Former Johns Hopkins Professor: Colleges Demonize White Men

Former Johns Hopkins Professor Daniel Povey argued in a blog post this week that many American colleges demonize white men. Povey may not find his future career to be more welcoming to ideological diversity — he has accepted a position at Facebook.

Professor Daniel Povey was fired by Johns Hopkins University in May when he tried to break up a student protest. Now, Povey is speaking out about his experience in academia.

In a blog post, which was highlighted this week by Campus Reform, Povey explains that way American colleges demonize white men. Povey claims that he felt that he was expected to apologize for his identity.

White males in this environment seem to be expected to constantly atone for their existence by telegraphing their exclusive concern for every demographic group but their own, like a neutered puppy-dog or some Justin Trudeau man-child. It’s pathetic, in my opinion; and I don’t accept it at all. I am not prepared to apologize for being who I am. I don’t think that empathy should preclude critical thinking or basic self-respect. I don’t accept that a person should have carte blanche to disrupt everyone’s lives just because of their minority status; and I don’t feel it’s right that I should be fired just for opposing a group whose victimhood makes them politically unassailable. This might sound very controversial to some people here, but to me it seems like common sense.

Povey is scheduled to assume a new role in Silicon Valley with Facebook on August 19. In his new job, Povey will be working on Facebook’s speech recognition initiative.

In a brief comment to CNBC, Povey said that he doesn’t expect to last long in Silicon Valley given his contrasting worldview. “I just wouldn’t expect to last very long at any big Silicon Valley company after expressing the kinds of opinions I have expressed in my leaving message,” Povey said.