McCain and Plagiarism

I count myself among the folks who aren’t wound up about the possibility that McCain’s speech on the Georgian crisis might have benefited from Wikipedia. After all, quality bloggers like Confederate Yankee use Wikipedia all the time, and I don’t think anyone would doubt the vastness of Bob Owens’ intellectual reach. As far as plagiarism itsef is concerned, the case is pretty thin; if McCain had submitted this in one of my courses, I might have sent him a quick e-mail to gently suggest that the internet is heaped neck-high with bullshit and that multiple, peer-reviewed (rather than user-edited) sources are likely to be more reliable and current. I’d have added a non-accusatory but firm reminder that when he’s working with a single source, he should be very careful to avoid duplicating even short phrases — something that often happens when students cut and paste passages that they plan to reword later.

I’d try to be understanding, though. Because you just never know how complicated and rushed a person’s life can be outside the classroom. It may have been, for example, that John had to work a double shift the night before to cover for that guy who smoked up in the walk-in freezer and got his ass fired. Or maybe his roommate’s girlfriend dumped him, and John was up all night holding the guy’s hand and cradling his head to keep it from dangling in the toilet. Or maybe he had that hellacious chemistry test to study for. The thing is, you never know. Insanely old people Kids get lazy, and they make mistakes. Sometimes, you just give them a C and the benefit of the doubt, and you move on.