I never engage in political conversations at my university, because I don't share the assumptions or assume the premises that most of my colleagues share about political framings.
Even to play devil's advocate earns me suspicious looks and scornful comments. I just avoid all of it, because it would be pointless to oppose the hive mind, and I don't want to be ostracized.
One colleague rebuked me for not being willing to "take sides" after the recent unpleasantness in the Twin Cities, when all I was doing was being silent about it all at an informal happy hour gathering, not joining in on the kvetching and catastrophizing. Not such a "happy" happy hour.
One thing I have come to understand is that lefty politics is a very dark place, spiritually and emotionally. So much general hatred, resentment, and simmering anger, leavened with self-congratulation and an extraordinary ignorance of principled arguments for opinions that oppose their narrative. Serious epistemic closure persists in the academy.
I'm still working at my age because I love what I do, love my students, and even love my colleagues. I'm grateful to have this fantastic gig. Life's too short for all this pissiness.
This is exactly it. The silence isn't apathy — it's survival. And the colleague who rebuked you for not joining the kvetching at a happy hour is the whole piece in one anecdote. Thank you for this.
I never engage in political conversations at my university, because I don't share the assumptions or assume the premises that most of my colleagues share about political framings.
Even to play devil's advocate earns me suspicious looks and scornful comments. I just avoid all of it, because it would be pointless to oppose the hive mind, and I don't want to be ostracized.
One colleague rebuked me for not being willing to "take sides" after the recent unpleasantness in the Twin Cities, when all I was doing was being silent about it all at an informal happy hour gathering, not joining in on the kvetching and catastrophizing. Not such a "happy" happy hour.
One thing I have come to understand is that lefty politics is a very dark place, spiritually and emotionally. So much general hatred, resentment, and simmering anger, leavened with self-congratulation and an extraordinary ignorance of principled arguments for opinions that oppose their narrative. Serious epistemic closure persists in the academy.
I'm still working at my age because I love what I do, love my students, and even love my colleagues. I'm grateful to have this fantastic gig. Life's too short for all this pissiness.
This is exactly it. The silence isn't apathy — it's survival. And the colleague who rebuked you for not joining the kvetching at a happy hour is the whole piece in one anecdote. Thank you for this.