The college's response was heavyhanded and stupid, and I hope that the problem blows over quickly.
But there's no whiff of Jonathan Swift in this part of Bill's post:
in a discussion of the shootings with some old friends I confessed that I responded to the news by thinking of a list of people I would blow away at my school in a similar way. [...] all of the above is true,
That strikes me as a really coldhearted reaction. I don't think it should have consequences for tenure or employment; I don't think it suggests any kind of threat of violence. But...it's cold. So I wonder--does anyone know of any data on how common such a response is? If it's very common, that bodes well for the resolution of Bill's case, but not so well for my view of human nature! I don't mean to sound critical of Bill--let me say again that the college went way overboard and I hope he's back at work pronto. --David Epstein [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
