Shapes of things (23)

Michael Powell’s New York Times story on the Smith College nightmare provides a useful summary of the events. Powell’s story also links to the 35-page report commissioned by the college. The madness at the heart of the story has engulfed our country and our culture, as we saw in the riots of this past summer.

Tucker Carlson reviewed the Smith College story in a 12-minute segment of his FOX News show last night. FOX News has posted the text here. I have lifted the video from the Tucker Carlson Tonight Facebook page and embedded it below. It brings the story to life.

Thinking about the story, I am most struck by the villains and their victims. Among the villains: Smith College student Oumou Kanoute, Smith College president Kathleen McCartney (highlighted here by Steve Hayward), “Smith College officials” (as Powell refers to them), the American Civil Liberties Union and its Massachusetts chapter, the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN and other organs of the mainstream media.

On the other side of the equation are the victims of Kanoute and Smith College: a college cafeteria employee, two college janitors, a college security officer, and a college alum working in its residential life department (today the New York Post publishes her resignation letter). Their decency shines through.

Powell quotes college janitor Mark Patenaude: “We used to joke, don’t let a rich student report you, because if you do, you’re gone.” Generalized appropriately and reflecting the way we live now, that is the moral of the story. Mr. Patenaude also provides the money quote, so to speak: “I don’t know if I believe in white privilege. I believe in money privilege.”

Where is Oumou Kanoute now? Ms. Kanoute apparently remains at large. Powell leaves this part of the story vague. I infer that she is immune from consequences and even from criticism. Mr. Patenaude to the contrary notwithstanding, Kanoute’s immunity suggests to me that there are some things money can’t buy.

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