Feb 20 2010

A Thoughtful Reply To A Serious Subject

Category: Olympics — amuzikman @ 4:18 pm

U.S.A. Olympic skater, Evan Lysacek has won the gold medal in men’s figure skating, beating heavily favored Russian, Yevgeny Plushenko.

Apparently Plushenko and all of Russia, from the Prime Minister down, have taken great exception to this and have been complaining bitterly about the results, claiming the outcome was unfair.

Given the sensitivity and significance of the subject plus the enormity of the implications for our two nations I feel it is important for me to contribute a considered personal reply.  After extended thoughtful deliberation, here it is:

Dear Mr. Plushenko,

Yawn…

Feb 20 2010

Gun free zone failure number 60?

Category: college,education,guns,higher education,society — harmonicminer @ 9:07 am

The other kind of IED (intermittent explosive disorder)
Much more at the link.

The New York Times says that a faculty member at the University of Alabama killed 3 and wounded 6 others after being denied tenure at the biology department. Circumstantial evidence suggested that she was upset at what she believed was unfair treatment. The suspect apparently “had told acquaintances recently that she was worried about getting tenure”, and the NYT quoted one source as saying “she began to talk about her problems getting tenure in a very forceful and animated way, saying it was unfair.”

I’ve been to some tense faculty meetings. Meetings with outcomes that had the potential to really change people’s lives who were involved, in one way or another.

So far I haven’t had to duck and cover because somebody started shooting.  But it is starting to seem that the only people who respect the “gun-free zones” on campus are the victims.

Maybe I should start ordering my hoodies to be Kevlar-lined.

Just in case a deranged post-modern prof who gives feminist readings to medieval French poetry happens to go postal.