Radical Ideology Comes for the Sciences - A Conversation with Biologist Luana Maroja

VP of Communications Hillel Ofek joins Williams College Biology Professor Luana Maroja to discuss the politicization of the sciences, campus speech restrictions, and why we must defend academic freedom.
Recorded: June 30, 2023
Links:
UATX: www.uaustin.org/
UATX’s Forbidden Courses: www.uaustin.or....
UATX on X: / uaustinorg
Luana Maroja's op-ed, "An Existential Threat to Doing Good Science" (The Free Press): www.thefp.com/...

[@donpietruk1517]

I've seen her on another YT clip with Peter Boghossian. She's so forthright and intellectually honest. And so uncompromising in her willingness to speak her beliefs. You can tell she doesn't suffer fools gladly and will not bow to intellectual bullying. We need more academics like her. Her concerns about educating her students and not indoctrinating them is much needed in academia.

[@lotteingerslev5776]

Thank you, Luana! ❤

[@stephen_donnan]

I could listen to Luana talk sense all day long. Thanks for this.

[@ChrysanthsMum]

Thank you for sharing your observations on today’s cultural “trends” that are disaffecting so many.

[@AndyWearsPants]

I cannot share her optimism. We just had the 1 Million March 4 children in Canada, and the opposition to parental rights was organized by our universities and unions as well as social justice organizations. They pumped out disinformation and accusations of hate, fascism, and used all the usual left-wing dogwhistles. They released public statements declaring their organizations opposed to the parents marching, and they organized (in Victoria and Vancouver) mid-level violence training for counter-protesters. The parents and their supporters were completely blindsided, and many have been subsequently harassed, targeted at work with complaints, had false allegations filed with police, and been banned from certsin restaurants. So, until there is an organized push-back that is as well-trained and committed, I think her optimism is hubris. But I hope I'm wrong.

[@burleybater]

Great points all - salient, and sadly too true. Amateur parents are up against professional cultural Marxists - who aren't going away anytime soon, and who have not been weakened in any meaningful way in the past 4 decades. They are well-practiced in their own brand of dirty pool. Filthy little weasels, all. Think on it. 74 years ago the likes of them got a groin grip on China and haven't loosened that grip one iota. China has a lot of mean streets and people capable of turning those dirty tables back on themselves, but that's how strong and tenacious the ideology works. Hubris aside. The one thing their opposition has going for it, is sheer numbers. The hard core of wokeism in all its wonders and flavors is barely one tenth the size - but they are like well-trained Romans going up against cave people. Sooner or later the numbers (hopefully, in what's left of an actual democracy?) start to do their work. What I get a real kick out of is basically this: our Muslim communities, Chinese communities, Indian (India) communities, and various other family traditionalist enclaves - all of them apparently blessed as nonwhite, holy persons of color and marginalized etcetera - being referred to as alt-right adjacent, white adjacent, and other nasty descriptions that sneak up but never quite arrive at the real nitty gritty: that these peoples are generally found to be hardcore normative to the max. In other words: polar opposite to your basic white liberal. How embarrassing. So our liberal head-patters and cooing pathologizers are going to have an interesting time tippy-toeing their way around displeased 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation immigrants. The ones who are still the holy golden Canada's chosen peoples, according to our present federal abomination known as a ruling government. I believe fur will fly in our future. Ultimately, will parents nation-wide lose control over their ability to protect their children? I can't see them lying down, quitting, giving up, throwing in the towel on that one. It is far too primally hard-wired in. This child-hating attack may have worked in China, Russia, Cambodia (until the Viet Kong showed up) but those societies did not start from as strong a democratically free position to begin with - on their downhill slide. We'll see.

[@evolutionisus4879]

UATX you have one of the worlds greatest evolutionarily biologist in Austin. You should’ve invited him to teach your class. I am sure Dr Maroja knows who I am referring too. Maybe she even visited with him in Austin.

[@Chris-hq7nl]

Great discussion.

[@phraarenpanyasampanno4743]

Super! 😁❤️🙏

[@RandomAussieGuy87]

Sad - and worrying - to see.

[@dkvikingkd233]

It's not a minimum cost to submit to the orders or authoritarians!! (just lost my thumbs up there, if you don't stand up for the principles you believe in, then all is just empty talk!)

[@innisneill7510]

This really gave me nothing as a listener. They were carefully tiptoeing around and never making too explicit what is happening in their opinion, where exactly and how, or what constitutes a problem exactly. The most explicit was close to the end when she gave a few examples like „gender is a binary“ is „uncontroversial“. This is just 12 minutes wasted, especially if you‘re accustomed to proper academic discussions that are packed full of details, explicit examples and carefull observation of all contexts and angles. But since that „culture war“ got heated in the US, who expects anything better?

[@burleybater]

It's a twelve and a half minute sound bite, not a Monk debate. They're assuming, I'm sure, that most of their viewers are already up on most off the salient points. For more in depth, you need to go find the more in depth. Triggernometry full interviews with professionals and experts, etc. Even Tucker Carlson has some nice bits out lately. Megyn Kelly as well. Put on your research hat. If you already have, then hang around Rebel News, Redacted, Ezra Levant, and a few others that are info-friendly and at least Canadian responsive.

[@elietedarce1266]

The viruz is smaller than the fabric of masks, but nearly all virus get out the body inside tiny drops of water (particles) and those particles are filtered by the masks. So in the end the masks reduces a lot the amount of viruz liberated in the air.

[@hansjolen6087]

She could become a Cher impersonator.

[@XA1985]

Sex and gender are a social construct - Judith Butler

[@stevenyates6651]

Would you be willing to consider that Judith Butler might be wrong, and that therefore the statement that sex and gender are “social constructions” might be factually in error? What does it mean to say this is, of course, a valid consideration. Which could be the basis for a productive conversation, for those who are willing to have it.

[@tonycairns6728]

Sex isn't a social construct. That's an ignorant falsehood.