When college administrators start talking about systemic racism and social justice particularly aggressively, this means that punishing budget cuts are coming. The moment our administration forced us to read ‘anti-racist’ books, I knew a ton of really bad budget shit was coming. So I took serious preventative measures. As a result, my department won’t be affected. Other chairs don’t understand the connection and didn’t prepare. They now have exactly one working day to absorb the cuts and modify next year’s schedule. Obviously, they are in a state of extreme panic. We are being told to cut out all of the lecturers. Just like that. It’s dozens of courses for some departments.
And I’m sitting pretty because I understand how neoliberalism works. My schedule has been approved with zero changes weeks ago. My program will not lose a single section.
As we say, knowing certain principles frees you from the need to know some of the facts. I didn’t have any information about the coming collapse but I deduced its probability and prepared.
The people who were particularly excited about the assigned readings are the most hurt and confused. Poor bastards thought the books signaled that the administration was on their side because only the good guys could be anti-racist, right? The administration that has the social justice rhetoric down pat has to be on our side, doesn’t it? Those poor, dim creatures.
And guess what I was doing during the discussions of the books? Right you are, I was designing graphs and tables to prep for the austerity measures.
Let’s see if this lesson teaches people anything. Probably not, but one can always hope.
Clarissa's Blog 
I wonder how this translates to the business world. I remember the economic downturn in 2008 and how the layoffs skyrocketed, people took pay concessions and there were no pay bonuses.
I came up with a plan to pay my house off in 5 years this week. I can go without a few things. I am minimizing because I realize what is most important and it isn’t stuff. I don’t need a new iphone. In fact, I want to get rid of my tracking device because I see what’s coming – the surveillance state and total slavery of the population. And while it’s probably not practical to think I can hide from the government if they really want to find me, I can at least try to make it harder.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Clarissa Sun Tzu strikes again!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m not sharing this only to brag. Although I do love to brag. But there is an algorithm here. Once you figure out the algorithm, you get a competitive edge. Let’s use this competitive edge while those slowpokes take their sweet time figuring out what’s going on.
LikeLike
Do you think that the source of your shortcut is the understanding that since authoritarianism, totalitarianism, communism etc are reductive/nihilistic ideologies, all they can do is be mute and do nothing, or reduce things to nothing to go back to nothing.
ie the three possible modes are 1) be mute 2) dog whistle about something 3) reduce that something to nothing and go back to mute?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I grew up observing how this works. In the USSR, it was about destroying everything a notch above mediocrity. This is why I now recognize exactly what these people are trying to achieve here.
LikeLike
If I may ask – what alerts them to the particular thing that is a notch above mediocrity, exactly? What begins this process?
LikeLike
Clarissa,
Can you explain your algorithm for this situation?
LikeLiked by 1 person
In this particular situation, the Dean forced us to read two anti-racist books. The first one was about non-white contingent lecturers. What can the subconscious process here be? He’s planning to get rid of the lecturers, of course. And that’s exactly what it turned out to be.
Whatever the wokesters are talking about is what they are going to eliminate. Free public college! Translation: they are planning to destroy public colleges. Free healthcare! Translation: they are planning to ration healthcare. Black lives matter! Translation: they are planning to increase murder rates of black people.
Works every time.
LikeLiked by 2 people
“Whatever the wokesters are talking about is what they are going to eliminate”
Pussyhats = pussies are not inherently female!
Black Lives Matter = lots of dead Black people!
personal pronouns = dehumanization
Open Borders = No subsidizing state
Universal healthcare = compelled vaccine regimen
You’re closer to the source… what’s next on the chopping block?
LikeLiked by 2 people
They seem to be very attached to the word ‘infrastructure’ these days. I expect interruptions in utilities access.
LikeLike
“infrastructure”
So I take it you’re looking into measures to keep your house going without electricity and running water for …. periods of time (I’m very serious). Sounds like a good side project for N…
Though infrastructure typically and traditionally in the US refers to roads, so I would imagine that destruction of same in the name of carbon or something with road maintenance transferred to private companies who put tolls everywhere….
LikeLike
Roads – it makes sense. Roads still give us some freedom of movement. Trucks move on them. Making the roads unusable is a great way of limiting movement and organizing shortages.
LikeLike
Quick and easy to find this…. so, yeah…. roads are in the crosshairs (and Xcare, we’ve already got a clue about plans for elder and childcare….).
LikeLiked by 1 person
Are people not seeing what he’s saying? Human infrastructure? People are like roads? We will care for the elderly like we care for a bus? There’s no way to make this sound cute.
LikeLike
“with road maintenance transferred to private companies who put tolls everywhere….”
Oh, goody, a libertarian utopia!
LikeLike
Austerity measures are always politics by other means.
What you saw was that this Dean was telegraphing intent, and you surmised quickly what the eventual course of action would be in order to avoid the intended chaos you’re seeing elsewhere.
Also, why do these types voice such concerns about such things as the commons?
So they can take it over, obviously, with a wave of chaos!
LikeLike
@ Clarissa
Never thought for a moment that you were bragging. I was trying to be humorous (without much success, evidently).
Your strategic combination of insight, foresight and cunning is both endearing and striking, and rather uncommon. It also helps me to understand how to deal with certain people at work.
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Human infrastructure? People are like roads? We will care for the elderly like we care for a bus? ”
When buses are no longer functional they are sent to the scrap heap… so, in New York at least that already seems to be the system.
LikeLiked by 2 people