Students question administration’s response to professor’s Facebook post
Connecticut College professor David Kim, right, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Religious Studies Department Chair, Associate Professor in American Studies, hugs a student [that is, Lamiya Khandaker, calling her his hero] at an open forum concerning a professor’s Facebook posting which was regarded as anti-Palestinian, Wednesday, March 25, 2015. (Tim Martin/The Day)
By Colin A. Young
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New London — Everything came to a halt on the Connecticut College campus Wednesday afternoon as President Katherine Bergeron canceled all other events and called for a campus-wide forum to address a tenured professor’s Facebook post comparing Gazan Palestinians to “a rabid pit bull chained in a cage, regularly making mass efforts to escape.â€
“Gaza is in the cage because of its repeated efforts to destroy Israel and Jews,” Andrew Pessin, a professor in the college’s philosophy department, published to his personal Facebook page in August. Editor’s note: This corrects an earlier version of the first sentence. “The blockade is not the cause of the current conflict. It is the result of the conflict and cannot retroactively become its cause … Anyone who fails to recognize that clear and obvious fact is demanding the release of a rabid pit bull.”
The Facebook post ignited discussions among students and faculty about intolerance, institutional racism and free speech. Hundreds of students, alumni and faculty members filled the college’s Palmer Auditorium on Wednesday as Bergeron sought to bring the college community together.
“I was taken aback as much by its central image as by its vehemence,” Bergeron said of the Facebook post. “At the very least, the intervention seemed to show poor judgment. It was not in keeping with the level of discourse I have come to expect from the Connecticut College community and, in particular, from its faculty.”
Bergeron did not denounce Pessin or the contents of his Facebook post, but offered an impassioned defense of the First Amendment.
“Freedom of speech is absolutely essential to the integrity of a college like ours that operates according to fiercely held values of academic freedom and shared governance,” Bergeron said. “No institution should abridge the right of students, faculty and staff to express their views freely and openly.”
She also defended students who spoke out against Pessin’s comments and commended them for their courage.
“Just as everyone has a right to speak, everyone has the right to speak against; to confront speech that they consider destructive or inappropriate,” she said.
Bergeron announced that she has ordered a review of the college’s social media policies and an update of the college’s protocol for handling bias incidents. She also announced that she will appoint an interim Dean of Institutional Equity and Inclusion, an administration position for which the college is currently conducting a personnel search.
Pessin’s Facebook post, which was published at a time of renewed violent conflict between Israel and Palestine, apparently went unnoticed until February, when a student emailed Pessin to tell him she was offended by its contents. Pessin said he apologized to the student and deleted the post that day.
Pessin has taught at Connecticut College since 2005, and his specializations include philosophy of religion, metaphysics and philosophy of mind, according to his biography on the college website. Pessin is a fully tenured professor with the college and is currently out on leave, Director of Public Relations Deborah MacDonnell said.
Pessin was not immediately available to speak with The Day on Wednesday.
For many students on campus, Pessin’s post and the subsequent fallout sparked a broader conversation about free speech, racism on campus and how the college administration handled the situation.
The outrage over Pessin’s post and the administration’s response grew on campus, even while many students left for a two-week spring break, as students and alumni wrote letters to the editor published by the student-run College Voice earlier this month.
An online petition started last week by the editor in chief of the College Voice calling for a public statement from the college administration declaring that it does not condone Pessin’s “racism and dehumanization” had garnered 360 signatures by Wednesday evening.
Pessin, too, wrote a letter to the editor in which he apologizes for his post and his previous “defensive” apologies.
“I am truly sorry for the hurt and offense that I have caused via my Facebook post of last summer, to individuals on this campus and now beyond,” he wrote in the College Voice on March 8. “I see now — particularly after a moving conversation with a group of bright, brave, and sincerely wounded Conn students — just how damaging and hurtful the language of that post was.”
Most of the more than 40 students who spoke at Wednesday’s forum were critical of Bergeron and the college administration’s handling of students’ concerns.
After Bergeron’s 12-minute speech, in which she did not once refer directly to Pessin, Conn College alumna Liza Talusan facilitated a discussion by prompting the audience to consider what “inclusive excellence” means and what it looks like on the Conn campus.
“I am profoundly disappointed in this event so far,” senior Michael Fratt said, drawing applause and loud cheers from the crowd. “This is supposed to be an opportunity for everyone here to heal. But how can we heal if the object of our anger has not even been acknowledged in the slightest? … As a group of students, we feel betrayed by the administration, we feel coerced and used at times, and, plain and simple, we can’t heal, we won’t heal from this.”
After almost two hours of student and faculty comments and a direct challenge from a student, Bergeron rose again to address the campus.
“I stand in solidarity with you. It is very important for us to hear the things you’re saying collectively so we do know how to move forward. It is a structural problem,” she said. “I feel like this kind of forum is the starting point of the change that we will have at Connecticut College, and it is change that will happen because of all of you.”
c.young@theday.com
Twitter: @ColinAYoung
READER COMMENTS
wmchsbro1630Posted 2 months ago
Live Here writes, “[Your portrayal of students] cannot dismiss the essence of what Mr. Pessin’s words represented (I suspect he may now know what those words provoked)… But it is the most direct form of racism you’ll find because it embodies the idea of sub-humanness.”
Mr. Pessin used a metaphor. His metaphor did not refer to an entire class of people based on who they are, but to a subset based on how they have behaved. Though his metaphor may have been used to justify Israeli policy towards militant portions of the Gaza population, it requires tortuous logic indeed to class the use of a metaphor which is neither categorical nor based on traits intrinsic to those to whom it refers AS RACIST. (Do we really want to begin using the term “racism” in a way that makes use of its cachet while divorcing it from its strict meaning?) As for “the idea of sub-humanness,” I’m not clear on what aspect of Pessin’s metaphor is intended. Jesus Christ said to his disciple Peter, “Feed my sheep.” Should believers to whom Peter was supposed to minister feel offended by Jesus’ having compared them to ANIMALS? Did Jesus not notice that he was referring to his own followers as “sub-human”–and arguably as idiots incapable of feeding themselves? I suspect likewise much too much is being made of Mr. Pessin’s use of metaphor, one doubtless intended to enlighten rather than offend. Those who have taken offense, to be fair, should ask what language THEY have used to denominate Mr. Netanyahu and the Israelis and whether THEIR use of language has played any role in the “slaughter” of “noncombatant” Israelis, “frequently children.” I’d add that right and wrong cannot be determined by the shrillness of the response to one’s words or actions (“I suspect he may now know what those words provoked”).
Live Here Posted 2 months ago
“Should not Mr. Pessin, member of “an exceptional faculty” (and a tenured one at that), have the FREEDOM to guide adolescents through the “murky waters” and likewise heavily cliché-strewn “world” with whatever metaphor (“pit bull”) that to him seemed best???”
Such a statement misses the very essence of racism. Racism has a purpose. It allows a military and occupying force to slaughter others – mostly noncombatant, frequently children. It is the very essence of evil incarnate.
This is not a simple case of “free speech”. It is a case of reinforcing the darkest side of “humanity” and portraying human slaughter as “trivial” and even “necessary”.
Not to understand, or at least attempt to understand, this is a moral and ethical quagmire and shows a lack of what the whole point is here.
You can portray students any way you’d like, but it cannot dismiss the essence of what Mr. Pessin’s words represented (I suspect he may now know what those words provoked). I don’t know the student or faculty make up; whether there are Palestinians or Arabs on the campus who were confronted with this racism. But it is the most direct form of racism you’ll find because it embodies the idea of sub-humanness.
longtime mystic residentPosted 2 months ago
JohnY, Losen up!. :D Guilty, I mix them all the time.
BrockerPosted 2 months ago
JY- That cracks me up. I had to ask my wife if I was missing something.
John Yannacci, Sr.Posted 2 months ago
Would people please learn the difference between “lose” and “loose”!
longtime mystic residentPosted 3 months ago
Coffee Alert – “ENTITLED”. Still wondering where “ENTTILED” came from.
longtime mystic residentPosted 3 months ago
Nancy, “Calling these students, “snowflakes”, because of their reaction to what they perceived as hate speech is demeaning.” Then I guess they’d better harden up their shells a little bit because sooner or later they will have to travel out into the real world. Michael Brown’s real world.
The key word is “perceived”. “Hate speech”? Yup, sounds like Pessin is not happy. “Hate” is not illegal. “Perception” is another word for “personal problem”. It would’ve been better if Pessin had told his young whiner, “Thank you for your input and you are entitled to your opinion but not ENTTILED to have me retract what I have written because this is the way I feel. Would you like me to remove your access so as to not have you accidentally offended?” “Special Snowflake” is a perfect description!
As for Conn College, I never thought of it as a “Left-wing finishing school”. Before they went co-ed, I thought they were the other half of cotillion for the Coast Guard Academy.
wmchsbro1630Posted 3 months ago
nancy11752 writes, “Connecticut College is a prestigious institution with an exceptional faculty who not only teach but guide adolescents through the murky waters of a confusing and fast-changing world. ‘A left-wing finishing school’ it is not.”
Wednesday’s “teachable moment” seems to have been designed to initiate those delicate adolescents, so much in need of guidance, into the pieties of left-wing dogma.
How is Conn not a Miss Porter’s for the politically correct?
It indeed demands perfect posture to balance the irony of seeming to defend freedom of speech (as Ms. Bergeron’s words suggest she was doing) as a means of attacking it.
Should not Mr. Pessin, member of “an exceptional faculty” (and a tenured one at that), have the FREEDOM to guide adolescents through the “murky waters” and likewise heavily cliché-strewn “world” with whatever metaphor (“pit bull”) that to him seemed best???
nancy11752Posted 3 months ago
Perhaps my use of the word “sensitive” was in error. From an administrative point of view, this is a situation that must be handled with care and concern for the rights and feelings of both the student body and the professor.Calling these students, “snowflakes”, because of their reaction to what they perceived as hate speech is demeaning. Connecticut College is a prestigious institution with an exceptional faculty who not only teach but guide adolescents through the murky waters of a confusing and fast-changing world. “A left-wing finishing school” it is not. It expects rigorous scholarship and instills in its students respect for fairness and diversity. There are many different opinions among the students about this controversy not just those that were represented in The Day’s article. Maybe more balanced reporting by this newspaper should reflect that.
cyndiPosted 3 months ago
Please, NO applause! Applause upsets some of our more delicate Snowflakes. Jazz Hands only!
The WizardPosted 3 months ago
Ironic it is the progressive movement that is subverting free speech in our country today with their political correctness. Liberalism used to represent complete freedom of speech. Today, it represents just the opposite. Progressives should be embarrassed…their philosophy has been hijacked.
longtime mystic residentPosted 3 months ago
Nancy,
“How does disparaging the Connecticut College community for its handling of a very sensitive issue contribute anything of substance to the conversation?”
Actually calling it a “very sensitive issue” should lead to a veritable blizzard of “special snowflakes” coming forward to hug, cry, get their “outrage” on, and have their tears dried by the college’s administration. Of course the DAY is there to record this dramatic event.
What is there to be sensitive about? One side brought you the PLO and Hezbollah and the other brought you the USS LIBERTY and rockets v rocks. (I am rolling real lose with this so don’t waste your time trying to argue the details) The issue is not “sensitive”. The issue is controversial and a well beaten trail of arguments and accusations that go back for generations. I have chatted with people FROM that area and westerners that have lived in that area. One thing for sure, it is no place for, “special snowflakes”.
open mindedPosted 3 months ago
He couldn’t call it DISNEYLAND.
Sue.P.Posted 3 months ago
Nancy,what is so sensitive about the situation? Do you think condemning a man because he spoke his mind on his Facebook page is a sensitive situation? See Nancy that word is exactly what is wrong with this world.Sensitive. Too many feelings are getting hurt. Shows weakness. I wonder what would happen if our soldiers became sensitive?
wmchsbro1630Posted 3 months ago
Sounds as though Conn is forfeiting its role as an institution of higher learning, of open discourse and a variety of views, to become an institution of ever-higher tuition and a left-wing finishing school.
nancy11752Posted 3 months ago
Talk about painting people with a broad brush! How does disparaging the Connecticut College community for its handling of a very sensitive issue contribute anything of substance to the conversation?
Norwich ResidentPosted 3 months ago
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. – Edmund Burke
the voice of reasonPosted 3 months ago
Sounds like Pessin and Netanyahu were cut from the same cloth.
Live HerePosted 3 months ago
lindyloo since you asked what do I think is a solution, I would reiterate what I’ve said before on this blog.
First you cannot have peace without reconciliation. Terrorism is a tactic, primarily used by those with little to loose and few means to defend (as I noted Israel bombarded Gaza. In a war among equals, Gaza would have ground to air anti-ballistic missiles to defend themselves – they had no such defense).
But if the goal is peace than a way forward must be good faith negotiation toward that end. Yes there will be disruptions from certain factions, militants on both sides. The settlements are a major block to a two-state solution.
I think the common ground is a single state. This is something that Martin Buber, philosopher/Zionist, proposed. It would be a power sharing arrangement much like what the Protestants and Catholics agreed to in Ireland and that peace has been pretty solid. A number of Palestinians agree with this approach and it is difficult to truly imagine a two-state solution for a host of practical reasons.
Since there are shades of South African apartheid with the walling off of Palestinians and settlers, I think a Truth and Reconciliation Commission would be very appropriate. The scars are very deep on both sides and this would be a way forward.
The real dilemma is that the politics in Israel use fear as a means and overt racism to win elections . My understanding of Israel is that the racism is entrenched and anti-Palestinian. This is a state which exists positioned for war. Rabbi Michael Lerner has referred to both sides as suffering from PTSD. This makes reasoned, rational and logical process of reconciliation and peace very difficult.
The only way, history tells us, that societies change is when major disruptions or crisis occurs.
UpsideDownPosted 3 months ago
farting in public, the aghast of some for one who expels. Everyone does it and has it on their minds. Sometimes you just got to let go.
My wife is a special snowflake, I love her nonetheless.
Live HerePosted 3 months ago
I don’t mean to imply that most Jews are concerned about Israeli policies, just that polls continue to show that a growing number are moving in that direction.
Live HerePosted 3 months ago
lindyloo no doubt you are familiar with Zionist group Irgun. This is a terrorist organization that drove Palestinians off their lands.
I do not agree with terrorism whether isolated groups or state terrorism. But I understand how militias form (the US Revolution was made up of militias).
Hamas was once used by Israel as a wedge party against the PLO. Now it has become the “terrorist” organization that Israeli government uses to hammer the people of Gaza and the West Bank. Hamas was voted in power in Gaza. Israel state its policy was to punish the people of Gaza for having selected this organization to represent them. The point is, so it seems, you’re not going to resolve this unless a major crisis – yet unknown – occurs. The crisis will need to happen to Israel since they hold much of the military and economic power. Israel has pretty much isolated itself from the rest of the world. It’s reputation is not good amongst non-Jews and Jews.
I would really like to see a just peace. Jews live throughout the world in peace, as many Americans come from a variety of religions and nations and for the most part live in peace.
I think it was Albert Einstein, the great scientist and humanitarian, who said: “The world will not be destroyed by evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.” Einstein was talking about what he feared growing in the state of Israel (Google Tnuat Haherut).
Tom CouserPosted 3 months ago
I find the lede misleading. The post is ambiguous as to what is being compared to a rabid pitbull: the Palestinian population of Gaza or Hamas. It matters which, and the story assumes the former.
Jim BarnesPosted 3 months ago
Stop the presses……cancel all classes……let’s gather round the campfire and sing……..
Good grief, what a boatload of nonsense about an individuals rant that he has every right to express, whether you agree or disagree with the message.
Just as one example, where’s all these little boy’s and girl’s social indignation at some of the music their peers listen to? You know, the stuff that creates hate against whites, blacks, the police, religious organizations and the stuff that is degrading to women? Oh no, that’s different I guess. What a boatload of crap. Let’s all hug now.
Ron SPosted 3 months ago
I’m sorry, but I do not agree with Jack Bernhard on this one. Every snowflake is special because it is unique – one of a kind – and pure. Based on the ‘collective’ grievances and harms perpetuated on the students and school paper by Mr. Pessin’s thoughts, none of the complainants at Conn College seem unique in any way, shape, or form.
Sue.P.Posted 3 months ago
Do any of you think that if Mr. Pessin used the words bunny rabbits instead of Pitt Bulls there would have been a different reaction. I get what Mr. Pessin is saying. You see,it doesn’t matter how he put it. If the bunny rabbits are rabid they still are going to attack you once you let them out of the cage. Antisemitism is still antisemitism and always has been and with this new crop of “Special Snowflakes” always will be. Is Mr. Pessin Jewish by chance? If so he has every right to say how and why he feels the way he feels on his own Facebook account. I personally am offended by the student for being offended by free speech. I’m also offended by the whining of the student for just that, whining. It makes us all look weak, especially the college administration. Maybe Conn. College can take down the American Flag next since that also seems to offend some of these students.
WB93Posted 3 months ago
Spoiled children.
To me it sounded more like a great discussion topic for a seminar and not a reason to shut the campus down. Too bad these children are growing up believing that if someone has an opinion different from yours they are a racist.
And too bad the administration has to coddle these children over fear of angry parent phone calls interrupting fund raising or timely payment of the $65k tuition.
How about you all get back to work and develop employable skills in return for mommy and daddy’s money?
lindylooPosted 3 months ago
Live Here, you are correct, many civilians have lost their lives in the Palestinian territories. Why do you think this is? Perhaps, it the fact that Hamas wants collateral damage when a targeted response is made by the IDF. They then can use this as fodder for foreign media outlets. By creating instability, they further the reach of their own power. Hezbollah used the exact same playbook in Lebanon. Every time Israel gives in on territorial demands, these areas are promptly flooded with terrorists, only now with better access to Israel. Israel can’t win the PR battle, so they do the next best thing and protect their people from those in the region that seek to bring harm to them. This was the analogy that Pessin attempted to present. Just look at the Israeli Security barrier (aka the Israeli Wall). At the end of the day, it saves lives and was prompted out of necessity. (Wall = Cage).
In the end, I think we can all agree that this is a frustrating, and long, chapter to bare witness to.
“Live Here”, What do you suggest as a solution to this situation?
Bill CarsonPosted 3 months ago
Anyone with a professional career stupid enough to post ANYTHING on Facebook is a special snowflake LOL!!!!
Daily ReaderPosted 3 months ago
@Live Here, I think the point is that the Professor posted this on his personal Facebook page. I believe Reverand Shipman wrote his statements in the New York Times (letter to the Editor).
I read this last night when it first posted and had a good chuckle. All is not lost, however. I have a nephew who went to the liberal bastion of Conn College, receiving a Political Science degree. He went on to law school and is now a pretty conservative senior attorney with a major bank in NYC. So these young, free-thought students will see the real world soon. Hugs and all! LOL
wooleybuggerPosted 3 months ago
“Live Here” states: “For those of you who think that Pessin was not allowed “free speech” or First Amendment rights, I can only ask: what are you reading? He posted this. It sounds like this was pulled through his own volition, not through the College demand or as a reprimand. He publically posted his comments.
And it is the right, under that same Amendment to make your case against what he posted. How is this some sort of “injustice”? ”
I never meant to imply such a thing. What I’m saying is that the person who challenged the professor on what he wrote is trying to minimalize or censor his freedom of speech by claiming they were offended. Pessin reacted by deleting his post so not to offend anyone else. Anytime someone has to do this it is a diminishment of the freedom of speech! It seems the rage these days to claim “offense” at any little thing. I say if you don’t like what is being said, posted, transmitted…don’t read or listen to it. Publically shaming someone for expressing their opinion is just plain wrong and small minded.
WTFD ResidentPosted 3 months ago
The main issue to me is the hypocrisy that is used when applying the notion of free speech. The Professor has a right to free speech like anyone else. I can summarize the “new” America, we are soft!
Live HerePosted 3 months ago
For those of you who think that Pessin was not allowed “free speech” or First Amendment rights, I can only ask: what are you reading? He posted this. It sounds like this was pulled through his own volition, not through the College demand or as a reprimand. He publically posted his comments.
And it is the right, under that same Amendment to make your case against what he posted. How is this some sort of “injustice”?
I recall Rev. Shipman loosing his post at Yale because he raised the moral question of the invasion of Gaza. Now there’s a case of retribution based on his desire to speak openly about what was going on. I don’t recall Shipman ever “demonizing” anyone. He was promoting just the opposite.
John Yannacci, Sr.Posted 3 months ago
I have a niece who is a “special snowflake” (thanks Jack). She’s invited to every function that the family has. We, for the very most part are various shades of conservatism, this dear niece provides us with so much entertainment. Every once in a while, someone will surreptitiously toss a fact at her and watch her mumble and stumble before she gets back on script. Every family should have at least one special snowflake.
Phil SienaPosted 3 months ago
Live Here – Your post is a breath of fresh air amid the shoot from the hip crowd who are more interested in lobbing insults than they are in wearing someone else’s shoes for a day.
Fran K.Posted 3 months ago
Typical Conn College liberal attitudes. Lets not ever disagree with the fool in the
White House!
longtime mystic residentPosted 3 months ago
Wylie,
Jack Bernhard coined the “special snowflakes” title and it puts a smile on my face every time it is referenced. It says it all!
Live HerePosted 3 months ago
Thank you wondering for posting the whole portrayal presented by Professor Pessin. Reading it does not detract from the crux of its intent and that is to demonize the Palestinian people as “pit bulls”.
The real story, historical story (and Pessin should know this) is very complex. It is not hard to imagine 1.5 million people very few of which could be called “combatants” the average age under 15 years old in relative squalor, pinned in a small geographical area bombarded/terrorized by what is the most militarized state in the region (and the number one weapons exporter from that region) using the might of its military which includes an air force, army, navy and special forces with high tech weaponry against a militia with nothing to compare for defense. The result of this bombardment was 2,100 Palestinians dead (most civilians) and thousands more maimed, many for life, total destruction of the infrastructure including essential clean drinking water, electricity and much more. Neighborhoods were targeted and destroyed by constant air raids. Almost all of the Israeli causalities were soldiers (which during war is within the bounds of the rules of engagement). Add to this millions of dollars of ammunition and defense support sent from the US. In other words, the US participated in this one sided bombardment (which violates US federal law and signed treaties).
So position that with Professor Pessin’s narrative. This is a narrative used to slaughter “pit bulls”, many of whom are children. This is a racist narrative used as a means to justify the murder and war crimes that occurred.
This from a people who were once treated as “pit bulls” in Hitler’s Germany. Check out what the German’s did to Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto. This is shameful.
lindylooPosted 3 months ago
I do not understand why Pessin apologized for the post he made. His analogy was spot on. If nothing else, I am glad there are independent thinkers like him at Conn, I just wish he owned the response more instead of kowtowing to those who disagree with him.
wyliePosted 3 months ago
Hah! “special snowflakes”… I going to use that one.
longtime mystic residentPosted 3 months ago
Football Field Announcing Booth:
“And the Conn College “Special Snowflakes” take the field. Note that every one of them has a different helmet on, Bill. Yup, that’s for their individuality. Nice touch! ”
“Denver wins the toss and Conn College will kick-off.”
“And here’s the kick! Wait, the kicker is refusing to kick the ball! Oh no, not again, is it the “pork product” thing or the “animal rights” thing again?”
“Could be both. Hard to tell with Conn College. Denver’s player, number 420, is running for the ball.
“Wait, Denver’s team jerseys are all numbered, “420”. ”
“Hey, Denver only as 6 players on the field and it looks like they have a hacky sack.”
“Is that a flag on the play or someone just drop a potato chip bag?”
Have a nice day.
Sue.P.Posted 3 months ago
“Special Snowflakes”, Jack, that says it all. Perfectly said. Now let’s say that Pessin said something against the Jews and Isreal, would these students be as upset? I am simply not getting the far far lefts reasoning. When I was growing up most of the politicians were liberal Jews. Have the progressive liberals now turned on Isreal and the Jewish people? I’m serious, how does this comment by Pessin bother them so much. Are they Hamas sympathizers? Were they not told about how Saddam Hussain would pay the families of suicide bombers $10,000 to blow up as many Jews as they could. Am I missing something, yes I think I am missing a bleeding heart. Maybe the college should hire a World History Professor instead of a Dean of Institutional Equity and Inclusion.
wonderingPosted 3 months ago
For anyone interested in reading the whole post (two paragraphs below), not just the snippet in this article, here it is. It was originally posted August 11, 2014
“I’m sure someone could make a cartoon of this, but one image which essentializes the current situation in Gaza might be this. You’ve got a rabid pit bull chained in a cage, regularly making mass efforts to escape. The owner, naturally, keeps the thing in the cage, but being kind -hearted or something regularly feeds it, waters it, takes care of it’s health needs etc. but the liberal hearted world is outraged at the cruelty of keeping it in the cage, keeps pressuring the owner to let it out. Every so often the man relents under the pressure, opens the cage a crack, and the pit bull comes roaring bounding out, snarling, going for the throat. A short battle ensues, the pit bull goes back in… and almost immediately liberal world pressure starts complaining about the cruelty to animals and insisting he open the cage…
Gaza is in the cage because of its repeated efforts to destroy Israel and Jews. (1990s suicide buses anyone? how quickly we forget.) The blockade is not the cause of the current conflict. It is the RESULT of the conflict and cannot retroactively become its cause. The same is true of Judea and Samaria, the result of the Arab enmity toward Israel and not its cause. Anyone who fails to recognize that clear and obvious fact is demanding the release of a rabid pit bull. You may call for this release because you are yourself a rabid pit bull protesting your co-specimen’s detention, or because you are a well-meaning liberal hearted animal rights person. But you are demanding the same thing. (And I wonder how heartily you’d demand this if the rabid pit bull was to be released in YOUR neighborhood.)
wooleybuggerPosted 3 months ago
This is typical of the way this country is these days. You look up someone’s posts on their social internet sites and use their words against them. We have seen this happen on the national government level, state level, local level and in all forms of academia including elementary school. What is at stake is our freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of religion, freedom of thought. You could say that this Professor was foolish for posting his thoughts online. You might say someone on campus might have an axe to grind and was trying to discredit said professor. You could say that this is a product of what is being taught in all our schools, that even if one person is offended then we are all are offended and the offender should be publically shamed, made an example of and censored either financially i.e. paying restitution or losing one’s job or apologizing publically over and over again for their thoughts.
My personal belief is that too many people are jumping to conclusions and not getting all the information possible to make a reasonable, rational thought. It is also my belief that because of the internet we are losing our freedom of speech because people cannot handle the fact the we have this right and they just want to censor or remove opinions and thoughts that conflict with what they believe. We live in a up-to-the-minute world and some people can’t comprehend and cope with it!
ScatterPosted 3 months ago
Its a heated topic and everyone is going to have their opinion. I may or may not agree with his opinion but I support his right to have one of his own and be able to express it on his own Facebook page.
Norwich ResidentPosted 3 months ago
So a student was reading posts that a professor posted LAST SUMMER? That is s little odd, and what, specifically, about her (and other students’) dislike is “courageous?” I agree with whoever deemed them “special snowflakes.”
AzzrealPosted 3 months ago
At 60k+ a year, the students finally learned their lesson: liberals are hypocrites.
kbPosted 3 months ago
The three things people avoid talking about at social gatherings- politics, religion, and sex. Should we eliminate those topics on college campuses because it may be offensive or discriminatory?
wyliePosted 3 months ago
Isn’t there anybody that is going to stand up for the insult to pit bulls???
kbPosted 3 months ago
People “demonize” the President of our own Country in cartoons, editorials, letters to the editor, on radio (Rush Limbaugh) and all over social media. It is all in the name of free speech. Do these students want to curb and limit our free speech? Are they the ones to decide what can be expressed on face book? Be careful what you wish for- you just might get it.
longtime mystic residentPosted 3 months ago
No need to search for a description, Jack Bernhard nail it! :D
So, we have “social media”. A person has a personal page. He has his own views about the Middle East. He posts them.
“a student emailed Pessin to tell him she was offended by its contents. Pessin said he apologized to the student and deleted the post that day.”
Good grief.
An online petition started last week by the editor in chief of the College Voice calling for a public statement from the college administration declaring that it does not condone Pessin’s “racism and dehumanization”
“Demand”? Double their tuition because of all of the staff’s wasted time hugging and “healing” in the “enchanted forest”.
His first mistake was apologizing. His second mistake was deleting his post. What happened to Pessin’s rights to free speech? Even if some call it “racism”? Racism is not against the law. One of my family members spent a year in that region. He came back with the opinion that the Israelis in Gaza were the “animals” (his words) Is he anti-Semitic? A racist? Foremost, he’s glad to be out of there.
CG is right, social media is a big part of the “problem”. If you don’t like what someone has to say on the web? Don’t go read it. If you think someone is being mean to you on the Internet? Block them. If you just can’t handle it and it makes you cry? Turn off your network connection.
I wonder if the outraged youth from Fitch’s Die-In will get full scholarships to Conn College?
StryderPosted 3 months ago
Am I missing something here? The students are upset because of a disparaging remark made against a group of people that would commit genocide against others of another faith? That’s like calling someone racist for denouncing Nazis. It makes no sense. This country really needs to get a handle on understanding the difference between real racism which is generally blind hate without cause verses critical thinking that comes from observing witnessing current trends and pointing it out.
Thanks to all the “racism upheaval” caused by the press and our so called “Leaders”, it’s getting to the point of ridiculous to have an opinion that differs regardless of how much supporting proof a person has to back it up. It has an overall effect of of limiting free-speech and expression which is in turn churning out the biggest generation of whiners I’ve ever seen. We used to be a country that rose up to our challenges and overcame them, now we just constantly complain about the dumbest crap and try to force everyone to agree through social bullying.
IgorPosted 3 months ago
Jack…that is spot on, of course you’ve offended all of them now and they might need a hug. Maybe the new “Dean of Institutional Equity and Inclusion” can step in and provide some counseling.
Jack BernhardPosted 3 months ago
Goodness. What a bunch of special snowflakes.
John Yannacci, Sr.Posted 3 months ago
When I was in boot camp in 1963, my company commander called me a yankee ***. Can we all gather together for a group hug. I’m so full of angst.
David B.Posted 3 months ago
Teachers hugging students? Really? Does that help your grades?
lindylooPosted 3 months ago
First, this is the kind of stuff that makes our “Institutions of Higher Learning” look foolish. A bunch of blow hards speaking through a mic about their anger, outrage, and need to heal does nothing to further the “dialogue” or “conversation” as they like to call these moments of showmanship. If the professor spouted off about the evil “little satan”, as some in the Middle East have come to refer to the beacon of democratic principles that is Israel, (in a sea of archaic backwardness) it would be celebrated. This only goes to show that a conversation on such topics is unattainable on far too many college campuses because these children will only hear one side of the discussion while silencing the other with claims of racism, bigotry, and hate speech. In the end end, these words hold less meaning and relevance due to their misuse. However, these once powerful words do a fantastic job of shutting down viewpoints that the kids, and many of their professors, disagree with.
concerned grandmotherPosted 3 months ago
Social media is also the problem
moosiePosted 3 months ago
I happen to agree with the professor, insofar as much of the statement that is provided in the paper. What I find so ironic in this article is that this is a college that provocks these types of postings BECAUSE of their left wing politics and beliefs, Kind of hurts when your liberalism comes back to bite you in the butt, doesn’t it?
wmchsbro1630Posted 3 months ago
According to this article, Pessin compares “Gazan Palestinians to “a rabid pit bull chained in a cage, regularly making mass efforts to escape,†and goes on to say, “‘Gaza is in the cage because of its repeated efforts to destroy Israel and Jews…The blockade is not the cause of the current conflict. It is the result of the conflict and cannot retroactively become its cause … Anyone who fails to recognize that clear and obvious fact is demanding the release of a rabid pit bull.'”
Unless _The Day_ is omitting something, it’s far, far from obvious that these comments are “deeply racist.” (Do they say that ALL Palestinians are odious because they ARE Palestinians?) I ask anyone who might think that the comments ARE “racist” to explain wherein the “racism” lies.
And by the way, this is not an explanation: “Racism demonizes and enables brutality toward the other (or one who has been demonized).” If the American left’s “demonization” of Netanyahu–and if you don’t believe he’s been “demonized,” you aren’t reading widely enough–results in attacks on him or allows those attacking Israelis to feel justified, is the American left then guilty of “racism”? Do we gauge “racism” by its effects or by its nature?
K.RobertPosted 3 months ago
So to be certain, the professor has sparked appropriate controversy based on his Facebook posting exhibiting bias against the Palestinian’s in Gaza, not for being pro -Israeli. .
Live HerePosted 3 months ago
His posting (which is public to those who he has “friended”, particularly students) was deeply racist.
Since his comment had become a campus issue, I think it was right for the President to convene this session.
Racism demonizes and enables brutality toward the other (or one who has been demonized).
wmchsbro1630Posted 3 months ago
“…published to his PERSONAL Facebook page…”
Is anyone combing through comments Conn faculty or students have made in writing or conversation about, say, Netanyahu to see whether THOSE are characterized by “vehemence” or a “central image” that is “not in keeping with the level of discourse” Bergeron has “come to expect”?
