A few days ago I wrote a post where I listed different categories of responses to wokism in the university setting, from true believers thru to people keeping their heads down. You seem to place most senior administrators in the category of cynical opportunists. I agree these people exist and were fast adaptors, using woke ideology to advance themselves.
But I think there are many more honest, reasonable administrators who don’t like the direction things are going in, yet find themselves in a jam. I know plenty of people like this. If some issue spins out of control on their watch, it is as you say, they are in deep trouble. I know this, too. The irony is that in protecting themselves they contribute to the very environment that threatens them.
It is the classic tragedy of the commons. Action taken at the individual level to improve the commons leads to a detriment to the person taking the action without necessarily improving the commons in the short term. Classic over-fishing analogy. It is a tough spot to be in.
A few days ago I wrote a post where I listed different categories of responses to wokism in the university setting, from true believers thru to people keeping their heads down. You seem to place most senior administrators in the category of cynical opportunists. I agree these people exist and were fast adaptors, using woke ideology to advance themselves.
But I think there are many more honest, reasonable administrators who don’t like the direction things are going in, yet find themselves in a jam. I know plenty of people like this. If some issue spins out of control on their watch, it is as you say, they are in deep trouble. I know this, too. The irony is that in protecting themselves they contribute to the very environment that threatens them.
It is the classic tragedy of the commons. Action taken at the individual level to improve the commons leads to a detriment to the person taking the action without necessarily improving the commons in the short term. Classic over-fishing analogy. It is a tough spot to be in.