Two days ago, Glen Loury, a professor of social sciences at Brown University, had a conversation with Bret Weinstein on Bloggingheads tv, and it’s just appeared on YouTube. Weinstein, you may recall, is the professor of evolutionary biology at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington who refused to leave campus on the Day of Departure when white people were asked to depart. For that he was demonized and called a racist, even though he had a long history of social activism and anti-racist work. His fellow faculty members have called for him to be investigated, and since he’s been threatened and excoriated by students, he’s had to leave Olympia because the campus police can’t or won’t protect him.
The timeline for the interview is below. One reason why students and faculty went after Weinstein is because he brought unwelcome attention to Evergreen (or so they think) by agreeing to do interviews with Joe Rogan, Tucker Carlson (Fox News) and Dave Rubin. Rubin and Carlson in particular are seen as organs of the Right, and so Weinstein himself was characterized as a tool of the alt-Right. You can hear his explanation of why he went on Carlson’s show at 30:57.
But there’s a lot of other good stuff here, and I find Bret an admirable guy—especially after hearing this. I could never have dealt with the situation with the equanimity that Bret and his wife Heather (also a demonized Evergreen biology professor) have shown.
00:45 Bret’s work in evolutionary biology
05:29 Bret’s inside take on the turmoil at Evergreen State College
12:35 Attempts to limit faculty autonomy at Evergreen
22:37 The problem of self-censorship
30:57 Bret explains why he went on Tucker Carlson’s show
36:30 The clash with the “Patriot Prayer” group at Evergreen
41:32 How protestors targeted Bret
h/t: Bill B.
Tucker Carlson IMO is an organ of the right.
Dave Rubin is not!
Nonetheless, I occasionally feel about Tucker Carson the way Jon Stewart felt about Bill O’Reilly- in some ways, the voice of sanity at Fox News, although that’s really like being the thinnest kid at fat camp.
(And no apologies to Naomi Lowe for body-shaming humor.)
In a similar vein, my dad used to say “that is like being the best restaurant in New Jersey.”
Hey, those onion rings at the diner in the grand finale of The Soproanos looked pretty tasty!
Like the tallest midget in the circus, is the one I usually reach for.
Very interesting video cast.
Sub
Good stuff indeed, very good stuff. Grist.
Professor Loury is a fine interviewer and Professor Weinstein is again impressive–a keen observer, invested in his work, clear, thoughtful, sensitive to subtleties of conversation and respectful in conversation.
I loved the interruption by Loury’s granddaughter and also Weinstein’s sensitivity to that last, lingering hug and kisses by asking whether he’d like some time. It made me feel that we were, in fact, in a living room where there is always time for such interruptions.
Thanks again.
It’s amazing how calm, composed, and compassionate Weinstein continues to be. He has never spoken even a single word in anger that we’ve seen, even in the videos where he was being slandered, attacked, harassed, and intimidated by a pack of people. The man is a freaking (secular) saint. I would almost certainly let my anger get the better of me at least occasionally in his position.
My thoughts exactly!
What I don’t understand is how the truly estimable Mr. Weinstein never says a word, or even indicates that any conclusion can be drawn, about the universality of the attitudes prevalent on the Evergreen campus elsewhere.
And, as a follow-up, I am utterly impressed by Mr. Weinstein, his attitude, and his moral fiber. And perhaps, his non-judgmentalism is an aspect of that moral fiber, so I shouldn’t be so surprised that he is so remarkably clinical.
One look at Weinstein explains it all- he’s male, and WHITE!Obviously an “oppressor” of some sort….
Did the President of Evergreen admit he is a white supremacist or did I dream that? WTF is going on?
That man is a hero, but he’s too idealistic for his own good. He needs to sue Evergreen for a big ol’ chunk of money for letting this happen to him, then carefully evaluate his options and go to a college where he’s welcome. Maybe even in Europe, but definitely not Evergreen.