# Today's Lesson: Context matters (Canadian edition) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 15, 2011, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-lesson-context-matters-canadian-edition/596370 "2011-09-15T04:04:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-lesson-context-matters-canadian-edition/596370/61 "2012-02-07T21:22:08Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > ETA: Possibly both. Are there some levels of narcissism that quality as a mental health problem? This is why we need to save words like “OCD”, “anti-social”, and “claustrophobic” for when we really mean it. Otherwise, people forget [what they actually mean.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissistic_personality_disorder) ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-lesson-context-matters-canadian-edition/596370/62 "2012-02-07T21:54:28Z")
She’s looking for a Lifetime TV movie deal. ---
**Author:** ![Sonnenstrahl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Sonnenstrahl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sonnenstrahl)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2012, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-lesson-context-matters-canadian-edition/596370/63 "2012-02-07T23:19:14Z")
Oh, York. If there’s a subject you think can’t be instantly and violently related to the Israel-Palestine conflict, just as a bunch of York students and you’ll find out differently. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-lesson-context-matters-canadian-edition/596370/64 "2012-02-08T00:40:55Z")
I wonder if she will complain about not getting a course credit for that video? ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-lesson-context-matters-canadian-edition/596370/65 "2012-02-08T01:08:17Z")
I hate when jerks are so pathetic that you realize they must be crazy. I love to get my hate on, but a good insanity defense takes away some of the pleasure. And this person is just so over-the-top that she cannot be sane. No freakin’ way. I wish I were a student in her class, though. This is the kind of dramady that makes college so much fun. ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2012, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-lesson-context-matters-canadian-edition/596370/66 "2012-02-08T03:00:41Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > I wish I were a student in her class, though. This is the kind of dramady that makes college so much fun. And the opportunity for trolling her in class would be wonderful:D “Cool, I broke his brain” /Bart Simpson ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2012, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-lesson-context-matters-canadian-edition/596370/67 "2012-07-19T06:05:34Z")
ETA: D’oh! Didn’t realize I was resurrecting a zombie! Sorry folks! I was all ready to laugh at the girl’s video, but she actually made a clear and relatively compelling case that she’s been deliberately misrepresented by the media, that her original claim was much more reasonable than reported, and that both the university and The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs have misreported events to improve the appearance of their own handling of the case while essentially throwing Sarah under the bus. Sure, she lacks perspective and gives the video a somewhat self-aggrandizing title, but so what? Everything looks more intense when you’re in the middle of it, and I don’t think I’d be able to present my position on an emotional topic as clearly even as a full adult. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2012, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-lesson-context-matters-canadian-edition/596370/68 "2012-07-19T17:39:05Z")
> [@Alan\_Smithee](#): > > I was all ready to laugh at the girl’s video, but she actually made a clear and relatively compelling case that she’s been deliberately misrepresented by the media, that her original claim was much more reasonable than reported, and that both the university and The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs have misreported events to improve the appearance of their own handling of the case while essentially throwing Sarah under the bus. She completely, utterly fails to demonstrate that her original complaint was anything other than imbecilic. She makes a claim - that the professor announced Jews should be sterilized, and meant for it to be taken as his literal opinion - that has been contradicted by multiple eyewitnesses, that makes absolutely no sense at all (Professor Johnston is of Jewish descent) and that, given the subject and content of his lecture, has a rather logical alternative explanation. Nothing in her video succeeds in making her claim any less dubious than it ever was. She says “I’m smart, I didn’t misunderstand” but an avalanche of overwhelming evidence says that she did misunderstand. She presents no verifiable evidence and no argument to the contrary. The only evidence she has is her account of a conversation she had with different people in a different time and place (one she brought her Mom to. Jesus Christ, woman, you called your Mommy?) for which she has no documented evidence at all, and which is, again, unsupported by anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2012, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-lesson-context-matters-canadian-edition/596370/69 "2012-07-19T21:54:09Z")
Well, here I was hoping for some fascinating update about how the university took away all her credits and made her start over or something, but all I got was an asinine defense of this moron. Talk about a disappointment. ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-lesson-context-matters-canadian-edition/596370/70 "2012-07-20T22:18:54Z")
I think “all Jews should be sterilised” is a defensible position. If made by someone for whom the second coming (or the first) is contingent on it (Falwell?). Actually acting on it would be a different matter. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-lesson-context-matters-canadian-edition/596370/71 "2012-07-20T23:07:07Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Update: > > The student in question has made a [video](http://gawker.com/5882737/student-who-accused-jewish-professor-of-anti+semitism-still-working-to-expose-the-conspiracy-against-her) giving her side of the story. The whole thing is apparently a big anti-Jewish conspiracy, with at least two Jewish groups in on the cover-up. 😛 I like the part where her silhouette says “several others students were equally disturbed”… and three other silhouettes appear. You see? It’s not just her! ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2012, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-lesson-context-matters-canadian-edition/596370/72 "2012-07-20T23:26:56Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > My solution to this problem is to simply use “Martians” as the target group: “All Martians should be sterilized,” to apply my solution to the professor’s statement. So far, no Martians have complained. 🙂 Yes, but when they \*start \*complaining, it’s going to be with 1920s style death rays! (Sorry, but I’ve never actually had an opportunity to use that before.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/todays-lesson-context-matters-canadian-edition/596370.md?page=3)