The Coddling Of The American Mind
If Books Could Kill
What Are You Saying About Violence on the Left?
LZ Granderson: These books cast one kind of random anecdote as indicative of a larger culture. He says they're doing it exactly wrong because if you look at the incidents where left-wing protesters went too far, those incidents are almost unanimously denounced by the left. LZ: And then when you have these outbursts of right-wing violence, you have them celebrated by right-wing leaders. The authors talk about that briefly without acknowledging that what they're saying is that from the very top of the conservative political establishment is implicit endorsement of this violence.
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Speaker 2
In noble, the crematory is now gone, but Marsha's mother continued to live on the, on the big property. No word if she's still around. I'm not sure. I'm sure she absolutely was. Brent Marsh served his full 12 year sentence and was released in June 2016. He walked out with his attorney, Posten, the mad as a how to guy. He told the media that his client was going home to Walker County in Georgia. Since then, Marsh has laid low and not given any further explanation for his bizarre behavior. Because he was placed under 75 years of probation,
Speaker 1
he's probably under some sort of court supervision for the rest of his life. Right. I think that's probably for the best. Maybe what? So, and is he allowed to leave Georgia? Because I would if I could. If I was him. Yeah.
Speaker 2
Yes, he absolutely could have because this is, his
Speaker 1
community would be pretty happy for him to, but the probation doesn't mean he has to stay in the state. Not that I know of. I'm not sure. Because it was a, was it a federal? What are they federal? I don't know. Anyway, I think there was, no, it was a mixture of state crimes. Because it, yeah, potentially under the probation, he needs to stay.
Speaker 2
Which would be bad if he's like, this community hates me.
Speaker 1
I don't know what I'm going to be. Can I imagine the community wouldn't want him there? Yeah. So why would, unless, yeah, just, uh. Whoa.
Speaker 2
Oh, it's so,
Speaker 1
uh, it's so unsatisfying. Yeah.
Speaker 2
Sorry, there's no
Speaker 1
explanation. Well, I feel like that's, he's like, I can't offer an explanation. But give us whatever the explanation is. Just give it the families must be like going, I tell us. Even if it's something. Is it because you would just, we're slack in your, yeah,
Speaker 2
because you just not be fucked or like, is it? Is this fun for you? What's the deal? Yeah, exactly. Even if it was just like the incinerator was playing up for a couple of months and then I got too behind and it overwhelmed me. Yeah. And I know this isn't a real excuse, but that's the truth of one. Yeah, totally. I think that would be more satisfying than just like, I can't tell you. So then, then, then I'm assuming the absolute worst. Then I'm assuming something really sinister and creepy. Whereas if it's just like, it got away from me and I was stuck in this spiral, I've still really mad at you, but like. But if there's at least some closure. There's some closure. Totally. A memorial for the unidentified remains because remember one third weren't positively identified was unveiled in the Tennessee Georgia Memorial Park, marking the place where 133 bodies that couldn't be identified are at rest. It reads, may they and their families have everlasting peace and consolation. The crematory building and all other structures associated were torn down by 2005. Also Brent's mother Clara signed part of the property where the crematory was to become a trust, making sure what became the resting place of bodies for many years will never be developed. Oh, wow.
Speaker 1
I have to
Speaker 2
keep that as open area.
TRIGGER WARNING: if you're a SNOWFLAKE college professor afraid of how your students are expressing themselves, you might need a SAFE SPACE, because Michael and Peter are discussing "The Coddling of The American Mind," a book about campus culture that's light on facts and heavy on cherry-picked anecdotes.
CORRECTION: The Socrates quote mentioned at the end of this episode is apocryphal. We thank the listeners who pointed this out for refusing to coddle our American minds.
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Where to find us:
Sources:
- The Miseducation of Free Speech (https://www.virginialawreview.org/articles/miseducation-free-speech/)
- College and the “Culture War”: Assessing Higher Education’s Influence on Moral Attitudes (
- https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00031224211041094)
- The Myth of the Campus Coddle Crisis (https://academeblog.org/2018/12/28/the-myth-of-the-campus-coddle-crisis-the-coddling-of-the-american-mind/)
- What ‘Safe Spaces’ Really Look Like on College Campuses (https://www.chronicle.com/article/what-safe-spaces-really-look-like-on-college-campuses/?bc_nonce=peduocnzcslb08jxmt1dlb&cid=reg_wall_signup)
- Are College Campuses Really in the Thrall of Leftist Censors? (https://slate.com/human-interest/2015/03/hypersensitive-campus-progressives-judith-shulevitz-is-half-right-but-takes-her-criticisms-too-far.html)
- Speaking Freely: What Students Think about Expression at American Colleges (https://www.thefire.org/research-learn/student-attitudes-free-speech-survey)
- ‘Not all cultures are created equal’ says Penn Law professor in op-ed (https://www.thedp.com/article/2017/08/amy-wax-penn-law-cultural-values)
- How Right Wing Media Has Tried to Stifle Student Speech at Evergreen State College (https://psmag.com/education/the-real-free-speech-story-at-evergreen-college)
- I'm a liberal professor, and my liberal students terrify me (https://www.vox.com/2015/6/3/8706323/college-professor-afraid)
- In College and Hiding From Scary Ideas (https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/22/opinion/sunday/judith-shulevitz-hiding-from-scary-ideas.html)
Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
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