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Today’s blacklisted American: USC professor suspended because one common Chinese word he was teaching sounded like the “N-word”

Greg Patton, blacklisted for being a good teacher
Greg Patton, blacklisted by USC for being a good teacher

The modern dark age: Today’s blacklist story is in a sense a follow-up of my blacklist story from yesterday, as it clearly shows that the fraternities which broke free of supervision from the University of Southern California (USC) had good reason, and that (as I speculated) one of the main reasons they did so was because of USC’s woke and racist policies.

Today we discover that USC has forced a communications professor specializing in Asia, Greg Patton, to stop teaching because during one virtual class he was explaining the innocent reason why — to English speakers — the Chinese seem to say a racial slur repeatedly. Apparently, the Chinese phrase “那个” (nèi ge), which approximately means “that one” or more simply “um”, is used in Chinese as a filler word, similar to “um,” “ur” in English.

Patton was trying to explain this to his class during a virtual session. Below is embedded that specific moment that has now caused him so much trouble:

Knowing this seemingly trivial fact could help English-speakers in China avoid some serious and unnecessary misunderstandings, which is clearly the reason why Abbot was talking about it.

At USC however the goal is no longer promoting knowledge or understanding. Instead, the goal is promoting willful ignorance, wielded in the service of power and oppression. The school’s statement:

“Recently, a USC faculty member during class used a Chinese word that sounds similar to a racial slur in English. We acknowledge the historical, cultural and harmful impact of racist language,” the statement read. Patton “agreed to take a short term pause while we are reviewing to better understand the situation and to take any appropriate next steps.”

Why would anyone at all want to attend this school? As I noted yesterday, this is not the first example of intellectual bullying at USC. In 2016 Jacob Ellenhorn, an elected senator in the student government, was threatened with removal simply because he was conservative. In the end Ellenhorn was not removed, but only because the removal required a two-thirds majority and only half the senators voted for removal. That senate however did find Ellenhorn guilty of the evil of inviting a conservative speaker to campus. How dare he!

Then, in 2018, two Trump supporters had to be escorted off campus because a mob of students threatened them with violence for daring to publicly express opinions that mob did not like.

Let me repeat: Why would anyone at all choose to attend this college? Colleges are supposed to teach young adults how to move past their emotions so they can think rationally, objectively, and dispassionately. In doing so, it makes them able to maturely recognize when they are wrong, so that they can grow and do better.

USC is instead teaching its students to be close-minded, fearful, and emotional ignoramuses, eager to silence opposition so that they don’t have to think at all.

Such teaching is entirely wrong, and is a reason to not attend this university. If you are a student there, get out. If you are considering going there, throw the application away. And if you are donor, put a stop on your check.

The best thing that could happen for everyone is for this school to go bankrupt, now. Only from those ashes could colleges with the right educational goals rise forth.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 

The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

7 comments

  • Col Beausabre

    Ignorance is knowledge! George Orwell, call your office

  • Cotour

    Its all related:

    MAKING A MOCKERY OF THEIR HYPOCRICY (D) (Please copy and share)

    The Democrat party machine, gas lighting yesterday, gaslighting today, and gaslighting tomorrow.

    “BREAKING: Racist elitist leftists kicking migrants off the island…” / Twitter

    Karine Jean-Pierre Says Republicans Busing Illegals to Other States is Different Than Biden Doing the Same Thing

    https://apis.mail.aol.com/ws/v3/mailboxes/@.id==VjN-_95qz8vtNQnj2guvJpSi615JXjYizy9bcZuM2MCqJDk8zBIwKj0CmLH_qmCDE5NsTJVJXmOu9vG5vVhaOWavzw/messages/@.id==AMBPsqlTnpYCYyTu4weJsAiAwNY/content/parts/@.id==2/refresh?appid=AolMailNorrin&ymreqid=d41d8cd9-8f00-b204-1c7d-d5162c010900

  • Catch Thirty Thr33

    Once, I typed “Kill a chicken to scare a monkey” on Facebook. That is an ancient Chinese proverb. Those idiots flagged it for hate speech before I somehow managed to explain what it is and what it meant.

  • Edward

    Robert asked: “Why would anyone at all want to attend this school?

    A cousin of mine (once removed) went there a few years ago (before men destroyed Title IX) for the tennis scholarship, which is one reason to attend. Berkeley was her other option. She probably chose the better of the two.

    Colleges are supposed to teach young adults how to move past their emotions so they can think rationally, objectively, and dispassionately. In doing so, it makes them able to maturely recognize when they are wrong, so that they can grow and do better. USC is instead teaching its students to be close-minded, fearful, and emotional ignoramuses, eager to silence opposition so that they don’t have to think at all.

    A lot of colleges seem to have the ulterior minor course of study of “snowflake” that all students take, even though there is no diploma for it. As an athlete, my cousin should have learned good life skills despite the snowflake lessons. I sure hope so.

  • James Street

    Frat boys don’t play well with the left’s sissifying of snowflakes with their godless commie agenda.

    Some excerpts from this article:

    How Democrat School Closings can Wreck the Country
    • Democrats are in a panic after the September 1, 2022 report of student test scores which show school closures during the pandemic wiped out 50 years of academic progress in America.
    • The learning loss was most severe among low-performing and minority students
    • In his press statement, Cardona blamed the Trump administration for the school shutdowns
    • However, the Wisconsin brief concluded that partisanship and union presence were the main drivers as to whether a school reopened.
    • Districts with a teachers union were more likely to go virtual than districts without a teachers union
    • Districts with a higher percentage of votes for President Trump in 2016 and 2020 were more likely to open, while those with a higher percentage for Hillary Clinton were more likely to remain shuttered
    • The blame for the failure of our public schools to instill a proper education lies directly with the Democrat party that has been in control of education for decades.
    https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2022/09/how_democrat_school_closings_can_wreck_the_country.html

  • BLSinSC

    How INCREDIBLY STUPID!! This is about on par with the young black girl who got all bent out of shape because her class was learning COLORS and the term “NEGRO” was used to CORRECTLY identify the color BLACK! Stupid IS and Stupid DOES! Now if the “sounds like” N word is a FIREABLE OFFENSE and leads to IMMEDIATE cancellation then it’s time to REMOVE that word from OUR NATION! YES, make it ILLEGAL to use it in speech, print, (c)Rap , movies, tv, or ANYWHERE by ANYONE!! I’m am SURE the word is used WAY more by blacks that anyone else! If it’s “offensive” then it’s “offensive”!! The Next R Administration should seek to settle this once and for ALL!!

  • Andi

    Just to clarify, the closest English pronunciation of “那个” is “NAY-guh”. As Bob points out, this term literally means “that one”, and is often used as a filler word.

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