An adjunct professor of English has resigned from Boston College over the Condoleeza Rice honorary degree. Oh no, what will BC do? The Boston Globe published an open letter from a Steve Almond in which he says he’s resigning because she’s a liar and because “Rice’s actions as secretary of state are inconsistent with the broader humanistic values of the university and the Catholic and Jesuit traditions from which those values derive.” Almond says his objection is not simply to the Iraq War but because, he claims, “She has lied to the American people knowingly, repeatedly, often extravagantly over the past five years, in an effort to justify a pathologically misguided foreign policy.” Oh well, as long a you’re being reasonable and not hpyerbolic.
Once again, where were all these people when BC has been honoring and giving platforms to all the pro-abortion and dissenting Catholic politicians, when it was employing witches as professors and dissenters in the theology department? Where was all this concern for Catholic teaching? This is nothing but liberal politics hiding under the guise of Catholic devotion, nothing more.
I will add, again, that I agree that Rice should not receive this honorary degree or be given the opportunity to give the commencement speech for her “pro-choice” position and not for any other reason.
Incidentally, who is Steve Almond? According to the Globe‘s author id: “Steve Almond is the author of the story collections ‘‘The Evil B. B. Chow” and ‘‘My Life in Heavy Metal.”” I’ll run right out and buy them. As for his adjunct professorship, there’s a dozen people waiting in line behind to get the job. I know because my wife was an adjunct professor of English at Salem State College, and they’re treated like they’ve been scraped up from the bottom of the barrel.
Update: Commenter Patrick found Almond’s web site in which you can find out that he’s written for Playboy, “Best American Erotica” in 2004 and 2005, and various other porn outlets. On the one hand, BC is much better off without this porn purveyor (I’m sure all those parents who think their kids are getting a nice Catholic education will be happy to know this), but on the other hand, what was he doing there in the first place? Don’t answer: It’s a rhetorical question.
Update 2: I got the website wrong in the link, although all the information is correct. It’s stevenalmond.com with an “N”. Not “stevealmond”.
Technorati Tags: abortion, Boston, Catholic, college, Iraq, politics
“he’s resigning because she’s a liar and because “Rice’s actions as secretary of state are inconsistent with the broader humanistic values of the university and the Catholic and Jesuit traditions from which those values derive.” “
But I thought Jesus reached out and associated with outcasts, and Condi is an outcast in the eyes of the tolerant, university elite? Where’s their love?
The English department here, my friends tell me, is full of Marxists and Fruedians. Please, send us your wife.
Catholic and Jesuit traditions….which, of course, Almond’s writings for Playboy et al, (ahem)honored……..
Gosh I hope my children work hard, get good grades, play the right sports so I can spend thousands to send them to BC where they can take courses from pornographers.
Are there actually parents who think like this?
Sounds like the standard BC type prof.
Is this the guy who wrote Candyfreak?
If so, I have to say—- that was a damn funny book.
Sorry, just trying to be fair to the guy.
He gave up an adjunct position? Wow . . . as you note, Dom, that’s a real sacrifice . . . he’ll probably get a position at Holy Cross this fall!
Hey, I’m not excusing his other stuff (if it’s objectively evil—- which I don’t know because I haven’t read it). Nor the bits in Candyfreak that are, actually, raunchy. I don’t know if he disparaged the Faith humorously; the book of his I read wasn’t about faith.
It’s just that being an ass doesn’t automatically make you untalented, and being talented doesn’t make you a nice guy.
So I don’t feel that I raised the point, but Carrie has. My opinion: No, humor doesn’t make disparaging the faith okay. (And what’s more relevant here, having written some other humorous work certainly doesn’t absolve one from humorlessly disparaging the faith elsewhere).
A better question is whether we can freely enjoy humor that is coarse in general. (As opposed to specifically “disparaging the Faith.”)
This should be shocking, of course. But coming from Almond it’s par for the course. He has long been Boston’s most shameless writer, a guy who will write anything for attention; in the vernacular of the free press, a whore.
This is how he describes himself in a parody review of his own work. I won’t even begin to describe what he’s refering to, its so gross. All I can say is, Steve? Don’t let the door knob hit you on the way out.
In the interview with John Gibson, he admits he taught one class per semester. The Boston Globe turned this nobody into a cause celebre.
Yeah, “adjunct professor resigns” doesn’t mean too much. It’s about as serious as “teaching assistant resigns.”
That’s not to disparage adjunct professors, who in general deserve more respect and recognition than they typically get—- some colleges really exploit them. The point is—- they don’t have much in the way of job security or pay. So it’s not like Almond made a huge sacrifice. The Globe is counting on people not to know that “adjunct professor” is different from, say, “assistant professor.”
It’s never appropriate to call people “nobodies,” though, Dom.
I’m not making an ontological statement or denying his human dignity. I’m saying that he’s not someone whose opinion on such a matter is any more relevant than anyone else.
Nobody is a generic term of fame, expertise, or celebrity. Don’t read into it.
Carrie, that’s just…soooooo disturbing.
Melanie, I wish you’d reconsider. BC can be Catholic enough to call home, as Prof. Kreeft says.
Well, if this is how you feel God calling you, I can’t object to that.
This is one way to get the dissidents and kooks out of Catholic colleges. I vote we get Cardinal Arinze to make a tour.
Homeschooling. Good for you, Melanie. I think you’ll be very good at it. =) And your kids will benefit more than you know……