I wrote to Nic Smith and the Vic Council expressing my bafflement at the postponement of the debate, asking if perhaps they were afraid of their students. I have my answer now.
Universities as places of indoctrination, not education, where the student activists have gained “equity” by terrorising the Vice Chancellor to join their pack of lemmings as they rush towards the leap into the mythical Great Beyond (aka Jump… Fly….Squeal in Delight…. and …. Splat!!).
The meeting of minds of idealism, innocence and ignorance of wilful youthful intelligence and an Administrator (as opposed to Leader) - it would be funny if this wasn’t taking place at one of our key universities producing the next generation of public administrators and lawyers.
I hope Jonathan is feeling he'll be 'safe', given that the panel now chosen looks like it will have quite a few who are likely to disagree with him. They may even say something hateful to him. I wonder that he hasnt asked for the re-scheduled event to be re-scheduled yet again, with participants who will not be likely to express anything hateful to him!
lol - thought the same here so sent him the following encouragement:
“It is a win Jonathan but with the requirement of a VUW email address to RSVP online on top of the severe imbalance in the panelists’ views it feels like you’ll be the Christian in the arena with lions snapping at your heels while the punters pee in the stands.
At least you’ll come out alive and able to fight another day and in the process the “opposition” has put another nail in its coffin in the manner it is blatantly stacking the decks once more in a “Not Quite a Cancellation” cancellation.
I wish you much fortitude on the day - may the mantra “Cool Calm Collected Coherent” carry you through :)”
In reality, I think Jonathan will have no trouble in keeping his cool. He always comes across as passionate about free speech but measured and well in control of himself. A bit of extra fortitude will probably come in handy though, having to suffer through this quagmire of crybabies and so-called adults who pander to them.
As anyone who is currently living in our nation is hopefully doing, I have been following this ‘debate’ which erupted last week. The revised and rescheduled approach is intriguing. Not least, the second half with a bevy of ‘academics’ chills me to the bone. As if our current crop who populate the Academy have been formed in ways truly echoing the centuries old traditions of the university … yeah nah; Tui moments abound.
The entire thing symbolises brilliantly our nation’s plight!
Huh, go figure: Turns out that the more we try to avert and avoid risk, the greater the cost to us and those around us - both in terms of dollars and personal freedom.
With multiple generations raised wrapped in in teasingly greater amounts of cotton wool in times of great global economic wealth (and greater distribution of that wealth believe it or not) it is undeniable that risk aversion is at all time high levels.
If there is one other certainty however that is that the pendulum will swing back again one day - just ask anyone living in a country at war or suffering from civil unrest.
Another comment - about 'safe'. This concept is an escapee from the therapy world. I used to be a counsellor, not quite as august as a psychologist or psychotherapist, but I worked in that world. I remember when feeling 'safe' or 'unsafe' began to be used and gained momentum - quite a few decades ago now. It related originally to clients/patients who had endured genuinely traumatic events and who sometimes felt like they were reliving 'trauma' when a present-day scenario 'triggered' them. I have used quote marks on these two other words because they have also escaped the therapy world and taken up residence in certain everyday world locations - predominantly universities and student organisations. Back in the day, I was also aware when those words and concepts began to be badly overused, and we see how that hasn't ceased to this day.
Great comment Sheryl, thanks. In our family we now toss these terms about with a wink or lol & everyone knows they're the newish & lame fad words for modern fragility.
They no longer deserve to be called universities- there is no ‘versify’ and more. ‘Unithots’ might be a better name for them…. Places where there is unity of thought….
I wrote to Nic Smith and the Vic Council expressing my bafflement at the postponement of the debate, asking if perhaps they were afraid of their students. I have my answer now.
Universities as places of indoctrination, not education, where the student activists have gained “equity” by terrorising the Vice Chancellor to join their pack of lemmings as they rush towards the leap into the mythical Great Beyond (aka Jump… Fly….Squeal in Delight…. and …. Splat!!).
The meeting of minds of idealism, innocence and ignorance of wilful youthful intelligence and an Administrator (as opposed to Leader) - it would be funny if this wasn’t taking place at one of our key universities producing the next generation of public administrators and lawyers.
I hope Jonathan is feeling he'll be 'safe', given that the panel now chosen looks like it will have quite a few who are likely to disagree with him. They may even say something hateful to him. I wonder that he hasnt asked for the re-scheduled event to be re-scheduled yet again, with participants who will not be likely to express anything hateful to him!
lol - thought the same here so sent him the following encouragement:
“It is a win Jonathan but with the requirement of a VUW email address to RSVP online on top of the severe imbalance in the panelists’ views it feels like you’ll be the Christian in the arena with lions snapping at your heels while the punters pee in the stands.
At least you’ll come out alive and able to fight another day and in the process the “opposition” has put another nail in its coffin in the manner it is blatantly stacking the decks once more in a “Not Quite a Cancellation” cancellation.
I wish you much fortitude on the day - may the mantra “Cool Calm Collected Coherent” carry you through :)”
In reality, I think Jonathan will have no trouble in keeping his cool. He always comes across as passionate about free speech but measured and well in control of himself. A bit of extra fortitude will probably come in handy though, having to suffer through this quagmire of crybabies and so-called adults who pander to them.
Thank you Sheryl for that history of ‘safety’.
As anyone who is currently living in our nation is hopefully doing, I have been following this ‘debate’ which erupted last week. The revised and rescheduled approach is intriguing. Not least, the second half with a bevy of ‘academics’ chills me to the bone. As if our current crop who populate the Academy have been formed in ways truly echoing the centuries old traditions of the university … yeah nah; Tui moments abound.
The entire thing symbolises brilliantly our nation’s plight!
They no longer deserve to be called universities … some thing like ‘uninoeos’ (unity of thought) would be more appropriate.
Huh, go figure: Turns out that the more we try to avert and avoid risk, the greater the cost to us and those around us - both in terms of dollars and personal freedom.
With multiple generations raised wrapped in in teasingly greater amounts of cotton wool in times of great global economic wealth (and greater distribution of that wealth believe it or not) it is undeniable that risk aversion is at all time high levels.
If there is one other certainty however that is that the pendulum will swing back again one day - just ask anyone living in a country at war or suffering from civil unrest.
Another comment - about 'safe'. This concept is an escapee from the therapy world. I used to be a counsellor, not quite as august as a psychologist or psychotherapist, but I worked in that world. I remember when feeling 'safe' or 'unsafe' began to be used and gained momentum - quite a few decades ago now. It related originally to clients/patients who had endured genuinely traumatic events and who sometimes felt like they were reliving 'trauma' when a present-day scenario 'triggered' them. I have used quote marks on these two other words because they have also escaped the therapy world and taken up residence in certain everyday world locations - predominantly universities and student organisations. Back in the day, I was also aware when those words and concepts began to be badly overused, and we see how that hasn't ceased to this day.
Great comment Sheryl, thanks. In our family we now toss these terms about with a wink or lol & everyone knows they're the newish & lame fad words for modern fragility.
They no longer deserve to be called universities- there is no ‘versify’ and more. ‘Unithots’ might be a better name for them…. Places where there is unity of thought….
...lest there be the sort of random fun that olden days debates threw up and why we bothered going! My dear ol' debating soc dad would be 'rolling'...