>I EMAILED THE CHAIR OF MY SOCIOLOGY DEPARTMENT AT MY SCHOOL AND HE JUST RESPONDED. HELP ME DEFEND LIBERTY AND THE DON! I WILL POST MY EMAIL AND HIS REPLY, BEAR WITH ME.
Hello, I went to your office earlier but you must have been on lunch break. I have a question on an issue that is very important to me. Regardless of your personal political affiliation or perspective, I hope that you can look at this objectively without bias.
I just had a class with a professor I would not like to name, because I generally like the guy in most cases. The professor, however, is extremely liberal and Marxist. My issue is this: During the class, the professor in question stated that "Donald Trump is a supporter of the KKK (Ku Klux Klan)."
This is absolutely factually incorrect. It should be obvious to most college educated peoples that a person who wants to become President of the United States would not commit political suicide by supporting an infamous hate group. What worries me is that he full well knows this, yet wished to push the narrative as to influence students within our class.
More importantly, African Americans make up a significant percentage of our class. I fear that statements like these only help in increasing the racial tensions we now have in this country. Many college students do not fact check what their professors tell them, rather they take it as absolute truth. How does a statement like that contribute to the learning process?
I understand that the probability that you are also liberal is high. If the same professor said something to the extent of "Bernie Sanders supports the sexual abuse of children", how would you feel? I would address this with the professor, but I am positive that it would fall on deaf ears. This is far from the only situation where he has tried to "brainwash" the class with his liberal/Marxist perspective.
>CONTINUED
My question is this, is the statement claiming that Donald Trump supports the KKK something you find acceptable in your department? What are your personal feelings on this situation?
I hope that you will get back to me and not brush this off as insignificant. Ultra liberal professors pushing their ideas onto their students is a HUGE issue for me, most especially when it involves factually incorrect content. I have been compared to Hitler in this same class for discussing various conservative ideas and I feel that is very wrong.
>HIS REPLY..
Hi Brian,
Thanks for writing. There are several issues here. The first is professors saying things that are factually untrue. Regardless of anyone's political leanings, that's just wrong. It's bad teaching. One question is what can you do about it. Another is what can I do about it.
If you feel comfortable asking a question, you can say something like, "I just want to clarify something I think I heard you say -- that Trump supports the KKK. That doesn't square with anything I know, and I just wonder if you could go to read more about that." You could even e-mail him with questions about things that he said in class. That is, if you feel comfortable doing that. If you are afraid that even asking that kind of question would hurt your grade in the class, that's a more serious matter.
I suspect that what he was referring to was this:
Donald Trump on Sunday morning refused to condemn actions taken and comments made by the Ku Klux Klan and one of its former leaders [David Duke], claiming he needed to do "more research" before taking a position.
Speaking on CNN's State of the Union. . . http://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/trump-declines-to-condemn-ku-klux-klan-219927#ixzz44WWf1NXw
That's not exactly the same thing as supporting the Klan, and Trump eventually said he disavowed Duke, though it took him the better part of a week to get to that position. So you could see why someone might think that maybe Trump didn't think the Klan was all that bad.
>>69575940
>>69576040
Interesting...
bump
>>69575940
>Reginald
thread invalid, sorry
>CONT
Anyway, it might turn out that what you think he said and what he thinks he said are somewhat different.
As for me, all I can do is the same thing -- ask him about it. When I've done this in the past when students have had problems with professors, I often find that two very different impressions of what the professor actually said.
The comparisons to Hitler are ugly but almost inevitable. Have you ever heard of Godwin's law? Was it the teacher who compared you to Hitler? If so, that's wrong. If it was another student, then ideally the teacher might have laid down some ground rules or interrupted to suggest that everyone be civil and respectful. But if your conservatism is more along libertarian lines, then you can see that banning the Hitler analogy runs up against free speech.
As for professors "brainwashing" students, what you call brainwashing is what the professor calls teaching. We all have our ideological perspectives, and that's what we teach from. We teach the ideas that we think are best. Some of us try to be "balanced" and present alternative views. But some professors think, "Why should I bother to teach ideas that I know are not valid?" There is much to be said for Marxist approaches. Take this basic idea:
people do not do things that will harm their own economic and political interests, and they do thing to try to secure and expand their interests. They will use the tools available to do that. Those tools include money and positions of power.
>CONT
That doesn't seem like such a radical or wrong-headed idea to me. Maybe it does to you. Marxists start from that idea and pay close attention to what people --- especially those with wealth and power -- do in order to enhance their own position. That seems like a legitimate approach. Suppose the teachers' union went on strike for much higher salaries, and we claimed that we were doing it all for the better education of New Jersey's youth. Would you buy that?
Thanks for reading all this. If you do talk to the professor or exchange e-mails with him, let me know how it goes.
Tell him that if you're going to teach Marxism you need to explicitly state it. I've had so many professors who teach from a Marxist perspective but they never mention it, which implicitly leads students to believe that that is simply the common approach to whatever subject they're studying, and not realize that there are others.
why bother arguing with these people, fall in line to the group think anon
Bump...
Donald trump will be the first to hang on the day of rope
>>69576818
Well said, that is decent ammunition. I need more, I have to drop an A bomb
Give us his email, we will send dicks.
>>69577040
He is Juden, I would get arrested
>>69576434
it was a pretty good answer desu, but now since he's playing the card of 'free speech' you can say whatever you want and make extreme comparisons as well.
Say Hillary wants the mass genocide of black babies
Say Sanders wants to usher in another Bolsheviek revolution, leading to 60 million deaths like Stalin did.
Call anyone pushing marxist ideas Mao Zedong.
There are PLENTY of ways to throw the same strawman arguments back at them. If they break the rules, call them out. If they get away with it, so should you.
teacher's response sounds perfectly valid to OP's highly autistic, clearly underage letter. kill yourself OP. after reading this i highly doubt he said "trump supports the KKK" ad verbatim or at least it sounds completely taken out of context. in either case, your complaints reek of "safe space" faggotry.
protip: you can still think for yourself. or are you just as much of a babby as they say college students are? want some finger paint faggot?
>>69577092
We can send infographics then.
>>69577273
You really think this? I'm 24 and he did say it 100%. I thought it was well written but maybe I'm naive
>>69576167
Pretty solid and mature reply.
>>69576347
>people do not do things that will harm their own economic and political interests, and they do thing to try to secure and expand their interests. They will use the tools available to do that. Those tools include money and positions of power.
Basic common sense is apparently marxist now.
>>69577413
Yep, OP looks like an autistic fuck now. Good job.
>>69575940
Liberty is the Constitution
The Freedom to do what you want as long as you dont hurt anybody else Physically
>>69577413
Should I give up trying to address things like this at my school? Am I hurting our cause?
>>69577404
sorry to hear that you are 24, because your letter would indicate you are closer to 15.
>>69577413
>>69577547
the professor probably shared OP's letter with his colleagues for a hearty laugh.
>>69577569
you need to stand up to the professor in class. dont be a bitch
>>69577710
I feel stupid now, sorry guys
>>69577569
>Should I give up trying to address things like this at my school?
No, you should always bring it up and oppose them at every front but don't be a sperge about it.
College is one of the few places where people NEED to be exposed to opposing views. The very fact that college campuses are the way they are today is evidence of that.
They don't need safe spaces. They need their beliefs and ideas challenged by others so they can either adapt or find solid proof and evidence to back up what they stand for.
>Am I hurting our cause?
Not at all. Just don't sperge out and turn into one of them. Don't close yourself off to their discourse. Engage them in mental battle and don't tire yourself out.
>>69577773
I do all the time..falls on deaf ears
>>69577404
Why would you lie on the internet, Jeff? We all know you're a 18-year-old freshman.
>>69577569
It's like using a spear to kill the ocean. Maybe if you campaigned to have other views taught, but then they'd just do a shitty job of it (ex. forcing people to creationism/evolution). Any professor with tenure will give no fucks.
>>69578031
I am actually a super senior. I was degenerate when I was younger but I have reformed the last few years.
>free speech
Regardless of your political position, a lecture is not a discussion. The professor is supposed to go there and teach you about things which he knows about. Free speech should not be an excuse to say false things. That's just a cowardly excuse.
Also I don't follow Trump so I don't know for sure but didn't he disavow Duke pretty quickly? Less than a week I'm sure. And his position was that he didn't know who these groups that were endorsing him were, so he couldn't say whether or not he disavowed them. This is a completely normal position particularly for someone who has been the victim of a giant media campaign to try and get controversial soundbites.
>>69576167
It's absurd to expect someone to condemn actions and comments from all other people on command, that would leave too many condemnable people and actions to have a conversation. It's bad form as it starts from a position of accusing support without first hand evidence.
Yes you are afraid and disgusted by the political tactics in class. If your professor wields false accusations around, he is effectively threatening to publicly accuse anyone correcting him on this matter on the grounds of sympathising - all based off of a fabrication.
>>69578267
Yes he disavowed BEFORE and AFTER on twitter, I was thinking of using those screen shots in my reply.
the best thing you can do at the moment is confront your professor about the misinformation with evidence; however your best option would've been to respond directly in class. Remember, the best way to argue against idealogues is the preparation of information and rational thought. If your professor states "Donald Trump supports the KKK" he is directly referring to Donald Trump's refusal to disavow the KKK's David Duke and making an assumption. Then you can use the good ol' post hoc ergo propter hoc aka just because of this doesn't mean that. If there is one thing Liberals don't know how to do is reply to a studied and fit intellectual. If you wish to stump the opposition you must learn the logical fallacies to a T and call out those losers whenever you can. This is how you redpill, by destroying their confidence and then rebuilding it.
>>69578952
Thanks anon, a lot of good information in your post. I did call out his statement and I explained why it was not factual, but he just said "ohhh yes he did say that, yes he did"
Damn it OP just sit there and pretend to be a good little leftist.
I sat through an hour long "Political Science Election 2016 Seminar" for extra credit and they spent the whole time attacking Trump. There were no actual policy criticisms or anything, just juvenile Trump bashing by career academics.
You can't fix these people.
>>69579657
But I can't just stand by while my classmates are getting fed bad information. I feel a strong urge to oppose it.
>>69579343
If he is one of "those" people then he is a lost cause. Sadly, you simply cannot win the masses when they think of you as intellectually inferior. The best thing you can do is study what he says about Trump and figure out the best way to counter it to help those that are willing to listen to reason. This is why learning with a singular teacher is a fraud, and the best way to learn is through books, journals, and other material of a similar nature.
>>69579778
leave the institution
>>69580004
I'm about to graduate in may! It breaks my heart seeing what our schools sociology department has become =(. I will do my best to bring evidence to class and adequately refute the chairs response.
Any additional ammo you guys can provide me with will be much appreciated. I am saving every non troll reply to this thread to aid me.
>>69575940
Raising the issue seemed a bit sniveling of you, OP, but the Department Head's response is far worse. Not only does he mention his own political leanings, when you explicitly asked him not to, but he condescends you and tried to sway you by making you feel stupid.
I'd be interested if a Right Wing teacher were to claim that the North Korean government supported Sanders or comparing every Marxist student to Stalin. I highly doubt that the students would be told to 'discuss it with the teacher' or that it was 'the perspective they taught from'.
The smugness pisses me off, teachers dismiss perspectives they 'know' to be wrong. What the fuck is that? There's a reason these debates are ongoing, and haven't been resolved, and you shouldn't cram ideology down students's throats, or at least not to overtly. People are fallible, and have their biases, but the key is to recognise them and try and present a mostly balanced viewpoint.
Fuck's sake, I can feel the Marxist smugness radiating off the cunt.
>>69579778
Maybe you're right, but you have to be ready for a potential hit to your grade and reputation. If you're submitting subjective stuff like papers you might get screwed.
>>69580509
Thanks anon, I appreciate your reply so much. I was really depressed after the class and felt like I had to discover if the departments chair was behind this corruption of the sociology department.
I agree with you about his reply, I figured coming here would be my best bet on successfully firing back at him (in a calm, factual, collected manner of course)
>>69579778
I had a similar issue with a (((professor))) saying race doesn't exist and quoting Lewontin's study in an Anthropology lecture, then proceeding to teach Marxist perspectives as if that was the only possible perspective. My university is the most leftist thing ever though, and I was only taking that class for breadth requirements so I simply stopped going to lectures. The tests are literally only multiple choice, so the whole class is just an indoctrination camp, they don't care about what you learn
>>69581016
Did you fight back leaf? Or just go the safe route and take it? Genuinely curious.
i hate the new setup
>>69581243
I just ignored it, I didn't feel it was worth it. I know for a fact that the whole anthropology department agrees with him and would probably team up on me, so I'd have to contact the Dean who literally doesn't give a shit about it. I'm busy with actual (STEM) courses too
>>69581572
Yea I hear you, I just feel like it has partially gotten this bad in our schools because good people like you and I dont stand up for themselves. I feel like it is bigger than just me. Maybe that is gay.
The way you explained the situation was pretty poorly IMO, but the chair still treated you surprisingly respectfully. Seems like a cool dude.
Well, take his advice. Challenge your professor if you feel so inclines. As the chair said, if you feel that it winds up wrongfully affecting your grade, its a serious issue so bring it to his attention.
>>69581960
A big part of it is also the fact that leftist intellectuals are so common, and despite appearances a lot of people in academia believe anything that comes from a "respected" author. So when 80% of respected authors parrot Marxism and are hailed as geniuses, departments around the world will adopt their views to become more respectable too. Marxism also creates a lens through which it is very easy to "analyze" things (funnily enough Marxists never analyze Marxism through a Marxist perspective, when they do they implicitly assume its correctness (I think Roger Scruton talks about this in one of his recent books)). That means it's generally easy to do a Marxist analysis of something while if you reject Marxism you don't have such a crutch, and are forced to accept that things are actually pretty complex and don't lend themselves to simple analysis.
>>69582568
Excellent points!!
BTW guys, OP is still here and saving all of your ammunition. Thank you all!
>>69576992
Ask him if he would be comfortable with right leaning (as far out on the right as marxists are on the left) teachers preach their views in his classrooms.
>>69583185
An earlier anon brought up something similar and I will without doubt be using that comparison! Thanks!
>>69575940
thank him for taking the time to write in such detail, and do what he recommends, which is to confront the professor. make the professor acknowledge that delayed disavowal is not the same as support.
don't be an autist and try to convince or redpill the dean. he actually seems like a fair man, just heed his advice.
>>69584001
He is a department chair who is largely responsible for hiring these types of professors. All the soc professors are like this guy. Does that change your opinion or nah?
>>69577817
Your letter might not have been as articulate as it could have been, but most of these fags would keep their mouths shut like the pussies they are. At least you had the balls to say something. Trump would be proud. MAGA my friend
>>69584595
THANKYOU! Before I do anything I ask myself if Trump would be proud so that means a lot! I will work on my writing style for sure.
>>69584481
If you want to do accomplish something, you need to build a case. You need to have the professor on record telling lies, either written or audio.
>>69575940
I don't think your efforts are futile anon. Are you responding to the department head or the professor? You should have him explain that last part of the email. Say something like, "are you saying it's ok teach lies if it advances your economic and political interests?" Maybe not just like that or maybe not at all. I'm sleep deprived so I might sound like a retard. Best of luck.
>>69586080
OY VEY these fucking names
>>69586119
The department head, I debate the professor every chance I get when he says something hyper liberal and acts as if its fact.
