Yes, yes, I understand that there are reasons to subject us to this, but, folks, I have to tell you, I’m sitting in my office, laughing my head off. The lecturer who is administering the online course on campus crime prevention announces,
“When a person points a gun at you and says, “Give me your wallet or I’ll shoot you”, that’s a robbery! Robbery is a crime! It is not legally permissible to approach people with weapons and demand they give you money. And another criminal activity is climbing through a person’s window, getting into bed with them, and touching them for the purposes of sexual gratification. Because that is sexual fondling. And that is a sexually motivated crime!”
The lecture is directed specifically at college professors. Of course, now I will only climb through people’s windows with non-sexual purposes. Good thing I’ve been warned in time!
Another part of the lecture consists of telling us that we need to inform the police of crimes committed on college property. The lecturer specifies that public areas such as roads, highways, etc. do not belong to the university. So I guess if we see people being assaulted on a public stretch of land, we can just continue on our merry way.
This reminds me of the Soviet Union so much that I can’t stop laughing.
Clarissa's Blog 
“This reminds me of the Soviet Union so much that I can’t stop laughing.”
It’s the same overall principle : treat adults like stupid children who can’t be trusted to make the simplest decisions for themselves (and who should appreciate and be _grateful_ for the wise leaders who Know Best.
I don’t think I’m cut out for life in NAmerica anymore…..
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“treat adults like stupid children who can’t be trusted to make the simplest decisions for themselves (and who should appreciate and be _grateful_ for the wise leaders who Know Best”
– That’s exactly what I’m saying. And it never stops. First, a lecture on how it’s wrong to steal paper from the office and accept bribes, then a lecture on reporting acts of pedophilia you observe, then a lecture on the wrongness of climbing through people’s windows. And each of these trainings happens yearly!
I’m 36 years old. I have 5 scholarly degrees. I speak 4 languages fluently and read in 4 more languages. It makes me feel humiliated to be condescended to in this way.
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Generally the structure of society assumes that those in authority, whatever the context, are adults, and the rest are children. It has taken me a long time to understand how contemporary society is structured, because …of course… due to my different origins and experiences.
There is also another aspect to all this in that the children are viewed as stupid but carefree, whereas there is some pressure on those nominated as “adults” to suffer on behalf of their stupid children and take it masochistically on the chin.
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Well then clearly you haven’t been to a doctor recently! 🙂
One of the biggest reasons I hate going to doctors in North America is this kind of patronizing attitude. I am not saying all doctors are like that, but most I have been to are. And the doctor’s condescension is only to be outdone by the condescension of the nurse practitioner; the more clueless the nurse is, higher the level of their condescension to the patient.
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“One of the biggest reasons I hate going to doctors in North America is this kind of patronizing attitude. I am not saying all doctors are like that, but most I have been to are. And the doctor’s condescension is only to be outdone by the condescension of the nurse practitioner; the more clueless the nurse is, higher the level of their condescension to the patient.”
– Oh yes, I know what you mean. Every time I need to go to a doctor, I meditate and search for inner strength to face the condescension. I especially dislike it when they just handle you like a senseless object without explaining what’s happening.
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We had to do one about drinking fluids when you are ill, and so on.
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A drinking fluids lecture sounds like some serious stuff. 🙂 🙂
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Meanwhile in South Africa, they have team building rituals where you have to eat cat food or drink sour milk to “bond” with others.
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I know a hedge fund that makes its very high-earning managers jump in sacks to bond as a group. These are folks who can’t go take a piss without putting on a $2,000 tie, so you can imagine how they suffer. 🙂
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This is all very recent and I do not understand what it is about. It started sometime this century. In the 20th century you never had to do this at jobs, including academic jobs. Apparently you have to do very very many of these trainings in federal jobs.
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