Striking times

I tend to avoid politics and the like on here; echo chamber and all that, but also because there are people who are far better at it than I am, and who are far better informed. I read, and think about, what others have to say (and learn a great deal from it), but mostly do not think that I have anything useful to add. But this, about the strikes, seems to me that it is worth saying. YMMV,

I am not (here) interested in discussing the vices of the various different potential agreements and I am not interested (here) in discussing the approaches taken to negotiation, or the transparency provided by any particular group. Nor am I (here) interested in discussing what a fair pension looks like. See above: I am less able than others to work my way through it, and I am less well informed. I have nothing to add. I commend Mike Otsuka's work to you, as what seems to me very insightful discussion and data.

What I have seen on social media, and elsewhere, is people being deeply unkind and spiteful to, and about, senior managers at their respective institutions. And that makes me sad and angry.

What sits at the bottom of all of this is that I think people should be civil to one another--at absolute bottom; kind, would be my strong preference. Numbers of people are falling well below that standard. This makes me sad and I do not think that they should do it.

I should also note that some very angry people are absolute models of how I would hope we behave towards one another. #notallangrypeople is absolutely true. But there are some. Too many, indeed, for my liking.

"But Jonathan, you need to understand how F (for some value of F) VCs and similar have been, and how high passions are running." I do need to understand that. This is true. And I have listened and I have read and I have learned a great deal.

But what I don't see is that being angry, or VCs and similar 'being F', justifies being unkind or spiteful to them. It explains it, I agree, but it does not justify it.

So, consider this a plea for kindness. I'm sure I fail (and will continue to fail) to meet this standard myself (I must, I make mistakes). This does not stop me from desiring it as a standard, and I would hope to be called out when I fail to do so.

As I noted in my last post, Jonathan Lowe, my late PhD supervisor, behaved in a way that I would seek to emulate:

"Everything that was said was weighed, carefully, and with respect. You could be a Professor of Philosophy from VERY IMPORTANT UNIVERSITY, or someone outside academia who'd written in with a question; in my experience, it didn't matter. Jonathan would kindly and patiently work through what it was that interested you and try to help you see how the idea could be developed."

That thought guides me here, just as much as it does in my research and teaching.

(I should also acknowledge a debt to Carrie Jenkins here. A while back, Carrie posted something about the idea of kindness of academia that impacted on my thinking. I can't now find her post.)