Although in truth, their actions may draw attention to our lovely and perfect little town, given the nature of the “news industry” (formerly journalism) these days, and its scouring of the internet for juicy tidbits. Especially if they come on the backs of other blockbuster stories.
Out of an abundance of concern, we presume, and no doubt paralyzed by fears of incoming student unrest, a shortage of safe spaces, places of refuge, a run on counseling services, stuffed animals and coloring books, and other stability and tranquility preservation modalities, Bowdoin administrators must have conducted a “tossing” of the campus in a manner worthy of official thought police. They must have been looking for the slightest mention of or artifacts that might be construed as official recognition of any person, act, or portrayal relating to or referencing the Civil War era, and specifically, those who were on the side of the South.
Intent on signaling their virtue, and to prevent this elite and harmonious area from becoming a stop on the road out of Charlottesville, the Administration contacted Maine’s major print media outlet to tell them of their due diligence and resulting purge from public display of anything that might cause shame to rain down upon “Fort Bowdoin – Headquarters of the 1794th Northeastern Social Justice Warfare Command.”
We can’t help but wonder whether the process also discovered all sorts of things that will require degendering.
Calling the HRTF! Have you scrubbed the town from stem to stern? Shirley there must be numerous offensive items everywhere if you look hard enough. And those looking to be offended victims will, we assume, look hard enough if not too hard in their search for validation and new-found stature in the pantheon of PC. Curtis Library, here they come!
What about the 300 year old First Parish Church? Is your record clean?
How about those of long ago who wore cotton clothing? And who dug up the clay to make all the bricks in Brunswick buildings? What basics of our lives back then originated in the south, and were the fruits, at least in part, of slave labor? Did anyone eat citrus grown in the south?
Well, you should get the point. It’s like the game “Seven degrees of Kevin Bacon.” If you think about it enough, you can usually connect one thing to some other random thing with fewer logical steps than you might guess.
And cultural purges, in particular those driven by political correctness and social justice concerns, could easily become the subject of party games and chit chat nationwide.
One can only wonder how long it will take Bowdoin’s bleachers to go through the library, faculty offices, the bookstore, student housing, administration buildings, and any other places where books and other materials may contain reference to historical events or individuals that could be an embarrassment to modern day sensibilities, and more importantly, to the pristine reputation of the college as a leader in political correctness, no matter what that might entail in knowledge management.
And we’re just talking about one old college in Maine. The search for virtue has only just begun, as demonstrated here:
Let the games begin!
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