New York Times editorial board member Mara Gay was furious on today's Morning Joe over Harvard's president Claudine Gay (no relation) being forced to resign. Mara Gay proclaimed "This is an attack on diversity. This is an attack on multiculturalism. I don’t have to say that they’re racist, because you can hear and see the racism in the attacks."
In fact, it is the Claudine Gays of the academic world who are the biggest enemies of true diversity -- diversity of ideas. CG's the one, for example, who hounded two Harvard faculty members for failing to toe the DEI line. The DEI crowd are the opposite of pluralists: they seek to cancel those who dare to differ from leftist orthodoxy.
Mara Gay began by denouncing the "unrelenting campaign from the right and from some conservative activists to slander" the Harvard boss, even to "scalp" her. She failed to even mention plagiarism, but had the chutzpah to claim that Claudine was promoting "more scholarly rigor." Riiight. Because nothing says "scholarly rigor" like lifting dozens of quotes from others without attribution.
Mara then said something unintentionally revealing about the sad state of American academia:
"Anybody, really, who is around my age in their 30s, who went to any public, major public university or private university in this country, these are values [diversity and multiculturalism] that are very important."
"Anybody," who attended supposedly elite universities in recent decades has been subjected to unrelenting, and often successful, indoctrination in left-wing dogma!
There were two points of light at the end of the segment. On the one hand, Mika Brzezinski said, "I respect and validate everything you're saying." But Mika did go on to say that the questions posed to Gay by Stefanik "were pretty simple. And Mika also raised the issue of Gay's plagiarism.
Willie Geist added, "For a lot of people, it was also about the protection of Jewish students on campus, too. So including everybody in that diversity." Zing!
Here's the transcript.
MSNBC
Morning Joe
1/3/24
7:20 am ETMIKA BRZEZINSKI: Mara Gay, just looking at what's been happening at campuses across the country, your take on this latest news?
MARA GAY: Well, I think there's a lot going on here, and so we just want to be careful that we contextualize everything properly. The thing that really disturbs me was the unrelenting campaign from the right and from some conservative activists to slander, discredit, and ultimately, I guess, somebody used the phrase, we've claimed a scalp, I think, on social media, to essentially, unseat Gay and other presidents, as well, when they don't like not just the handling of the horrific attacks on Israel on October 7th, the way that that was handled on campus, but really anything else, that they don't like about not just these presidents, but actually what they would call woke-ism on campus.
So this is really an attack on academic freedom. It's an attack on people who are pluralists, and believe that you should bring people from all over the world together of diverse backgrounds. And that you actually have more scholarly rigor, and more value can be brought by having people from different backgrounds.
This is an attack on diversity. This is an attack on multiculturalism. And on many of the values that a lot of us hold dear and in fact, anybody, really, who is around my age in their 30s, who went to any public, major public university or private university in this country, these are values that are very important.
And I think that's why these presidents are under attack. That's why Claudine Gay was under attack. The fact that she's a black woman and the first person who is a black American to lead Harvard only added to their thirst to dethrone her.
And those texts -- I don't have to say that they're racist, because you can hear and see the racism in the attacks when people like Vivek Ramaswamy say, okay, this is a problem about diversity and hiring. I mean, this is racism as well.
. . .
MIKA: Well, I respect and validate everything you're saying. At the same time, those were pretty simple questions they were being asked at the hearing, okay. That's number one. And then in the case of Claudine Gay, the plagiarism aspect of this was an added problem. So a lot of things going on. Very complex. And a conversation we should continue to have. Willie?
WILLIE GEIST: Yeah, and for a lot of people, it was also about the protection of Jewish students on campus, too. So including everybody in that diversity.
