As I wrote two days ago, Smith College “whistleblower” Jodi Shaw finally resigned from the College after criticizing them repeatedly for their intense and what she sees as divisive hyper-racialism, which all started with an old complaint from a black student about racism, a complaint that Smith itself found bogus. The College made her life hell, and she finally had to leave to keep from going crazy.
Shaw’s attempt to get help from Smith was futile, for Smith College has gone into full Robin DiAngelo mode.
Shaw had enough when she was accused in a public struggle session of “white fragility.” Smith has shown not an iota of compassion for her, clearly wanting to get rid of her (a employee of Smith’s Residence Life division) but also to avoid publicity. (Donors won’t be happy with what’s going on at Smith.) Smith’s President, Kathleen McCartney, even wrote an insensitive letter to the College community implying that they’d like to fire Shaw, but couldn’t because of the law.
Shaw refused a monetary settlement from Smith, which was trying to buy her silence in return for cash. They had already started investigating her and had put her on leave. A divorced mother of two, Shaw made this video about her resignation. She’s clearly stressed out and is taking some time off from making videos:
Shaw has now set up a GoFundMe campaign to help not only with her living expenses, but also with legal expenses: as she says in the video above, a lawsuit is apparently in the offing that accuses Smith of racial bias against her. Click on the screenshot below, showing that her plea has already far exceeded its goal of $150,000. The number of donors, and the amount raised so quickly, suggests that there are many people who are mad as hell with the infusion of Critical Race Theory into colleges, and aren’t going to take it any more.
Sadly, as you see below this screenshot, GoFundMe seems to have put a hold on the donations, and it’s not clear why. Shaw suspects “ideological reasons,” and I myself suspect Smith doesn’t want money being raised for a lawsuit against them. Based on their behavior in this case already, I find the college reprehensible. So far I have no reason to doubt Shaw’s assertions.
Click below; I wouldn’t donate to GoFundMe yet if you want Shaw to get the money, for they may not give it to her. But there are alternative ways to fund her (see below):
Here’s her description on GoFundMe’s hold on the funds. There’s a link to alternative funding sources (go here or click on screenshot) that cannot be stopped:
Alternative support includes PayPal or a check to her home address, which you can find at this link. If they eliminate the link above, I have that information.
Here’s her message on GoFundMe:
Through an increasing emphasis on trainings and programs grounded in Critical Social Justice, an incredibly dehumanizing ideology that posits a person’s immutable characteristics as more important than their individual character, Smith College and other institutions like it have created and nurtured a hostile work environment for staff, students and faculty.
I took a public stand against these dehumanizing policies and practices at Smith College in a series of YouTube videos. My hope was that I could not only improve working conditions for staff at Smith, but for working people everywhere who suffer under similar policies in their workplaces.
Smith responded by placing me on a leave and under investigation. During this time I was offered a settlement in exchange for my silence. In the end it was a decision between comfort or freedom. I chose freedom.
Since I cannot return to the psychologically abusive environment without further jeopardizing my mental and physical health, I have decided to leave the College.
But my fight has not ended. In some ways it has just begun. Please join me in standing up to a divisive, destructive ideology that threatens to tear our country apart. Help me hold Smith College accountable for its actions in a court of law.
h/t: several readers
People still seem to be able to donate and there’s no sign on the page (other than Shaw’s message) that the campaign is under review at the moment. Has the review been concluded in Shaws favour?
Is the implication that Smith College has tentacles long enough to get a GoFundMe campaign shut down?
I really have no idea what’s happening here. I haven’t seen campaigns like this shut down before. Who knows?
Underage “militiaman” 17yo Kyle Rittenhouse, who traveled to Kenosha, WI and shot/killed two people, had several GoFundMe accounts set up for him (among others) and and I believe the backlash against that, caused GoFundMe to invoke the following:
“GoFundMe forbids people from using the platform to raise money for “the implicit or explicit purpose of or involving for the legal defense of alleged crimes associated with hate, violence, harassment, bullying, discrimination, terrorism, or intolerance of any kind relating to race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, serious disabilities or diseases, financial crimes or crimes of deception,” according to the terms of service.” — From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, udadated Aug 28, 2020
A Texas legal foundation is now in charge of all fundraising.
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2020/08/27/kyle-rittenhouse-defended-fightback-foundation-kenosha-shooting-l-lin-wood-raising-money-gofundme/5650147002/
Yes, but I don’t think Jodi Shaw fits that definition!
Fully agree, she doesn’t. She’s not (as far as I know) raising money as a defendant in a criminal case, she’s raising money as a potential litigant in a civil case.
I don’t think it fits either, but that was first case AFAIK to have funds put on hold for any reason, other than outright fraud.
Her campaign hasn’t been shut down. It’s still accepting donations. In fact, she broke $200k.
That’s not necessarily the implication. There’s tons of precedent for random groups of “activists” mobbing GoFundMe and similar sites to shut down the page of a person or organization. Of course, the activists that win are always “progressive.” Buy I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if there was a public or entirely anonymous campaign in the part of Smith students and/or others to shut this one down; in fact, I was expecting this, though I wasn’t sure about whether or not the site would cave.
The increasing division between who can and can’t use online services is beginning to remind me of the class divisions in Brave New World. Back to work Deltas, these things aren’t for you.
This at best is way tangentially related to Smith. But in things academic, seems like San Francisco public schools have put the notorious renaming of schools on hold…
ttps://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/S-F-school-board-president-Renamings-are-on-15967923.php?utm_id=24104&sfmc_id=1830466
Here is GoFundMe’s page on holds. None of the reasons they cite would seem to fit – they’re mostly administrative. Closest they have to something that would apply is “we need to ensure the money is going to the cited cause.”
Here is their page on removing holds. Relevant to this case is that the company claims they send the person an email letter (which Ms. Shaw should’ve gotten) and that they resolve the issue or get back to the client in 24 hours.
Did they follow their own rules? Seems unlikely if Ms. Shaw still has GoFundMe issues after receiving a hold on the 19th. It’s possible the 24 hr response only counts business days, I suppose, but the bigger issue of why the hold at all still seems up in the air.
I took a look at their holds page. They don’t say that this is a comprehensive list. My guess is that they can pretty much do anything they want.
Thanks for sharing this. I was unaware of this woman’s story. I just watched four of her videos, and read the one article. What she described, and the steps to protect oneself listed struck me as the exact definition of abuse, and the steps one should take to protect oneself in an abusive relationship. Particularly the social isolation and punishment for seeking allies. When one is in an abusive relationship of any kind, the abuser will seek to alienate, isolate, and control the abused’s contact with the outside world. We all know about Gaslighting. And that is part of the control to convince the individual that they have a problem, or are the problem. I applaud Jodi Shaw for reaching out to find those allies. That’s when you begin to realize that you are not alone, and able to understand the isolating and Gaslighting behavior that is/was taking place. Her video on not being perceived as “Right Wing” was particularly poignant for me. It reminded me of the criticisms of Pete Buttigieg for appearing on Fox News in Townhalls and other programs. Jodi and Pete seem to be caught in the same dilemma of all who wish to persuade with dialogue and discourse. Buttigieg was dedicated to the idea of creating “Future Former Republicans,” which seems to me a better way to gain votes or at least create room for new ideas to form. Jodi obviously, is not in the same situation as Pete, as a private citizen. But, as she said, why didn’t CNN or MSNBC give her a platform? If I had the opportunity to go on one of Cable News’ most watched programs to voice my platform, I would certainly seize the opportunity. Thanks again for this. And I will be following her story.
One bright spot I’ve noticed has been a string of satirical bits on SNL lampooning “Cancel Culture.” Aidy’s brilliant turn as Ted Cruz aside, Michael Che and Colin Jost have noted the double standard in the treatment of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s nursing home scandal, and his efforts to deflect attention from his actions. And there was a great bit with two white cast members as insufferable prigs who began a Twitter campaign to cancel children.
I’d also like to note that I have experienced being shut down on social media with the simple phrase “liberal white female.” I don’t even get what that means, but it’s both racist and sexist. I was born white and female, and was brought up to believe in equality and respect for all. Why alienate a potential ally?
What happens to the money already donated (both to her and to GoFundMe itself) if the dispute is not resolved in her favour? I’m thinking of reversing my credit-card transaction.
I’m pretty sure that people get their money back!
GoFund me will return funds, but there is probably not date attached as to when.
Stuff like this, most of the news, not to mention most US film and TV, seem to paint the US as some sort of dystopian hell-hole.
I’m pretty sure that’s not actually true, though.
Could some USers please reassure the rest of us that most of the time its fine really? Thanks.
Well… some bright spots are appearing. Perseverance! But we have a broken system. Look at Texas right now! The lack of resources for the Pandemic, particularly in terms of food, unemployment assistance, and health care, wage slavery, unequal opportunities, cowboy cops, and follks who think Tom Hanks and Hillary Clinton hang out and eat babies. However, we have some of the most beautiful natural spaces. And Americans really do deserve the reputation for friendly openness. And we put our shopping buggies back in the proper location. Don’t even think of cutting in line though if you value your life at all. We’re going through a bit of a family thing. Maybe try out Costa Rica in the meantime!
Well… some bright spots are appearing. But mainly it’s the hell hole you mentioned. Look at Texas right now! Broken system. However, we have some of the most beautiful natural spaces. And Americans really do deserve the reputation for friendly openness. And we put our shopping buggies back in the proper location. Don’t even think of cutting in line though of you value your life at all. We’re going through a bit of a family thing. Maybe try out Costa Rica in the meantime!
I’m sorry, I’m a political scientist and as such I can’t. We’re descending into totalitarianism here. The oligarchs openly hate the people they have to bother to rule over, and the Woke movement, which does not allow cultural or political dissent, is aligned with them. Consequently, everybody’s being required to think alike in public. It’s being enforced in even the smallest of cases. Guilt by association is the norm. Those who don’t understand that end up stepping in it and are punished without mercy by the carnivorous cancel mobs, who have eaten their way through our public spaces completely in the form of an online zombie apocalypse. The zombies are forming a Borg hive and telling the rest of us to assimilate or die socially, politically, and economically. The truth is that we’re going the way of China exactly. It just remains to be fully formalized.
Its fine as long as you don’t try to buck the system, and as long as you buy into all the gobble-de-gook. Of course that’s exactly what Jodi did, so she got canceled. We are rapidly descending into an autocratic state, where you are fine if you just ignore what is going on and proceed with the rest of your life. But if you don’t go along, then you will likely lose your job, or, as Jodi found out, effectively lose it because they redefine it in totally unacceptable ways.
Donated $40 to her Paypal. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.
Dear Smith College:
One word: Oberlin.
Best Wishes,
Mark Joseph
Here is a message from the president of Smith College, released today 2/22/2021
https://www.smith.edu/president-kathleen-mccartney/letters-community/2020-21/message-from-president-mccartney-feb-22-2021
Watching this space with interest!
Ha! Apparently Shaw “accuses the college of creating a racially hostile environment for white people, a baseless claim that the college flatly denies”. So despite her very specific descriptions of dated events and interactions that establish precisely that, the complaint is “baseless”. Deny it all you want, Smith, flatly or not, but this isn’t going to go away.