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Culture War Roundup for the week of June 19, 2023

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I don't think it's the flags, small kids aren't going to know what that is all about. It's the teachers pushing it in school and yes I do mean pushing it. Like this loser.

That seems like a very odd example of anyone pushing anything. It is 15 seconds long, and in it's entirety the guy says, "In school I was bullied for being gay, even by my teachers. So I became a teacher. Guess who my favorite students are [rainbow flag]." I am pretty good at steelmanning, but I am struggling to understand how someone would consider that pushing homosexuality, nor why anyone would describe him as a "loser."

nor why anyone would describe him as a "loser."

"Once upon a time, I was discriminated against. I now practice that discrimination against others and am proud to be doing so."

Rejoicing in intentionally being part of the problem rather than part of the solution leads me to believe that person is a substandard human being. It's not much more complex than that.

Where does he say he is discriminating against others?

I don't discriminate against black students, it's just that the white ones are my favorite!

"When I was in school, I was bullied for my conservative beliefs, even by teachers. So I became a teacher, and now conservative students are my favorites." Would you infer that I am a loser who discriminates against liberal students? Or, would you perhaps draw a more charitable inference, such as that I support conservative students, within the bounds of teacher ethics? I am betting the latter. Yet you do not extend that charity to a member of your outgroup.

Why did you change the example away from race and into political opinions? Please write the same post with the quote being about a white teacher being bullied by black students when he was young, and now whites being his favorites, and tell me with a straight face you'd see absolutely no issue with that.

I am betting the latter.

Well, pay up. Yeah the conservative example seems pretty wildly inappropriate to me. I don't see why he should know his students political opinions, and to the extent they came up in class, he definitely shouldn't be uploading videos on TikTok about how they're his favorites. And yes, a teacher that does upload this sort of stuff to TikTok is very likely engaging in discriminatory behavior. When I was in school some teachers whre playing favorites even when they were doing their best to maintain a front of neutrality, someone who publicly blasts his preferences for everyone to see probably has no breaks in the classroom.

When I was in school some teachers whre playing favorites even when they were doing their best to maintain a front of neutrality,

And note that you have now changed the subject. The claim was that the teacher was "practic[ing] that discrimination against others." I.e., bullying others, or somehow harming others. Not the same as giving a benefit to your favorite student (not that that is necessarily ethical). Especially where, in the context of the quote, that means providing emotional support, or sponsoring an LGBT club, or the like (which is perfectly ethical). There is no evidence that this guy is doing anything other than that, and your insistence otherwise says more about your biases than his.

And note that you have now changed the subject.

No I haven't, but before we get on to that, what I would like to note, is that you're still refusing to say you'd see no issue in the white teacher who used to be bullied by black kids example.

The claim was that the teacher was "practic[ing] that discrimination against others." I.e., bullying others, or somehow harming others.

Yeah, giving preferential treatment to students you like more is, in fact, bullying, and harming others.

Especially where, in the context of the quote, that means providing emotional support, or sponsoring an LGBT club, or the like (which is perfectly ethical).

I see no reason why I should assume that's what it means in the context of the quote. Also, preferential treatment in providing emotional support is still discrimination.

There is no evidence that this guy is doing anything other than that, and your insistence otherwise says more about your biases than his.

I'm not insisting on anything, you asked me whether or not I would be ok with a conservative teacher making an analogous video, and I explained why it would be wrong. Stop putting words in my mouth, and concede you were wrong, please.

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That's hardly fair. Being just slightly charitable, what they mean by 'favourite students' fairly clearly does not imply any genuine preferential treatment or discrimination in respect of grades, discipline and so forth.

So someone saying "whites are my favorite" also wouldn't imply preferential treatment or discrimination, right?

I don't think the two are apposite. His comments - which I think were kind of silly but basically harmless, I mean it was one line in some guys short video, who really cares - just mean that he is particularly happy to see gay students doing well personally because of the change that represents from his personal experience. I don't know in what context such a line of thinking could emerge in the case of whites.

just mean that he is particularly happy to see gay students doing well personally because of the change that represents from his personal experience.

How do you determine, from the outside, that the guy meant it in this harmless way?

I don't know in what context such a line of thinking could emerge in the case of whites.

Why? The context is perfectly analogous. Dude goes to school, gets bullied by black kids. Teachers, media, and the general culture push racist Critical Race Theory-derived ideas about the White Supremacist Cis-Heteronormative Patriarchy. Grows up to become a teacher, and makes a TikTok video with a throwaway line about how white kids are his favorite, and it just means that he is particularly happy to see white students doing well personally because of the change that represents from his personal experience.

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