# Thoughts on the suspension of this professor? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 4, 2020, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-suspension-of-this-professor/919830 "2020-09-04T18:08:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2020, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-suspension-of-this-professor/919830/141 "2020-09-05T20:32:14Z")
So… more spotlight? Because you really can’t have it both ways. You can’t, on the one hand, go, “Everyone needs to shut up already, people from #BothSides are too sensitive,” and then other other insist, “People should be loudly condemning these students and the reaction of the university,” (my words, your meaning as I take it). Well, strike that, you _can_ try and advance those two positions simultaneously, but then you also shouldn’t be surprised when it gets called out as somewhat disingenuous. Because it seems like what you really want is for those who agree with you fully to be able to speak their minds and keep on agreeing with you, while anyone else should just STFU and let it go already, “it’s not a big deal [except as an example of how stupid people who disagree with me are].” ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2020, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-suspension-of-this-professor/919830/142 "2020-09-05T20:37:10Z")
@k9bfriender What filler word in Mandarin do you think the professor should have used instead? ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2020, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-suspension-of-this-professor/919830/143 "2020-09-05T20:42:29Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > This is stupid fringe behavior by immature students, and I think it’s important the people _on the left_ not prevaricate, that we call it what it is, and make clear that this is not what the social justice movement is about. That BLM is about the _real_ harm caused every day by _actual_ racism. I’m getting the distinct impression this _is_ what the social justice movement is about. Most of the progressives in this thread either support the absurdity, or don’t care a whit about correcting it. So what’s to stop this sort of punishment of the innocent happening again and again if they are in charge? ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2020, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-suspension-of-this-professor/919830/144 "2020-09-05T20:47:27Z")
You’ve cracked it. It’s all just to make your life hard. ---
**Author:** ![Terwilliger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Terwilliger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terwilliger)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2020, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-suspension-of-this-professor/919830/145 "2020-09-05T20:50:35Z")
I honestly don’t get why people are trying to defend this decision. Even if you are vehemently opposed to micro aggressions, implicit racism, social justice and all. And i may agree with some cases. But this isn’t one them. Just say, oopsy daisy, our side went a little too far on this one. You aren’t admitting defeat on the whole issue if you do so. In fact you are weakening your sides stance, because when a valid case comes up, the antiPC crowd is just gonna say “oh like that poor professor that said neiga” ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2020, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-suspension-of-this-professor/919830/146 "2020-09-05T20:53:40Z")
> [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > Because you really can’t have it both ways. You can’t, on the one hand, go, “Everyone needs to shut up already, people from #BothSides are too sensitive,” and then other other insist, “People should be loudly condemning these students and the reaction of the university,” (my words, your meaning as I take it). Come on. @Ludovic’s post was pretty clear. I’m conceding that the best tactic may well be that we all just ignore the story completely. I think that somewhat depends - if it ends up on a news network and you’re a prominent figure on the left who is _asked_ for a response, I don’t think going with “no comment” is a good idea, I think you have to address it. But it’s not like anyone in this thread was following the strategy of ignoring the story, is it? Several people have posted extensively trying to find ways to defend the students’ behavior or place some or all of the blame on the professor. Obviously _if_ we’re not going to just ignore the story I’m not going to accept or agree that this is a correct interpretation of what happened. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2020, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-suspension-of-this-professor/919830/147 "2020-09-05T20:57:05Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > But it’s not like anyone in this thread was following the strategy of ignoring the story, is it? I’ve mocked it, for what it’s worth. Does that count? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2020, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-suspension-of-this-professor/919830/148 "2020-09-05T20:59:04Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > I’ve mocked it, for what it’s worth. Does that count?.. It would count if your mockery included phonemes that closely resemble a horrific racial slur against the Lao people in the Thai language, and you included a trigger warning. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2020, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-suspension-of-this-professor/919830/149 "2020-09-05T20:59:42Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > What filler word in Mandarin do you think the professor should have used instead? Here’s what I wrote earlier: > [@RitterSport](#): > > Before I started saying something that sounded like “nigga nigga nigga” on a crappy video call, I would definitely say, “hey, the Mandarin version of “er, um” sounds very similar to an offensive English word, but it’s used all the time by Mandarin speakers, so if you hear them saying “nei ga, nei ga, nei ga”, they’re just saying their equivalent of “er” or “uh”.” I’d be really clear and probably said it more like “nay ga”, since I’m not a Mandarin speaker anyway and this isn’t a Mandarin class. What do you think? I mean, I’m not a communications professor or anything, but I’d at least acknowledge that the next example will sound strange, even offensive, to non-Mandarin speakers. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2020, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-suspension-of-this-professor/919830/150 "2020-09-05T21:03:24Z")
We do agree, I think, that the temporary suspension of a random professor at USC is not something we should all get worked up about, right? I clearly stated above that the action of the dean and the students was stupid – will you clearly state that this is basically a nothing that has been blown out of proportion by outrage media? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2020, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-suspension-of-this-professor/919830/151 "2020-09-05T21:11:21Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > will you clearly state that this is basically a nothing that has been blown out of proportion by outrage media? I think I already did, but for the avoidance of doubt - yes. I mean, not to minimize the impact on the professor, it’s not nothing that he has been smeared as a racist. But this is a typical case of pushing a false narrative of “political correctness gone mad” to try to undermine the social justice movement as a whole. ---
**Author:** ![Terwilliger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Terwilliger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terwilliger)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2020, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-suspension-of-this-professor/919830/152 "2020-09-05T21:15:27Z")
Other than this thread and some right wing news site, i do not think this issue has gotten much traction. So fine, if you can say oops this a bad example of defending against micro aggressions, i can say its not indicative of the anti micro aggressions in general. I dont think the outrage media beyond a few websites have covered this. And the professor still is f\*\*\*\*d ---
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2020, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-suspension-of-this-professor/919830/153 "2020-09-05T21:15:53Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > What do you think? I mean, I’m not a communications professor or anything, but I’d at least acknowledge that the next example will sound strange, even offensive, to non-Mandarin speakers But would you have acknowledged that it may be misinterpreted before this even happened? Seems to me, everyone saying the professor should have warned the students (or whatever term they want to use) is using hindsight. It’s pretty easy to sit back and say “I would have done that” or “they should have done that,” after the fact. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2020, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-suspension-of-this-professor/919830/154 "2020-09-05T21:17:02Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > What filler word in Mandarin do you think the professor should have used instead? I haven’t followed this whole thing (sorry!), but why did it need to be Mandarin? This wasn’t a Mandarin course, right? Just a communications course. So he chose Mandarin for some reason (perhaps because he was familiar with it? perhaps because he thought it was ironic or funny that it was offensive to English ears?). Obviously the University over-reacted, but I totally understand why the default response was “suspend and investigate”, especially considering the history of the University and the fate of the last Dean. The letter from the students was over-wrought, and pretty shitty rather than just talking to the professor himself. But it’s not like anything truly severe has happened, right? He was just asked not to teach his course for awhile while they look into it. Call me naive, but I have confidence they will ultimately do the right thing (reinstate him, perhaps with him explaining to his class why he chose the example he did). ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2020, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-suspension-of-this-professor/919830/155 "2020-09-05T21:24:25Z")
If I billed myself as an expert in communication, yes, I would hope so. I feel weird saying shiitake mushroom or shih tzu in front of little kids. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2020, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-suspension-of-this-professor/919830/156 "2020-09-05T21:24:28Z")
> [@ThisIsTheEnd](#): > > Well, you better report it then. You could be more direct too, if you are making an assertion, followed by some evidence or argument for the accuracy of your claim. Or is this latter part what bothers you? I can see why you would want to be vaguely nasty if you don’t have anything to back it up. ---
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2020, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-suspension-of-this-professor/919830/157 "2020-09-05T21:25:56Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > If I billed myself as an expert in communication, yes, I would hope so. I feel weird saying shiitake mushroom or shih tzu in front of little kids. Yeah–I see your point about those two words. I try to avoid using those. I’m also careful saying “Uranus” (the planet). ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2020, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-suspension-of-this-professor/919830/158 "2020-09-05T21:38:31Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > I haven’t followed this whole thing (sorry!), but why did it need to be Mandarin? This wasn’t a Mandarin course, right? Just a communications course. So he chose Mandarin for some reason From the article linked above: > …in an email to members of the USC Marshall Graduate Student Association Executive Board, Patton apologized, explaining that he has taught the course for 10 years and had been given the example by several international students years ago. > > “The inclusion is part of a deep and sustained effort at inclusion as I have reached out to find and include many international, global, diverse, female, broad and inclusive leadership examples and illustrations to enhance communication and interpersonal skill in our global workplace,” he said. > > …He said he had received positive feedback on the lesson in years past If he had chosen some obscure language, that might be circumstantially suspicious. But Chinese is obviously an important and widely spoken language that does not share linguistic roots with English, so it’s a natural linguistic point of comparison. Unless there are separate reasons to believe this guy is a racist (which undoubtedly would have emerged if they existed) I think the notion that he chose Chinese _because_ of the aural similarity of neige to the English slur is a conspiracy theory. He had given a similar lecture in prior years without any problem arising. Evidently in prior years the students’ critical thinking skills were sufficient that his clear statement that he was discussing a word _in Chinese_ was enough, and no more explicit trigger warning was required. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2020, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-suspension-of-this-professor/919830/159 "2020-09-05T22:12:58Z")
The best comment I saw on this: > [@](#): > > The real victims here are the editors and writers at satire publications like The Onion. > > What fictional, humorous account can hope to match this sort of alt-reality gibberish? ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2020, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-suspension-of-this-professor/919830/160 "2020-09-05T22:13:28Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Unless there are separate reasons to believe this guy is a racist (which undoubtedly would have emerged if they existed) I think the notion that he chose Chinese _because_ of the aural similarity of neige to the English slur is a conspiracy theory. He had given a similar lecture in prior years without any problem arising. Evidently in prior years the students’ critical thinking skills were sufficient that his clear statement that he was discussing a word _in Chinese_ was enough, and no more explicit trigger warning was required. I think that all makes perfect sense, and likely will be sufficiently exculpatory during the review that he will come out completely unscathed (not f\*\*cked, as @Terrwiliger seems to think). Perhaps he will be asked to be a bit more explicit in acknowledging that “hey, this sounds a bit awkward to English speakers”. We shall see, I guess, but I see no reason to be at anybody’s throats just yet. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-suspension-of-this-professor/919830.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thoughts-on-the-suspension-of-this-professor/919830.md?page=9)