Twenty-seven years on, little has changed in America. Old white men still get to make liars into Supreme Court Justices. Indeed, things have worsened. Back in 1991, the Senate merely elevated a serial sexual harasser to the Supreme Court. Now, they get to send lying, rapey fratboys to the bench. I suppose that’s not soContinue reading “Twenty Seven Years On, Old White Misogynists Still Get To Send Liars To The Supreme Court”
Tag Archives: sexual harassment
America’s Next Supreme Court Justice, Brett Kavanaugh, Is A Lying, Rapey, Fratboy
I believe Christine Blasey Ford; I believe Brett Kavanaugh did precisely what she accuses him of doing. My reasons for offering this expression of my beliefs are quite simple: Brett Kavanaugh has done everything possible–especially during his ludicrous interview to Fox News yesterday–to indicate to me that he not only did what Ford alleges heContinue reading “America’s Next Supreme Court Justice, Brett Kavanaugh, Is A Lying, Rapey, Fratboy”
Dear Men, Shut Up About ‘Due Process’ Already
From sea to shining sea, on social media pages nationwide, brave men are taking up cudgels on behalf of their brothers-in-sex-and-gender, the ones whose lives are facing ruination because of this country’s #MeToo moment, as accusation after accusation of sexual harassment and assault issue forth from women who’ve previously remained silent. In each case, theirContinue reading “Dear Men, Shut Up About ‘Due Process’ Already”
Anita Hill, Harvey Weinstein, And National Amnesia
In October 1991, I, along with millions of other curious viewers, watched the Senate nomination hearings for the Supreme Court nominee, Clarence Thomas. My curiosity, like that of many others, had been piqued by the presence of Thomas’ former assistant, Anita Hill, who had accused him of sexual harassment at her workplace. On the secondContinue reading “Anita Hill, Harvey Weinstein, And National Amnesia”
#MeToo Shows Sexual Harassment And Abuse Is A Feature, Not A Bug
The Facebook status is simple: Me too. If all the people who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote “Me too” as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem. Please copy/paste, if you’re comfortable doing so. And effective: it has produced a deluge of “Me too” statuses. The vast majorityContinue reading “#MeToo Shows Sexual Harassment And Abuse Is A Feature, Not A Bug”
Boccaccio And Double Entendres In A Patriarchal Society
In his review of a new translation of Giovanni Boccaccio‘s The Decameron (by Wayne A. Rebhorn, Norton, 2015), Stephen Greenblatt writes: Many of these stories are scandalously obscene, but the scandal has nothing to do with filthy words….circumlocutory words, or periphrases…have nothing to do with prudery. They are part of Boccaccio’s inexhaustible bag of metaphorical tricks, andContinue reading “Boccaccio And Double Entendres In A Patriarchal Society”
Professional Academic Philosophy’s Blind Spots
A few years ago, I read an email–or a post on an online forum, I am not sure–written by a very accomplished senior philosopher (a logician to be precise.) In his argument, the logician–adept at providing mathematically elegant proofs of recondite logical problems–seemed to have committed at least two logical fallacies in the first paragraphContinue reading “Professional Academic Philosophy’s Blind Spots”
More on ‘Male Anxiety’ in Academic Philosophy
Daniel Mullin comments on my post from yesterday about ‘male anxiety’ in the workplace–in particular, in academic philosophy departments–and describes his strategy for dealing with an atmosphere in which there is heightened sensitivity about sexual harassment: Since that time, I’ve considered ANY interaction with a female student as a potential minefield to be avoided ifContinue reading “More on ‘Male Anxiety’ in Academic Philosophy”
Male Anxiety in the Workplace: The Case of Academic Philosophy
In 1990, I began work at AT&T’s Bell Laboratories. My technical employment status was ‘Resident Visitor’; I was a ‘consultant’ sent to work at the Laboratories on a contingent basis. Because of this status, I was not required to attend the training sessions that were often set up for permanent employees. Off they went, whileContinue reading “Male Anxiety in the Workplace: The Case of Academic Philosophy”
Colin McGinn and the Exploitation of the Philosophy Job Market
La Affaire Colin McGinn AKA the Handjob That Might or Might Not Have Been, has roiled the philosophy world for some time now. (A couple of Chronicle of Higher Education articles might bring you up to speed; here and here. Because those articles are behind a pay-wall you might do better to google ‘Colin McGinnContinue reading “Colin McGinn and the Exploitation of the Philosophy Job Market”
Samir Chopra 