A Sociological Eye

  There is something so terribly ironic about the Trump administration attacking universities for a supposed lack of "viewpoint diversity," at the same time it attacks them for pursuing DEI-- diversity , equity, and inclusion.   Tell me again--is diversity supposed to be required, or banned? In any case, the reality is that universities are packed with viewpoint diversity! The hallways are full of discussion and debate, and competing theories are studied day in and day out. What do they mean there's no viewpoint diversity? Oh, they mean that 98.5% of the professors at medical schools advocate for routine childhood vaccination, and 97% of the professors in climatology say that global warming is happening, humans are causing that change, and we must do something about that. Meanwhile, only 12% of MAGA voters believe the government should be acting to counter global warming, and only 36% of Republicans today believe that children should be required to get routine childhood v...

  This is a portrait of Elihu Yale and his intimates being served by an enslaved boy wearing a padlocked collar. I’m showing it to you because I want to talk about Yale Law School, and specifically its graduate JD Vance. A funny thing about Vance's Hillbilly Elegy book: the man believes he had a unique experience, because he felt like an outsider when attending an Ivy League university. He didn't come from a background of wealth and prep schools and world travel. He was at a loss as to how to handle his cutlery when taken out to a fancy restaurant by a potential employer, because the place settings included a salad fork and dinner fork, a soup spoon and teaspoon, a steak knife and a butter knife. And when he went back to his hometown, he found he did not want to brag to strangers about going to Yale. If they were the kind of people who would disrespect him unless he shared that credential, then they weren't people he wanted to bootlick, and if they were ordinary locals...

  Did you drag yourself out of bed grumbling and bleary-eyed instead of springing up fresh as a sprig of locally-sourced lemon thyme this morning? Well, I have the solution for you! Just do an internet search about waking up exhausted and read a few of the jillion articles on "sleep hygiene" that it turns up, and soon a flare of indignation will perk you right up! On the other hand, it just may depress you and make you even more tired. Because nothing says "blame the victim" like the term "sleep hygiene." You are a dirty person, say the sleep hygienists. You have sabotaged your ability to get refreshing sleep by not following the Rules. Let's consider those Rules. 1. "The only things you should ever do in your bedroom are sleep or have sex. This is necessary so that your mind associates being in your bedroom with sleeping." Because everyone can afford to live in a large house with multiple rooms and needn't, say, set up a computer desk i...