Earlier today I discussed the upcoming Cato Institute/YouGov survey of Americans’ views on free speech as reported in The Atlantic by Conor Friedersdorf—data that I didn’t find terribly heartening. It turns out that the same survey asked questions about statements considered by many colleges as “microaggressions”. In a related Atlantic piece, “Who is competent to decide what offends?” Friedersdorf summarizes these data separately, though the final report hasn’t yet appeared.
Friedersdorf isn’t an opponent of teaching students arriving at colleges about different cultures. Rather, he objects to the teaching of “cultural competence”: that is, giving messages to students about how to behave towards members of different groups. Here’s what Friedersdorf considers acceptable teaching:
A sound approach to teaching “cultural competence” might inform by exploring the history of blackface; or why Sikhs carry a small knife; or common challenges that orthodox Christian students experience on secular campuses; or the…
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