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starvinbohemianMy day took a random turn into Bizarre Land when it was revealed to me that two of my current professors are apparently feuding with each other over religious tolerance, freedom of speech, and the "gay agenda." Oh, boy.
Male Professor, already pissed off from a series of hostile messages from the faculty to a mass email sent out by someone or other inviting everyone to an Easter mass, encounters Female Professor's office door, just as he does every day since they share a hallway. Male and Female Professor already have a history of antagonism because Male Professor is a fervent Christian and Female Professor is a vocal lesbian and atheist. A recipe for disaster, you might say, because they have to share a hallway, a department, and students.
Female Professor has a penchant for putting anti-Christian, pro-gay pornography on her office door as decoration. On this particular day, Male Professor has had enough of her and the general anti-Christian attitude of the university faculty. In a fit of anger, he pulls down a picture Female Professor had put up of two angels "copulating," with one of the faces cut out and replaced with her own picture. Male Professor feels certain that this picture is a direct slur on Easter due to the timing of its appearance. He feels personally mocked and baited. Female Professor happens to open her door just as Male Professor is ripping down her picture.
What ensues is a shouting match where Female Professor insists that it's art and Male Professor insists that it's obscene and offensive. Female Professor feels intimidated by Male Professor and reports him to just about everyone she can. Male Professor is in a heap of trouble.
To add insult to injury, Male Professor is told by the Head of the Department that if he were to put up his own heterosexual pornography on his office door in retaliation, then it would be taken down. But Female Professor can put up whatever she wants. No one is going to infringe on her free speech. Just his.
The result to all of this is that I am left feeling awkward as hell as Male Professor, in front of the entire class, asks me specifically how I would feel if he were to invite me to his office with pornography taped to his door. The awkwardness continues as the entire class, save myself, starts ranting about how annoyed they are by the pro-gay agenda Female Professor pushes in her classes. Male Professor continues to stare directly at me as he bemoans the unfairness of it all, and he more or less admits that he's not technically allowed to be on campus that day but he came in to teach anyway. Male Professor continues to make an already inappropriate situation more inappropriate by actually asking two girls in the class if they will testify for him that Female Professor pushes a pro-gay agenda on her students against their will. Male Professor may or may not be asked to take an unspecified vacation, and my class may or may not be canceled.
This is a fairly awkward situation for me because I really like both Male and Female Professor. I'm excited to be taught by Male Professor, who is a published author, a great teacher, and an extremely interesting guy. I don't want him to be fired. I also understand his frustration with the anti-Christian sentiment typical of universities. He has a point when he says that tolerance goes both ways. He's also particularly sensitive about his religion because he believes it saved his life from drug and alcohol abuse. I even agree that the picture on Female Professor's door was inappropriate. There's no reason for pornography to be on her door, and it was mean-spirited to bait a co-worker she knows is of a differing religion, especially on a particularly special religious holiday.
HOWEVER, he had no right to touch Female Professor's personal property or to infringe on her free speech. He was whining that he's in no way intimidating, but Male Professor has bulging biceps, a history with cocaine, and I can easily see how he would be intimidating when angry and shouting. Female Professor didn't get where she is today by letting men bully her or tell her to be quiet. Especially not men who have a problem with her "gay agenda." As someone entirely supportive of that agenda and as someone who thinks Female Professor is entirely awesome, I definitely see her position. But I still think it would be both an overreaction to get Male Professor fired and an example of how tolerance really doesn't go both ways. It's hardly fair to constantly bait someone and then get all offended when they have the audacity to actually get upset.
In essence, it was an uncomfortable day for me. ^^;
Male Professor, already pissed off from a series of hostile messages from the faculty to a mass email sent out by someone or other inviting everyone to an Easter mass, encounters Female Professor's office door, just as he does every day since they share a hallway. Male and Female Professor already have a history of antagonism because Male Professor is a fervent Christian and Female Professor is a vocal lesbian and atheist. A recipe for disaster, you might say, because they have to share a hallway, a department, and students.
Female Professor has a penchant for putting anti-Christian, pro-gay pornography on her office door as decoration. On this particular day, Male Professor has had enough of her and the general anti-Christian attitude of the university faculty. In a fit of anger, he pulls down a picture Female Professor had put up of two angels "copulating," with one of the faces cut out and replaced with her own picture. Male Professor feels certain that this picture is a direct slur on Easter due to the timing of its appearance. He feels personally mocked and baited. Female Professor happens to open her door just as Male Professor is ripping down her picture.
What ensues is a shouting match where Female Professor insists that it's art and Male Professor insists that it's obscene and offensive. Female Professor feels intimidated by Male Professor and reports him to just about everyone she can. Male Professor is in a heap of trouble.
To add insult to injury, Male Professor is told by the Head of the Department that if he were to put up his own heterosexual pornography on his office door in retaliation, then it would be taken down. But Female Professor can put up whatever she wants. No one is going to infringe on her free speech. Just his.
The result to all of this is that I am left feeling awkward as hell as Male Professor, in front of the entire class, asks me specifically how I would feel if he were to invite me to his office with pornography taped to his door. The awkwardness continues as the entire class, save myself, starts ranting about how annoyed they are by the pro-gay agenda Female Professor pushes in her classes. Male Professor continues to stare directly at me as he bemoans the unfairness of it all, and he more or less admits that he's not technically allowed to be on campus that day but he came in to teach anyway. Male Professor continues to make an already inappropriate situation more inappropriate by actually asking two girls in the class if they will testify for him that Female Professor pushes a pro-gay agenda on her students against their will. Male Professor may or may not be asked to take an unspecified vacation, and my class may or may not be canceled.
This is a fairly awkward situation for me because I really like both Male and Female Professor. I'm excited to be taught by Male Professor, who is a published author, a great teacher, and an extremely interesting guy. I don't want him to be fired. I also understand his frustration with the anti-Christian sentiment typical of universities. He has a point when he says that tolerance goes both ways. He's also particularly sensitive about his religion because he believes it saved his life from drug and alcohol abuse. I even agree that the picture on Female Professor's door was inappropriate. There's no reason for pornography to be on her door, and it was mean-spirited to bait a co-worker she knows is of a differing religion, especially on a particularly special religious holiday.
HOWEVER, he had no right to touch Female Professor's personal property or to infringe on her free speech. He was whining that he's in no way intimidating, but Male Professor has bulging biceps, a history with cocaine, and I can easily see how he would be intimidating when angry and shouting. Female Professor didn't get where she is today by letting men bully her or tell her to be quiet. Especially not men who have a problem with her "gay agenda." As someone entirely supportive of that agenda and as someone who thinks Female Professor is entirely awesome, I definitely see her position. But I still think it would be both an overreaction to get Male Professor fired and an example of how tolerance really doesn't go both ways. It's hardly fair to constantly bait someone and then get all offended when they have the audacity to actually get upset.
In essence, it was an uncomfortable day for me. ^^;
