To be honest, when I listened, pre-Covid, to a talk by Guérot on the subject of the book (Europe as a republic), I considered it ridiculous. That said, I want academics to express all kinds of ridiculous ideas, without fear of getting fired for it.
Same here. Yet, I don't have to agree with what colleagues say or do to be alarmed, for obvious reasons, of this kind of action.
That said, I do know, unfortunately, more than I ever wished about the firing of professors and faculty in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. There's even peer-reviewed literature on this, and if you're interested, drop me a line (diefackel2punkt0@protonmail.com) and I'll share these pieces.
Feb 24, 2023·edited Feb 24, 2023Liked by epimetheus
Thanks, was hoping you'd cover this. My first thought was also Gleichschaltung. It is really chilling.
So glad I have chosen to substack anonymously. Even in provincial backwaters, outspokenness can be costly in times of war and pestilence. I have a lot of respect for you also publishing and podcasting under your real name. We need more academics like yourself with the coursge to speak up.
Like her book title from last year, which I have struggled to best convey in English:
As to the posting anonymously issue, well, I do it partially, I'd say. Those who wish to figure out who I am may easily do so, and I've thought about changing my Substack handle accordingly, but I haven't resolved to do so. Perhaps in the not-too-distant future.
As to your comment, well, I write my 'heresies' in German (over at TKP--shout-out to my colleagues who are all for free speech), which means there's limited 'fall-out' here in Norway.
As to the Substack, well, so far my reach is limited (enough) as to these 'heresies' attracting excessive amounts of exposure, even though, as time goes, I expect the audience and reach to grow, and then this will likely change.
My employer knows I'm moonlighting as a journalist, but I doubt they care to read my stuff as my output is too large for them to know where to start. That said, I'm also aware of the potential dangers.
So far, my publishing history has been akin to a tightrope walk. We'll see about that in the future.
As I wrote in response to one of your comments to the 'Cancelling Habermas' piece:
Remember Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451? The most uncanny part, to me, is this:
'Most people stopped reading books long before they were ever burned.'
Apparently, most people stopped being appalled by the historical record, imagined themselves to be the Scholl siblings, Pastor Niemöller, or Franz Jägerstätter; the sad truth is: most gladly put on brownshirts.
Yet, I also, and firmly so, believe that this is what we must: gaze into the abyss.
We all have a choice: recoil in disgust, speak up, and act. Or, as exhibited by so many these days, join the pack and start howling.
If it weren't supremely off topic, I'd tell you about 'German academia in general'--from the point of view of someone who's been on the 'receiving end' of plagiarism (yes, I've been plagiarised by senior professors in the year after I've obtained my Ph.D.; when the U I've worked at learned, they just told me that it's not their business as my Ph.D. was from some other place…).
This is why I wrote about this issue, as well as because this is as close as breaking the 'omertà' as we've come in recent decades.
Check Academics Rights Watch homepage, should be some horror-stories about professors/doctors plagiarising or outright stealing their students' projects, or forcing them to do privately contracted work for free for their professor under threat of termination of their course/employment.
Have you seen this discussion from Tischys Einblick?
...diskutieren Roland Tichy und Frank Henkel mit:
Dr. Friedrich Pürner, Gesundheitsamtsleiter und Epidemiologe, wurde strafversetzt, als er Maskenpflichten kritisierte. „Lauterbach ist charakterlich und fachlich nicht geeignet“, sagt er und fordert dessen Rücktritt als Gesundheitsminister.
Stephan Kohn arbeitete im Bundesinnenministerium im Bereich Katastrophenschutz. In einer internen Auswertung kam er zum Schluss, dass der Krisenstab mangelhaft aufgestellt war: Es fehlte die konsequente Analyse der Schäden, die durch die Corona-Schutzmaßnahmen entstanden. Das Papier wurde an die Presse durchgestochen und Kohn geschasst. Bis heute muss er um seine Existenz kämpfen.
Giovanna Winterfeldt ist Synchronsprecherin und organisierte in Berlin die „FriedlichZusammen“-Demonstrationen gegen Coronamaßnahmen. Dafür wurde auch sie in ihrem Beruf massiv unter Druck gesetzt, beschimpft.
That one I haven't seen, but I'm very well aware of the implications of speaking up.
That said, I do know, unfortunately, more than I ever wished about the firing of professors and faculty in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. There's even peer-reviewed literature on this, and if you're interested, drop me a line (diefackel2punkt0@protonmail.com) and I'll share these pieces.
"If you give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest of men, I will find something in them which will hang him." -Cardinal Richelieu
Look! I properly cited it! But yeah, if they're after you, they'll find something to fire you for. If they can't find anything of substance, they'll think of some lame bureaucratic excuse ("restructuring" or something like that). But they will find something.
That said, Europe as a republic - thanks, but no thanks.
Coronamania really solidified that what is expected of the 'intelligentsia' is obedience and the production of rationalizations necessary for the powerful. Those who walk outside of that are brave and embody the true critic's spirit so I treasure them and on the other hand watch the propagandists with great suspicion for the next deliberate 'crises'. Now we have 'publications' in the English language that exclusively focus on telling the professional classes which absurd Pfizerian rituals to perform (The Guardian, Vox, TheConversation, etc.). Even Chomsky was calling the unvaccinated as basically criminals. No different from his supposed ideological opponent, Alan Dershowitz, who was also in favor of mandates (until yesterday or so, when he admitted he got sick after his booster, and then changed his mind on them). In the end they were unified for the broader goal of stifling dissent.
Oh, he (Dershowitz) got sick from the juice? Haha! If you get sick from the juice, then shut up, you anti-vaxxer! But if *I* get sick from it, then something's clearly wrong with the juice. Obviously.
To be honest, when I listened, pre-Covid, to a talk by Guérot on the subject of the book (Europe as a republic), I considered it ridiculous. That said, I want academics to express all kinds of ridiculous ideas, without fear of getting fired for it.
Same here. Yet, I don't have to agree with what colleagues say or do to be alarmed, for obvious reasons, of this kind of action.
That said, I do know, unfortunately, more than I ever wished about the firing of professors and faculty in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. There's even peer-reviewed literature on this, and if you're interested, drop me a line (diefackel2punkt0@protonmail.com) and I'll share these pieces.
There's never been a time during which I cherished so many people who I do not agree with, simply because others do not agree with them.
Thanks, was hoping you'd cover this. My first thought was also Gleichschaltung. It is really chilling.
So glad I have chosen to substack anonymously. Even in provincial backwaters, outspokenness can be costly in times of war and pestilence. I have a lot of respect for you also publishing and podcasting under your real name. We need more academics like yourself with the coursge to speak up.
Like her book title from last year, which I have struggled to best convey in English:
"Whoever remains silent, approves/consents"
As to the posting anonymously issue, well, I do it partially, I'd say. Those who wish to figure out who I am may easily do so, and I've thought about changing my Substack handle accordingly, but I haven't resolved to do so. Perhaps in the not-too-distant future.
As to your comment, well, I write my 'heresies' in German (over at TKP--shout-out to my colleagues who are all for free speech), which means there's limited 'fall-out' here in Norway.
As to the Substack, well, so far my reach is limited (enough) as to these 'heresies' attracting excessive amounts of exposure, even though, as time goes, I expect the audience and reach to grow, and then this will likely change.
My employer knows I'm moonlighting as a journalist, but I doubt they care to read my stuff as my output is too large for them to know where to start. That said, I'm also aware of the potential dangers.
So far, my publishing history has been akin to a tightrope walk. We'll see about that in the future.
As I wrote in response to one of your comments to the 'Cancelling Habermas' piece:
Remember Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451? The most uncanny part, to me, is this:
'Most people stopped reading books long before they were ever burned.'
Apparently, most people stopped being appalled by the historical record, imagined themselves to be the Scholl siblings, Pastor Niemöller, or Franz Jägerstätter; the sad truth is: most gladly put on brownshirts.
Yet, I also, and firmly so, believe that this is what we must: gaze into the abyss.
We all have a choice: recoil in disgust, speak up, and act. Or, as exhibited by so many these days, join the pack and start howling.
I've made my choice.
This made me laugh:
"I would be the first person who’s fired in the history of the Federal Republic [since 1949] because of plagiarism."
That's rather obvious dig at german academia in general.
Oh, well, what can I say?
If it weren't supremely off topic, I'd tell you about 'German academia in general'--from the point of view of someone who's been on the 'receiving end' of plagiarism (yes, I've been plagiarised by senior professors in the year after I've obtained my Ph.D.; when the U I've worked at learned, they just told me that it's not their business as my Ph.D. was from some other place…).
This is why I wrote about this issue, as well as because this is as close as breaking the 'omertà' as we've come in recent decades.
Check Academics Rights Watch homepage, should be some horror-stories about professors/doctors plagiarising or outright stealing their students' projects, or forcing them to do privately contracted work for free for their professor under threat of termination of their course/employment.
[https://academicrightswatch.se/]
It's in swedish since it's mainly concerned with local matters of that nature.
Have you seen this discussion from Tischys Einblick?
...diskutieren Roland Tichy und Frank Henkel mit:
Dr. Friedrich Pürner, Gesundheitsamtsleiter und Epidemiologe, wurde strafversetzt, als er Maskenpflichten kritisierte. „Lauterbach ist charakterlich und fachlich nicht geeignet“, sagt er und fordert dessen Rücktritt als Gesundheitsminister.
Stephan Kohn arbeitete im Bundesinnenministerium im Bereich Katastrophenschutz. In einer internen Auswertung kam er zum Schluss, dass der Krisenstab mangelhaft aufgestellt war: Es fehlte die konsequente Analyse der Schäden, die durch die Corona-Schutzmaßnahmen entstanden. Das Papier wurde an die Presse durchgestochen und Kohn geschasst. Bis heute muss er um seine Existenz kämpfen.
Giovanna Winterfeldt ist Synchronsprecherin und organisierte in Berlin die „FriedlichZusammen“-Demonstrationen gegen Coronamaßnahmen. Dafür wurde auch sie in ihrem Beruf massiv unter Druck gesetzt, beschimpft.
Auf Deutsch: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7srxBnjThas
That one I haven't seen, but I'm very well aware of the implications of speaking up.
That said, I do know, unfortunately, more than I ever wished about the firing of professors and faculty in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. There's even peer-reviewed literature on this, and if you're interested, drop me a line (diefackel2punkt0@protonmail.com) and I'll share these pieces.
"If you give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest of men, I will find something in them which will hang him." -Cardinal Richelieu
Look! I properly cited it! But yeah, if they're after you, they'll find something to fire you for. If they can't find anything of substance, they'll think of some lame bureaucratic excuse ("restructuring" or something like that). But they will find something.
That said, Europe as a republic - thanks, but no thanks.
I'm 112% with you, Irena.
That's not why I wrote in Ms. Guérot's defence, though.
Coronamania really solidified that what is expected of the 'intelligentsia' is obedience and the production of rationalizations necessary for the powerful. Those who walk outside of that are brave and embody the true critic's spirit so I treasure them and on the other hand watch the propagandists with great suspicion for the next deliberate 'crises'. Now we have 'publications' in the English language that exclusively focus on telling the professional classes which absurd Pfizerian rituals to perform (The Guardian, Vox, TheConversation, etc.). Even Chomsky was calling the unvaccinated as basically criminals. No different from his supposed ideological opponent, Alan Dershowitz, who was also in favor of mandates (until yesterday or so, when he admitted he got sick after his booster, and then changed his mind on them). In the end they were unified for the broader goal of stifling dissent.
Oh, he (Dershowitz) got sick from the juice? Haha! If you get sick from the juice, then shut up, you anti-vaxxer! But if *I* get sick from it, then something's clearly wrong with the juice. Obviously.
Shocking. I had not heard of it.