinity '74".

(And just for the record, I am NOT a conservative. I go all over the map and vote the issues. Not the PARTY.)

Whatever KC is or isn't, I'm sure that most of us will adore him nonetheless.

Deal with it.

Anonymous said...

"But I suppose the Group of 88 would consider me chair of the Pro-Gay Marriage, Pro-Choice Ultra-Conservatives for Obama in '08. We're a very small bunch."

I'm literally on the floor with that comment - too, too funny! but sad; the group of 88 exemplifies those who require anyone who is politically active, i.e., a voter, to fit into small, well-defined blocks. so much for diversity!

Steven Horwitz said...

259 says:

a right libertarian, which is how I'd classify you

In what sense are you using "right" here? As opposed to self-described left-libertarians like whom?

And sorry, KC is a liberal folks. I'd love to know what the criteria for liberal are that exclude KC given the few political positions he's expressed here: pro-choice, pro-SSM, skeptical of the war, critical of the AG. Sounds like a liberal to me (or a libertarian ;) ).

Sure as hell doesn't sound like the Knight of the Right or the Prince of the Paleos.

Anonymous said...

p.s. from 3:14

Clinton/Obama '08

Democrat for Life (yes, we exist too!)

Gary Packwood said...

wayne fontes 12:55 said...

...Villanova has a program where they chhose one book that all of the incoming freshmen must read. The book is the the focus of class discussion. Not surprisingly the faculty chose "Blood Done Sign My Name" as the single most important book for all incoming freshmen to read.

...There has been a lot of hand ringing on this blog about whether or not radical faculty are warping their students mind. Read this students response to tyson's book and the ensuing discussion. It will put your mind at ease.
::
Thank you for the links. You are absolutely correct and the fact that Villanova served Fried Chicken and Greens when Tyson visited their campus almost caused me to inhale my iced tea.

The student's thoughts are just wonderful.
::
GP

Anonymous said...

Regarding KC's political leanings: People, KC lives in Brooklyn, which, for example, voted for Kerry by a more than 3:1 margin in 2004. KC isn't Superman with steel skin. Some ideological toxicity through osmosis has to be expected.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said at 3:20 PM...

Clinton/Obama '08

It's official: Karl Rove is now a commenter here.

Debrah said...

GP--

You always do a good job of sifting through linked articles and giving an insightful pov.

:>)

Anonymous said...

“When Tim Was a Potbanger.” It appears that KC is now merely trying to run-up the count of male G88er’s that he refers to on an informal basis versus the number of female G88er’s that he refers to on an informal basis. Somewhere there is a G88 aspirant that is in the throes of an apoplectic fit over the use of ‘Tim’ no doubt. Very clever, KC.

Anonymous said...

Yo, Dr. Johnson,

Look, the Gonzales person is like the hundred AGs that came before him - to wit, he's a reprehensible bacillus.
And, as to party politics, all i want to know is:
Are you now, or have you ever been
a Democrat or a Republican?

It's just that the Gonzales crack was so uncharacteristic that it attracted my curiosity. Having wrassled with it for 15 hours, my conlusion is that you introduced it, intentionally as a mistake, for the dramatic contrast.

My old pal Jim Ed, on the other hand, thought you were measuring the reactions of the commenters. I gave him the old raised eyebrow and he said "Oh. Right. No need to measure."

Down the years the mystery will grow. A thousand explanations will blossom, all wrong. All of us will be interviewed in our dotage for having been there at the actual event. But, no one will be able to say they really know.

Anonymous said...

To rrhamilton:

Just call me the "Architect"

3:20

Anonymous said...

rrh @ 3:31

LOL!

Anonymous said...

Re: "Gonzales" -- Are we talking about the tall Hispanic hospital orderly in the movie "The Right Stuff" who escorted Alan Sheppard to the men's room ... after Sheppard made the Jose Jimenez joke ...

That Gonzales also escorted folks with something stuck up their ...

One Spook said...

Anon @ 3:42 writes:

Look, the Gonzales person is like the hundred AGs that came before him - to wit, he's a reprehensible bacillus.
And, as to party politics, all i want to know is:
Are you now, or have you ever been
a Democrat or a Republican?


Damn! Now THAT is brilliant!

This anon poster must have taken the same Political Parties course I took as an undergrad.

On the first day of class, our professor, the late Dr. Conrad Joyner, gave us a quick speech which I'll have to paraphrase.

"If any of you are Democrats or Republicans because of some set of "principles" or because you're for the common man and the downtrodden, or for the wealthy and privileged, etc. etc. etc., I want you to know that the last day to drop this class is October 1st.

Now, with that in mind, let's begin the study of Political Parties ..."

I could care less what label KC prefers or what label any of you, Horwitz included, wish to give him.

I do care that he has helped shed light on a great injustice that without him and others, could have blossomed into a colossal injustice.

I also care that the purpose of this Blog can be altered by partisan postings such as KC's unfortunate Gonzales "sound bite." I don't want this Blog to denigrate into a discussion of party politics, thanks.

Just my thoughts.

Anonymous said...

Anon 2:57 2:58 2:59 with his definition of "liberal" that excludes 99% of the American electorate is another exemplar of what's wrong with modern academia.

Anonymous said...

2:41 Steve Horwitz, no it does not show that the indoctrination isn't working. What it shows is one exceptional woman who doesn't stand for the bull shit.

If one person buys into the PC pap, then it is one too many. Witness the many abettors to this hoax.

Anonymous said...

Debrah

Trinity 74 is Tom Inman.

Anonymous said...

To Inman and "Architect" (aka Hopeless Romantic):

Yes, Rove and the boys are already begging their Dem counterparts, "Please! Please, don't run any more Northern liberals for President against us!! (((((****trying to supress maniacal laughter****)))))"

becket03 said...

On the gratuitous Gonzales slam, I figure KC is just establishing his bona fides as a liberal, Obama supporting Democrat. He's been known to do that in the past.

Gonzales isn't a villain but more a hapless figure, over his head in the job our over-his-head president gave him.

Oops, there I go slamming away just like KC. But at least I'm not a Democrat.

beckett

Duke1965 said...

9:03 asked,

"If you had to choose between telling your son to go to work in the private sector at the best job he could get with a high school degree for four years, after which time you would give him $175,000 dollars (the estimated cost of a four year degree at Dook) to start his own business, or just paying $175,000 to Dick Brodhead so that your son could be exposed to "the best liberal arts education money can buy", what would you do?"

I'd send him to Duke in a heartbeat, assuming he could get in, and it was what he wanted...... the problem with a blog like this is that one can easily get a very distorted impression of what the life of a typical Duke student is like. These professors, to put it mildly, are not a significant part of the average student's life. They are incredibly insignificant in the big picture, except in the halls of academia and their own minds......... we need to remember that these are kids we're talking about. If you're a 19 year old Duke student, would you rather listen to Grant Farred ramble on about the "other", or go to a tailgate party where the LAX team has rented a foam machine? See my point? This stuff is just irrelevant to the majority of Duke students. And if anyone thinks these very bright, very ambitious students are being brainwashed, they just don't know much about Duke or its students.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your 8:49 p.m. post, duke 1965. My son made no mistake in choosing Duke in the late 1990's. It prepared him well for higher degrees and a good job, and he had a lot of fun and made many new (and diverse)friends along the way.

I sent him the list of the signers of the listening statement, and he did not know any of them, nor did his wife, also a recent Duke graduate. One former suite mate, a Spanish major, knew of Aerial Dorfman as a novelist, but never took a class from him. The other suite mate was clueless about these 88.

I guess these recent graduates are among those many insensitive and benighted students who wander through their four years on campus, oblivious to the deep concerns that Lubiano and the potbangers and the women's studies majors have about that terrible student culture corrupting the campus.

Stuart McGeady said...

Maybe this blog was better before conservative vs. liberal, or republican vs. democrat(vs. libertarian) or presidential politics got in the way.

Maybe I'm having trouble thinking outside my box.

Definitely I am having trouble understanding how KC Johnson, the brilliant author of this influential D-i-W blog, could be liberal, probably Democrat, and a supporter of the neophyte Barack Hussein Obama.

As a leading critic of political correctness, and the hypocrisy laden blight its practitioners bring to our institutions of law and in academia, KC aligns himself with notable conservatives David Horowitz, Dinesh D'Souza, the great Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams, the editors and contributors of National Review, City Journal, not to mention Limbaugh, Hannity, Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin and Mark Levin.

Draw up your own personal list. These folks are not single issue specialists. For the most part they are systematic thinkers with a conservative philosophy at the root of their arguments and opinions.

I don't see how anyone, much less KC, could generally agree with the right on the key issues brought forth in this blog, but otherwise travel with the left.

Anonymous said...

One may enjoy the fruits of Duke and avoid the Klan of 88. But two problems remain; the lack of leadership and the fact that the list is likely much larger than 88. Everyone who abetted this hoax is still either actually on campus, in significant positions, or the spirit of their thinking remains.

In some regards it is a shame that more time wasn't spent politely asking other peers to sign the Listening Statement to better allow the unwashed laborers a chance to understand what they are getting for their $46k per year.

(I've continually tied the cost to $60k per year in error. I thought that the $46k did not include room and board, books, travel, etc. Based upon experience the all-in costs are probably low, but not reaching $60k per year. Regardless, as a consumer, the cost to take classes from the Klan of 88 is too much - let the market decide what their worth)

Anonymous said...

"I don't see how anyone, much less KC, could generally agree with the right on the key issues brought forth in this blog, but otherwise travel with the left."

Ever heard of Christopher Hitchins? Or Alan Sokal?

Anonymous said...

7:24

Point of clarification. Although I am a '74 Trinity graduate, I am not the person posting under that pseudonym.

Thanks!

Steven Horwitz said...

Stu writes:

Definitely I am having trouble understanding how KC Johnson, the brilliant author of this influential D-i-W blog, could be liberal, probably Democrat, and a supporter of the neophyte Barack Hussein Obama.

Maybe, just maybe, there are smart, reasonable, open-minded people on the left in academia who are as appalled by the behavior of some of their colleagues as conservatives are. Maybe, just maybe, policy difference sometimes (though not always) boil down to disagreements among smart, well-meaning people, rather than battles of good and evil.

Of course believing THAT means you might have to treat university faculty in the liberal arts as perhaps something more complex than the monolithic force portrayed too often around here.

Anonymous said...

NJNP
"One may enjoy the fruits of Duke and avoid the Klan of 88."

Tell that to Evans, Seligman and Finnerty.

Stuart McGeady said...

To RP... I did not know about Alan Sokal, thanks for the reference. Hitchens is fascinating, perhaps an iconoclast. But it was hard to accept his criticism of Mother Teresa, and I am wary of atheists who are better educated than I am.

To SH... Most certainly there are many on the left who see the threat posed by the academic types profiled by KC. If those on the right (and left) could exercise more restraint, avoid polarizing every debate into the end game between good and evil, and recognize that neither side is monolithic, I suppose we would see better results on campus, in the media, and in Washington, DC.

Naturally, I would benefit by following my own advice, and yours. It's hard for me to reconcile that an intellectual conservative like KC could be politically liberal, but I'm sure glad that he and his cadre of bloggers have shone the light of truth on Duke University. I pray that at least a few there will listen and be inspired to reform.

Anonymous said...

Steve Horwitz said:

"Maybe, just maybe, there are smart, reasonable, open-minded people on the left in academia who are as appalled by the behavior of some of their colleagues as conservatives are."

Maybe. But if so, where are they all hiding?

Steven Horwitz said...

Ralph,

Most of them have don't have the time to spending reading DiW (unlike those of us on sabbatical :) ). Plus, my guess is that if they perused the comment section here, they'd be pretty appalled by the way in which the left is viewed, making them all the less likely to want to appear to give succor to people who'd like to see them fired or who think they are responsible for the destruction of western civilization.

The fact is that I work with many of them. We've talked about the Duke case and a good number of them think what the faculty did was indeed a rush to judgment and that an apology is in order.

Debrah said...

Christopher Hitchens is a prince!

Anonymous said...

Debrah said...
"Christopher Hitchens is a prince!"

Him I could picture laughing in the purple rain.

Anonymous said...

Oh and by the way,
Christopher Hitchens is a Communist.