First day of class, to our pregnant professor: "You're huge! Are you having twins?"
"...Uh, no. Just one."
"Are you SURE?"
On the question of America's status as "the best country in the world ever": "Of course it is. Economically-"
Professor: "Actually, statistics show that it isn't-"
"ECONOMICALLY-"
On Anglicization: "My name is Javier, but I introduce myself as Xavier, because everyone should know I'm from America."
On Texans: "My friend said the girls in Texas are way, way more attractive. So..."
On stereotypes about men vs. women: "Guys act exactly like the guys on Friends. They don't talk about sex, and if they do it's a passing thing. And girls ARE emotional and irrational. It's pretty true-to-life."
On male teachers: "Well, it's been proven that male teachers for young children are either pedophiles or have gender confusion."
Professor: "Uh, do you mean sexual orientation?"
"I know what I mean."
And then today, we talked about women's rights and the problem of difference between the sexes, and whether equality can ever be attained. I brought up the fact that men are much less likely to express ideas or feelings typically thought of as feminine, because they will be perceived as gay. And then the professor made several good points about homophobia in a row. And then this guy - I refer to him as Pre-Law Asshole - piped up, and I looked back at one of my similarly liberal friends, who rolled his eyes at me.
(We are both restraining ourselves the entire class period, every class, from strangling PLA. Radical feminist + LGBT rights activist + extremely conservative practically ODD kid = a really volatile classroom)
And PLA launched into this three- or four-minute explanation of homophobia, which is basically that men are afraid of penetration by other men, whereas lesbians aren't threatening... or something? He used "penetration" at least ten times during his monologue. I still have no idea what he was getting at.
But then the professor responded to him, diplomatically, and then moved the conversation along to utopian/egalitarian societies, and whether equality in pay was possible. The way she said it sounded like she thought pay was equal now, and I was about to say something, and then PLA says "Except that women still get paid 75 cents to MY dollar." My friend and I both rose out of our seats a little.
It's so not worth it. PLA then went on, of course, to say that this utopian society was totally possible if only people would convince themselves that everyone was equal. Everyone that couldn't was clearly just not as evolved as he, PLA, is. He is a paragon of social equality. He is what all men should aspire to. (He then went on to advocate for men's rights, btw)
I mean, how is someone with my strength of feelings on all these issues supposed to respond to him? I can't stab him in the neck or anything, I don't think, no matter how much I want to. A debate wouldn't convince him, because he isn't that kind of person. What exactly am I supposed to say?
Please, someone tell me it's okay to stab him.
2 comments:
He needs to get locked in a room with his antithesis-self, until he wears himselves out and realizes the folly of his ways. Like the WOPR computer in WarGames.
It's not okay to stab him. But you are encouraged to keep track of his statements and share them with others, as you have here.
The phrase "It's been proven that..." is nearly always followed by an untrue statement.
Sounds like his ability to self-observe is impaired somewhat.
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