Context is Tricky...

Dec 10, 2023, 8:54 AM

https://6abc.com/penn-president-resigns-liz-magill-antisemitism-house-testimony-university-of-pennsylvania/14158842/

I guess I missed it in Logic where advocating for genocide is ok or not ok depending on the context. Is the context which group of intended genocide victims is being discussed?

The Harvard president likewise failed to answer a simple question. She would not answer whether advocating for the genocide of African-Americans would violate the Harvard student code of conduct. Answering in the affirmative would leave her in the untenable position of then admitting that advocating for the genocide of Jews is somehow different.

Harvard's president as an African-American female is unlikely to "voluntarily resign." That would be worse in the eyes of a lot of progs I suspect than doing the right thing and telling students that it is unacceptable to call for the genocide of Jews. It shouldn't be that hard.

As a test, it would be interesting to have some students wear KKK sweatshirts or carry a Confederate flag on campus. I doubt Harvard's president would have the same context argument regarding what is acceptable under the student code of conduct.

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Prepare to be shocked

Three things .

1 - It’s not hard to unequivocally condemn any promotion or endorsement of genocide. By definition genocide is a threatening violence. Any student of university employee who calls for genocide of any group of people clearly should be a violation of the University’s code of conduct. All three presidents should have got the answer right.
2 - Discussion of genocide in an academic environment is a legitimate topic. It should be conducted in a non- threatening manner.
3 -Apparently many legal cases involving free speech include a some discussion of context. But threatening mass death to a group of people based on religion, race or nationality requires immediate and unequivocal condemnation. Do the ethically and morally right thing, then let the university’s lawyers defend the position and action.