#leftist academia

[vixen-academia]

New goal to myself:

Stop having “reading goals”. I need to remind me that I read for joy, it’s not my obligation.

Same thing to you. Remember that reading is your FREE TIME HOBBY. Something to ENJOY. It’s not your work, no one is your reading boss here.

Don’t let the capitalist society convince you that everything in your life is just a metric to achieve.

[teenageexpertslimedream]

ITS IMPORTANT!!!

THE TIKTOK BAN IS SO MUCH MORE THAN BANNING TIKTOK, IT WOULD GIVE THEM THE ABILITY TO BAN ANY SOCIAL MEDIA SITE THATS BIG ENOUGH, INCLUDING TUMBLR!!!

IT'LL GET RID OF ANY PRIVACY YOU HAVE LEFT, AND STOP A LOT OF PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENT IN ITS TRACKS. IT WILL EVEN TAKE YOUR RIGHT TO TALK ABOUT IT AWAY. IT WILL COMPLETELY VIOLATE YOUR FREEDOM OF SPEECH. IF YOU CARE ABOUT PRIVACY, PALESTINE, TUMBLR, THE INTERNET, FOR THE LOVE OF FUCK, PLEASE CALL IN AND SPREAD THIS!!!

[a-very-tired-jew]

Anti-intellectual/anti-Academia from activists

This post came across my dash and I want everyone to read it.

This rant about Israeli academia is very telling. What I see here is a person who has little to no understanding of research and development. Yes, many of the things that are produced by academics can be used for military purposes. But that mapping software? It's also used to map rivers, lakes, and wetlands. It's used to map out ranges of endangered species and plant populations. It's used for so much more than killing, and the lack of nuance with which this person writes is indicative of the overall anger and hate we see in Western Activists. Many of the research and technologies that will be delayed or halted due to the academic boycott of Israel that this person is cheering will have a global impact. All they can see is the violent application of science and academia, and while it has always been true that science has been exploited by politicians and the military, there is typically a non-violent and civilian application for it as well. I remember back during the pandemic that the Israeli research teams on the cutting edge and giving us rapid results and data to work with. I know of several people in Israel working on alternative animal agriculture feeds to reduce GHG emissions and biowaste. It's also important to note all the tankie buzzwords in this rant. "intellectual architecture for the bureaucratic class" might as well be a neon sign (the blog owner states they should read more Marx and is a communist btw). So we know that anything they say regarding Israel is just going to be full of malice and sprinkled with antisemitic conspiracies, but I'm also getting big anti-intellectualism vibes as well. Ever since the Khmer Rouge there's been a strong undertone of anti-intellectual, anti-academia, and anti-science to the tankie ideology, and I can't help but notice it here. So yes, go ahead and boycott Israeli academics, but it'll have a larger impact than you think, and not in the way you want. The vitriol and hatred people have is absolutely overwhelming and disheartening.

[notaplaceofhonour]

i think there is some connection between this post and this post

the increasing tendency to treat flaws as justification to declare something wholly “problematic��� is a big piece of the anti-intellectualism on the left

the entire point of criticism in academia is to refine & improve understanding in your field. when you level criticism, you are seeking to create dialogue, not shut it down—you engage in criticism to understand not just that a thing has problems, but to seek to understand those problems so you can contribute to a solution

it’s for that reason that the once valid image of a bunch of rich white dudes sitting around smoking cigars in a white tower isn’t accurate anymore. by no means does that mean all problems of systemic inequality are fully “solved”, but we live in a world where academia can and does adjust to criticism, and is now full of diverse perspectives from all intersections of minority voices

but when your approach to criticism is just finding any flaws to declare something wholly “problematic” and the only solution you have is “throw it all out!” “burn it all down!” the fact that institutions of higher learning are flawed and can be criticized leads you to embracing anti-intellectualism. rather than seeing the limitations of privileged perspectives as just that—limitations, which need to be filled out by combining them with perspectives that historically were overlooked—any perspective that may have been privileged in the past becomes trash that needs to be thrown out entirely

[lesbian-disaster-academic]

would you guys want to see a series i'm tentatively calling "confessions of a burnt-out gifted kid"? it would be stuff like this post. just generally being a lil idiot on the internet + talking ab how the school system/capitalism/lack of mental health support/etc. collectively failed us.

*disclaimer: in my opinion, the notion of the “gifted kid” as it exists right now is pretty outdated, and i'm only using it here b/c it is the most convenient term for the time being. the conception of the "gifted kis" (and its associated meanings) rewards colonial + capitalist + ableist ideologies regarding what is considered “knowledge” or “intelligence”. i was regarded as “gifted” because i masked my neurodivergence and i had the privilege of being provided with the time + resources + support necessary to be a “good student” in the eyes of my teachers. this was likewise influenced by certain assumptions/privileges stemming from my whiteness (which is further intertwined with the ongoing colonial project). i’m just using the term here to describe my experiences with being designated “gifted” and put into "gifted" programs as a child, etc. and the effects that had on me.

for more info regarding this, please see:

Parekh, Gillian. "Chapter 6: Implicating Gifted and Talented Education." Ableism in Education : Rethinking School Practices and Policies. Taylor & Francis. 2023.

(^^ if you want to read this and can't access it, lmk!)

[anansislibrary]

New video is up!! This one is about Hurricane Katrina, disaster relief, and the Organized Abandonment of communities in the face of climate collapse.

[p3arlsandcoff3]

I have recently started to become more ecologically conscious in my everyday life - eating out less, buying less, using more of the possessions I already own, etc... - and that includes shopping for clothes in second hand shops. And I am ASTONISHED at how many well kept, good quality pieces are simply lying around at some dim lit room downtown. Honestly, I urge everyone reading this to go to the worst rated second hand shop in their area. Avoid the trendy ones, go for the ones with 70 year old witches who'll smoke a whole pack inside the store in the hour you'll spend there. The true gems lie there.

Stay yourself, stay curious.

[itsbansheebitch]

This is an EMERGENCY

EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW

[chaoswillcalmusdown]

the transphobia wave that sweeps swedish liberals every now and then is truly so. wild. mind boggling.

[troythecatfish]

[gabby-i-guess]

"As researchers, we assume that people will be persuaded by science and data[.] ... However, this may not be the case[.]"

- Kline et al., 2022

[vixen-academia]

Yes, romanticise small things in live, romanticise your studies and your work. Use romanticising life as an escapism. But NEVER forget WHY you need to runaway from this shitty reality so you can keep yourself mentally healthy. Never forget that if you have to scape from reality, it’s because the system is making us get sick as fuck.

Runaway, but remember who forced you to do it.

[blackswaneuroparedux]

All intellectual tendencies are corrupted when they consort with power.

- Clive James

Gilles Deleuze, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Michel Foucault.

A confederacy of dunces.

[a-very-tired-jew]

Manipulation of Westerners by Hamas - A conspiracy that's not so much a conspiracy

Since the inception of the current war I have seen a number of people try to identify why Leftists are so quickly to defend Hamas's action and embrace/justify varying degrees of antisemitism. Often I see right wing authors point to DEI programs, safe spaces, and other such things. To me this is just another attempt at discrediting academia and they're using the guise of "fighting antisemitism" to push their narrative. I have found several neutral Jewish writers on the subject, such as Feldman from Harvard, who have addressed the long standing antisemitism within academia, politics, and culture. However, I have not seen anyone address the manipulation of Leftists by extremists as long standing tactic. What do I mean? Shortly after this began, Dr. Lorenzo Vidino of the George Washington University put together a small document titled The Hamas Network in America: A Short History. Dr. Vidino is considered an expert in these type of terrorist groups and has advised governments around the world for years. As such there is some contention regarding him and things he has said. However, this document is fairly clean of bias and lays out this network based upon evidence that the FBI collected through wiretaps and presented in a court case in the 00's. While it is a short document, I will not go over everything and just discuss the highlight. In 1993 a meeting was held in Philadelphia, PA, USA by senior Hamas members. The members of this meeting discussed how they could garner support from the West and protect themselves from scrutiny. One quote that stands out and highlights their intent comes from Shukri Abu Baker "I swear by Allah that war is deception, we are fighting our enemy with a kind heart. . . . Deceive, camouflage, pretend that you’re leaving while you’re walking that way. Deceive your enemy.” This statement of deception underscores the rest of the meeting and their subsequent plans. How do we know what was said? Well, the FBI had wiretapped the room the meeting was held in, so we have transcripts of their intent straight from their mouths. The strategy that the members come up with and discuss in the document has three approaches. 1) Charity & Fundraising.

In the meeting the Hamas members discuss how to raise money for their cause. They would fundraise inside and outside their respective communities, and that for every 5,000 that they raised for others they would send 100k to their allies. This type of behavior culminated in the USA's case against the Holy Land Foundation and associated groups. Many other charities have followed suit and have conducted similar behavior, hence why many charities focused on the I/P conflict are viewed suspiciously. There is not a good tract record of these groups actually getting the aid to the Palestinian civilian and instead funding terrorist groups.

2) Politics.

The members of the meeting stressed the need to influence Congress, the general American public, and to garner political support. They emphasized that they needed a neutral organization that would not publicly state it supported Hamas or other terrorist organizations and could deceive the general public into thinking they didn't. They would use neutral language and simply try to sway politics. Members of this meeting then went on to help found CAIR (specifically Omar Ahmed and Nihad Awad).

3) Research and Outreach.

Within the meeting they repeatedly emphasize that their violent rhetoric would upset the Westerners that would likely support them. As such, they needed to change the way they spoke to outsiders, change the perceptions of them, and influence progressives through coopting their language. They state that you need to use the language that the American progressive sympathizes with and couch things in terminology such as "oppressor", "colonist", and so on. One method that was suggested, and employed, was to infiltrate academia and produce research that was biased towards their ideals.

“This can be achieved by infiltrating the American media outlets, universities and research centers." - Omar Ahmed For example, The United Association for Studies and Research was created by members of this group and is a think tank outside of Chicago. The organization is considered defunct now, but its members went on to other positions in politics, academia, think tanks, and research. Think about that. Members of Hamas's network have become professors at colleges and universities. These are institutions where many young adults go to round out the beliefs they began developing in their early teens. This means that they're extremely passionate, but also easily manipulated. I personally remember the anti-GMO craze of the 00's and 10's and how every college campus was full of anti-GMO student activists claiming wild conspiracies about the danger of them. Now? That movement mostly gone and relegated to the corners where anti-science and pseudoscience believers dwell. But more importantly, a lot of that activism was manufactured by outside agitators with malicious intent disguised as benign activists.

In regards to the current group of young adult activists in the West (the majority are Zoomers and Millenials), they have been consuming material from academics with questionable intent that has been wrapped in language they resonate with. That makes the 3rd tactic of the Philadelphia Meeting the most dangerous one to me. For all the concern about academia "brainwashing our youth" there is a very real element of manipulation by academics who have allegiances and/or sympathy to terrorist groups and ideals. But they hide it in academic speak to make the general public think that they're not endorsing violent and hateful rhetoric. All of this feels like a conspiracy theory that has me linking red string to photos like Charlie from Always Sunny... but this is real. The FBI wiretapped a meeting and presented their transcripts back in the 00s. So some part of the USA knew that this was happening, knew that this manipulation was going on...and just allowed it. Bringing awareness is just a small step into addressing something that, to me, is quite scary to consider.

[bishopfish]

Scarycrows

[itisiives]

HWC Jobs in Minnesota

Houses for sale (St. Paul)

Houses for sale (Minneapolis)