The Mental Gymnastics of Our University Elites

I don’t know if the president of Harvard is trying to get Stalinist poetry written about him, but he certainly is serving the needs of the extremely rich. That’s true even if they are scumbags, though that’s a synonym for extremely rich. Harvard has named its Graduate School of Arts and Sciences after Republican superdonor Kenneth Griffin. People are unhappy. And Harvard’s president has quite the explanation for why this is OK.

In response to criticisms that Harvard’s decision to rename GSAS after Griffin creates a hostile environment for LGBTQ+ Harvard affiliates, Bacow cautioned against conflating Griffin’s political views with those of the candidates he chooses to financially support.

“Ken himself is a libertarian,” Bacow said. “I suspect if you talk to him about this specific view, you might get a different response than what some politicians that he has supported might give.”

“We don’t hold individuals responsible for the actions of their countries,” he added. “We also should not hold individuals responsible for every action, every opinion of every candidate that they support.”

Griffin has publicly supported DeSantis’ “Don’t Say Gay” law, describing the politician’s stance as “a really important point of view,” per Forbes. The 2022 Florida state law prohibits curricula discussing sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten to third-grade public school classrooms.

“We can’t hold anyone accountable if they give us money! Sure some gay and trans hating might make people uncomfortable, but $$$$$$$.”

I am sure this support of speech extends to the entire Harvard community as well….