Another Woke-ism Worming Its Way Into Our Culture

[Carborendum]

Alum.

No, not the hydrated salt of aluminum.  The word that used to be an abbreviation for alumnus, alumna, alumni, alumnae.  Now "Alum" is the standard, gender-neutral word for individual alumni of all stripes.

I found this out because the BYU Alumni financial aid office is using this word in their application process.  

My family then informed me that several professors have been openly preaching that the Book of Mormon is not meant to be taken literally.  It was basically just a huge metaphor.  None of that stuff really happened.  I've already heard of certain professors advising all students to get with the woke program or they'll be fired from their jobs.  But it seems to be getting into personal lives and testimonies now.

[zil2]

With everything I keep hearing, if I had a kid, I certainly wouldn't send them to BYU.

[mirkwood]

BYU is cancer ridden and I continue to be surprised there has not been some serious chemotherapy.

[Grunt]

I couldn't imagine sending my kids there. 

[NeuroTypical]

4 hours ago, Carborendum said:

 Now "Alum" is the standard, gender-neutral word for individual alumni of all stripes.

In related news, the FBI has finally decided on the correct alphabet term.

 

It sure is nice to know that the FBI has nine, count them nine, different diversity advisory committees to figure this stuff out. It’s terrifying to consider what would happen if they only had eight.

Source.

we can only hope that someday our church will have the proper number of gender- and sexual orientation-diverse apostles. Until then, these folks must go not understood. Right @mrmarklin?

Edited December 16, 2023 by NeuroTypical

[zil2]

7 minutes ago, NeuroTypical said:

It sure is nice to know that the FBI has nine, count them nine, different diversity advisory committees to figure this stuff out.

That's the part that stopped me dead.  Really, you guys are so stupid that you need nine such committees, and we let you carry guns!? :SMH:

9 minutes ago, NeuroTypical said:

we can only hope that someday our church will have the proper number of gender- and sexual orientation-diverse apostles.

Pretty sure we're gonna need more than 12...

[EH12NG]

I've been confused lately as to why BYU etc is allowed to continue like a raging hot woke mess. 

[JohnsonJones]

On 12/16/2023 at 11:35 AM, mirkwood said:

BYU is cancer ridden and I continue to be surprised there has not been some serious chemotherapy.

Aren't you a solid UofU fan?

This is the type of comment I would expect from one. 

Nothing wrong with being a UofU fan, but I would think all UofU fans would have a rather low opinion of the Y.  (Being a UGA fan I have no skin in this rivalry, as UGA would crush either one of them in the only sport that matters...being football and all). 

[Carborendum]

On 12/16/2023 at 10:51 AM, zil2 said:

With everything I keep hearing, if I had a kid, I certainly wouldn't send them to BYU.

On 12/16/2023 at 12:35 PM, mirkwood said:

BYU is cancer ridden and I continue to be surprised there has not been some serious chemotherapy.

On 12/16/2023 at 1:55 PM, Grunt said:

I couldn't imagine sending my kids there. 

20 hours ago, EH12NG said:

I've been confused lately as to why BYU etc is allowed to continue like a raging hot woke mess. 

Interesting article/commentary.

https://mylifebygogogoff.com/2022/12/the-two-reasons-byus-spiral-into-wokeness-has-not-been-corrected.html

I am not connected enough to BYU right now to reasonably comment on this.  But it seems to be a reasonable assessment.

[mirkwood]

3 hours ago, JohnsonJones said:

Aren't you a solid UofU fan?

This is the type of comment I would expect from one. 

 

 

Doesn't make my statement untrue. 

[LDSGator]

3 hours ago, JohnsonJones said:

Aren't you a solid UofU fan?

He’s a die hard Notre Dame fan. 

[EH12NG]

5 hours ago, Carborendum said:

Interesting article/commentary.

https://mylifebygogogoff.com/2022/12/the-two-reasons-byus-spiral-into-wokeness-has-not-been-corrected.html

I am not connected enough to BYU right now to reasonably comment on this.  But it seems to be a reasonable assessment.

Thank you for the article my friend, an insightful read. Although, I hope the poor chap and his good lady get plenty of sleep. The little-uns sound like a handful. 

The church needs to reclaim it's universities. 

[Just_A_Guy]

On 12/16/2023 at 9:30 AM, Carborendum said:

Alum.

No, not the hydrated salt of aluminum.  The word that used to be an abbreviation for alumnus, alumna, alumni, alumnae.  Now "Alum" is the standard, gender-neutral word for individual alumni of all stripes.

I found this out because the BYU Alumni financial aid office is using this word in their application process.  

My family then informed me that several professors have been openly preaching that the Book of Mormon is not meant to be taken literally.  It was basically just a huge metaphor.  None of that stuff really happened.  I've already heard of certain professors advising all students to get with the woke program or they'll be fired from their jobs.  But it seems to be getting into personal lives and testimonies now.

I really wish someone would set up a website naming the specific professors who are spouting this sort of stuff.

[LDSGator]

11 minutes ago, Just_A_Guy said:

I really wish someone would set up a website naming the specific professors who are spouting this sort of stuff.

Would this one work?

https://www.ratemyprofessors.com

[Just_A_Guy]

11 minutes ago, LDSGator said:

Would this one work?

https://www.ratemyprofessors.com

It’s a start.

A pet peeve of mine I’ve had in these sorts of discussions in various fora is that people will express concern about a professor who did this or said that, and I (who have a daughter who hopes to start at BYU next fall) will be like “oh, can you tell me who said that so we can know to avoid their classes”, and suddenly people are bashful and worried about being accused of doxxing.

I mean, I get that no one wants to be responsible for creating a mob.  But if we aren’t going to identify the bad’uns, what’s the point of complaining about them?

[LDSGator]

2 minutes ago, Just_A_Guy said:

I mean, I get that no one wants to be responsible for creating a mob

Call it my “Mockingbird” sense of humanity but people LOVE being part of mobs. 

[Carborendum]

3 minutes ago, Just_A_Guy said:

worried about being accused of doxxing.

I believe this is the biggest concern.  Specifically, if people were to sue the publication of such data as defamation, that would be a big sacrifice.  Who's willing to make such sacrifice?

I think that the big advantage that the woke mob has over "responsible citizens" is that when you have nothing to lose, there is no sacrifice.  It is one thing to keep your values in your home and family.  It is another to have "public virtue."

Most people don't even know what that term means.  That should tell you how infrequent we find such a trait in today's population.

[NeuroTypical]

9 hours ago, JohnsonJones said:

Aren't you a solid UofU fan?

This is the type of comment I would expect from one. 

Nothing wrong with being a UofU fan, but I would think all UofU fans would have a rather low opinion of the Y.

Hm.   Do you have a low opinion of UofU folks in general, or do you have a low opinion of anyone who's going to be a fan of any university?  I'm a UofU fan, but all my smack talking about BYU is done lightheartedly, restricted to good-natured sports competition festivity. 

I mean, I graduated from the U, but I've had a mostly positive opinion of the Y for as long as I've had an opinion.  Back in my college days, my BYU buddy and I would 'crash' each other's campuses every now and then and sit in on each other's classes, just to get a taste.  We offered/urged our kiddos to look into attending BYU as their college of choice.  My wife is currently doing things through BYU pathways.   Do I somehow surprise you, JJ?

 

[Just_A_Guy]

11 minutes ago, LDSGator said:

Call it my “Mockingbird” sense of humanity but people LOVE being part of mobs. 

Being part of, sure.  Being responsible for . . .  

[LDSGator]

31 minutes ago, NeuroTypical said:

Hm.   Do you have a low opinion of UofU folks in general, or do you have a low opinion of anyone who's going to be a fan of any university?  I'm a UofU fan, but all my smack talking about BYU is done lightheartedly, restricted to good-natured sports competition festivity. 

I mean, I graduated from the U, but I've had a mostly positive opinion of the Y for as long as I've had an opinion.  Back in my college days, my BYU buddy and I would 'crash' each other's campuses every now and then and sit in on each other's classes, just to get a taste.  We offered/urged our kiddos to look into attending BYU as their college of choice.  My wife is currently doing things through BYU pathways.   Do I somehow surprise you, JJ?

 

To be fair, @JohnsonJones is a southerner. When we say “college sports is our religion” we are not kidding. My pic here for almost a decade was the University of Florida Gator, after all! It goes beyond sports. The school with the best drama program? Yup, we think it’s the Gators too. 

 I think the issue here is a lack of communication. 

Edited December 18, 2023 by LDSGator

[LDSGator]

4 minutes ago, Just_A_Guy said:

Being part of, sure.  Being responsible for . . .  

Well done, honorable esquire. 

[zil2]

58 minutes ago, Just_A_Guy said:

It’s a start.

A pet peeve of mine I’ve had in these sorts of discussions in various fora is that people will express concern about a professor who did this or said that, and I (who have a daughter who hopes to start at BYU next fall) will be like “oh, can you tell me who said that so we can know to avoid their classes”, and suddenly people are bashful and worried about being accused of doxxing.

I mean, I get that no one wants to be responsible for creating a mob.  But if we aren’t going to identify the bad’uns, what’s the point of complaining about them?

I would think that if someone were to tweet, for example:

"Today in my [subject] class, Professor [name] said, Blah blah blah blah."

And that were all they tweeted - with no commentary, no agreement or disagreement - how could anyone complain that they had done something offensive - doxxing or mob-forming or whatever?  (As long as the professor actually said what is quoted.)  Then the professors would be "outed", but in a way that no one could (rightly) call foul.

[mirkwood]

3 hours ago, LDSGator said:

To be fair, @JohnsonJones is a southerner. When we say “college sports is our religion” we are not kidding. My pic here for almost a decade was the University of Florida Gator, after all! It goes beyond sports. The school with the best drama program? Yup, we think it’s the Gators too. 

 I think the issue here is a lack of communication. 

 

 

 

[JohnsonJones]

3 hours ago, NeuroTypical said:

Hm.   Do you have a low opinion of UofU folks in general, or do you have a low opinion of anyone who's going to be a fan of any university?  I'm a UofU fan, but all my smack talking about BYU is done lightheartedly, restricted to good-natured sports competition festivity. 

No, of course not, but I find it par for the course.  The same commentary going on here about BYU is probably valid in triplicate towards the U.

Of course, what is said about the U is probably valid a dozen times more towards other universities.

HOWEVER, on the final portion of my post, in regards to football...yes...I admit...I hold BYU and the U in low regard.  That's sports though, not the university or the education they provide.

That said, BYU is normally known nationwide more for football then other things.  After that, occasionally it's also known for being "Mormon, but IRONICALLY...outside of Utah and Utah influenced areas, the U is ALSO known for being "Mormon" so it all sort of balances out. 

I have no hard feelings towards any of them, and most of my above post was said in jest or poking lite fun with no hostile intent.  This is why I brought up football, because in the eyes of the SEC...both BYU and the U are equal in their eyes.

The BYU/UofU rivalry is sort of like two kittens going at each other.  In the eyes of a Bulldog...kittens going at each other is cute but no real challenge there.

3 hours ago, NeuroTypical said:

I mean, I graduated from the U, but I've had a mostly positive opinion of the Y for as long as I've had an opinion.  Back in my college days, my BYU buddy and I would 'crash' each other's campuses every now and then and sit in on each other's classes, just to get a taste.  We offered/urged our kiddos to look into attending BYU as their college of choice.  My wife is currently doing things through BYU pathways.   Do I somehow surprise you, JJ?

 

Of course you surprise me sometimes, but probably not on this one. 

More seriously, both are decent universities.  BYU is a well respected university and has many of the top 100 colleges in the Nation (for things such as accounting and Law for example).  The University of Utah is also very renowned and is famous for it's Hospital and medical connections the world over. 

As for Religion professors teaching things about the Book of Mormon at BYU, I have no control over that.  I imagine that if they are teaching this at BYU this is actually on a SYMPTOM of something far bigger and pervasive going on in the CES system of the Church which would also translate that it's probably also happening on other campuses at their institutes of religion or elsewhere (which would also include the U's institute of religion which if I recall, either that or the Aggies at Utah State have the biggest institutes in the nation). 

It would be interesting to see which professors at BYU are actually promoting this idea, but I would also think that an investigation of how widespread it is among the Institute and CES system it is or has spread would be necessary at the same time.

Another thought I had is if this is actually something that's being promoted at BYU and the CES system...this could spell a change in the church's approach to things.  IF it IS an officially endorsed and promoted item from Church leadership itself to the religion professors...this could be a precursor.

What would people's opinions be if this is actually NOT something that is coming from the Professors themselves, but something they have been INSTRUCTED to teach from higher Church leadership, and is a precursor of an official stance that the Church may be preparing to take in the future?

 

(and as an aside, this is similar to a stance the the CoC took decades ago and has been being pushed towards Church Leadership for awhile.  It is NOT something I support, but I've seen this push to have this type of teaching and stance towards the Book of Mormon take place in our Church as well.  I do not approve of this idea, but I don't know what my reaction would be if the Prophet himself decided that this is the Church's stance from now on, except that Utah culture [where I have seen this come from most often and where a LOT of the more liberal ideas which have changed the church recently have come from] is alive and strong in it's influence on Church policies still).

[LDSGator]

14 hours ago, JohnsonJones said:

HOWEVER, on the final portion of my post, in regards to football...yes...I admit...I hold BYU and the U in low regard.  That's sports though,

We’re two SEC boys bro. We hold NFL teams in low regard!