December 11, 2019

I have just seen the most frightening horror film of all time:  https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1YqxodjwYVyKv

A group of protesters in Austin, Texas, besieged a University of Texas faculty member's home to protest his writings about "pederasty." If you can get The Chronicle of Higher Education premium content, you can read the original article that brought this to my awareness.  If you can't, because, as I universally complain, the CHE wants to bleed money from academia as much as anyone else, you can see a very one-sided view of the incident here (I refuse to name the source).

The Twitter feed provided through the CHE is just short of an hour of hand-held camera footage of the protesters descending upon the faculty member's house, banging on his doors and windows, reciting rhythmic taunts and orders about his pedophilia, even though as a scholar of classical Greek studies, there is no evidence that he practices the predatory tactics the protesters accuse him of.  As the CHE article points out, the protesters are to some degree protesting a broader concern about how the University of Texas protects faculty who have had inappropriate relationships with students.

The Twitter feed is hard to watch, and even fast-forwarding it, as I did, merely reveals the persistence of the protesters, and not necessarily a resolution.  In many ways, the 50+ minutes of blaring by the protesters, especially the leader with the bullhorn, leads to a moment like the man in the corner in the basement of The Blair Witch Project.  What did I just watch?  What was it all about?

I'm deeply disturbed on multiple levels.  This professor coordinated a conference as a capstone to a course entitled "The Mythologies of Rape." 

Really?  You had to go with that title and that concept. I don't know what the specific subject matter was in that class, and I understand academic freedom, but don't you think the title drops bait in the water no different than the chum-dumping scenes from my favorite horror movie of all time, Jaws. 

I suppose the title could even lend itself to a study of rape that de-mythologizes the notions of "she should have dressed more conservatively; she should not have been drinking."  However, since the conference (linked from the CHE article) wanted to focus primarily on the understanding of "preponderance of evidence," the burden of proof that the Department of Education has told colleges to use in responding to rape allegations, it sure seems like the professor could have chosen a less inflammatory title.  "Pondering Preponderance in Campus Rape Accusations," for one, seems less incendiary.

However, my gut tells me that the emotional reaction to the controversial title was exactly what was sought.

And there, to some degree, is where University of Texas deserves some criticism.  The conversation, the dialogue, the conference panels can continue without the stain of a provocative label. If you dig far enough into the CHE's links, you will learn that the professor had trouble getting a balanced panel for the discussion, in part because the conference name turned off potential presenters.  Academic freedom can be preserved even with an element of academic common sense.

So, I am a little scared of the professor, in general. Just got to be honest.  Not the jump scare of a slasher movie, but scared in the manner of a psychological thriller like Hitchcock's Rear Window.  What is this idiot thinking? 

I am more scared of the University of Texas here.  Free speech and academic freedom are understood, but how are you going to minimize the monster that gets created? It's the fear of The Ring. You can predict what's going to happen. Prevent it!

But the vigilante self-righteousness of the protestors, and their incessant 50+ minutes of chanting, unending demand for something not entirely understood (what exactly do they want the professor to do besides come out and confront the angry crowd?) is straight from Night Of The Living Dead.  And in this case, I do fear that they really need to consume brains.