The Word of the Year Is CONTEXT
The presidents of Harvard, M.I.T., and the University of Pennsylvania did America a favor on Dec. 5 when they told Congress that calls for the genocide of the Jews could only be considered harassment or bullying based on their “context.”
Whether you consider their response a heartless apology for hatred or a semi-defense of free speech, it was not – as they claimed in the storm that followed – the result of imprecise language or bad advice.
Instead, they spotlighted the most consequential concept in the English language. Context is not just a word, but a weapon brandished by leaders in academia, government, media, and business to justify any action, to advance any idea. It is the linguistic hinge that allows them to present all their always contentious and often incoherent ideas as common sense. You just have to understand the context, friend.
Context is a mighty tool because it empowers authorities to choose the information they deem necessary to understand other phenomena. Nothing just is; everything must be interpreted through reference to other facts selected by the powers that be. Given the right context, every claim is possible: Boys are girls and girls are boys; climate change is an “existential” threat; the American economy is going gangbusters and white supremacists and Christian nationalists are plotting a war against the Republic. Those who define the context can shape reality.
Context empowers universities to cherry-pick America’s history of racism to punish “microaggressions,” “implicit bias,” and other........
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