By Tom Knighton
It’s funny how the social justice jihadis never realize how outrageously racist they sound to those outside of their own bubble.
The latest example comes from the University of Hawaii, where a math professor has informed all of her white male colleagues that they should quit. All in the name of social justice, of course:
Not to alarm you, but I probably want you to quit your job, or at least take a demotion. Statistically speaking, you are probably taking up room that should go to someone else. If you are a white cis man (meaning you identify as male and you were assigned male at birth) you almost certainly should resign from your position of power. That’s right, please quit. Too difficult? Well, as a first step, at least get off your hiring committee, your curriculum committee, and make sure you’re replaced by a woman of color or trans person. Don’t have any in your department? HOW SHOCKING.
Remember that you live in a world where people don’t succeed in a vacuum; most success happens on the backs of others who did not consent. You have no idea how successful you would have been if you were still you, but with an additional marginalization (not white, or not male, or not cis gender, or with a disability, etc).
Right now, I want to talk about gender equality because the fact that women aren’t actually a demographic minority makes certain arguments easier, but please know that actual solutions require women of color and trans people. Remember having white cis women run the world is no kind of solution.
Piper Harron, an assistant professor at the University of Hawaii, is apparently only in a temporary position. This probably contributes to the Princeton graduate’s resentment toward the hiring process.
In her bio on the American Mathematical Society’s blog where this screed was posted, she notes:
Piper Harron tried really hard to play by the rules of society and academia, but she failed. Not only did she fail, but she was miserable and found that playing by the rules wouldn’t even keep her safe.
It seems she chalks her failure up to being either a woman or a minority — it’s hard to keep up on which is a bigger hindrance these days. It doesn’t matter, because either way her failure simply has to be because of white men. It can’t be her fault in any way.
While she’s right by saying it’s impossible to know for sure that successful people would be just as successful if they were black or female, the converse is also true, but she’s absolutely sure that she would be more successful.
From a supposed mathematician, maybe her poor grasp of logic is what’s hindered her career?
Harron’s conclusion, that white men should step aside for women and minorities, is beyond bonkers. She acts as if white male DNA is the bane of all existence, revealing a level of racism that would have a white male lynched by the media in a heartbeat were the roles reversed — and for good reason.
Racism is pernicious in any form, and giving Harron a pass because she is a black woman would be the bigotry of low expectations.
Hat tip: Heatstreet.com