pointy-headed, adj. slang, disparaging. Intellectual, esp. in a self-important or impractical way.
Alert: If you don’t have a graduate degree, please find a friend who does so they can help you read this post. Dean Kenn Elmore “bemoans” that the public, which likely includes you, is too dumb to proceed without a guiding light. That I wrote this post without a graduate degree is a modern miracle.
First, Boston University’s Dean of Students Kenn Elmore bent over backwards to get students to register to vote. That’s not an altogether terrible idea, it’s just a waste of time and resources not unlike the 1,001 other tiny boondoggles that drive tuition increases.
Then Elmore saw no problem passing along an intellectually dishonest fearmongering piece as a ‘guest post.’ That it seemed to predict another American Civil War, blamed Hurricane Gustav on global warming, pronounced the last few years as “horrendous,” and, finally, implored students not to vote in Massachusetts, didn’t bother him.
Well done, Dean Elmore. Let’s talk about what this election season says about you.
“Here’s my confession – often, I read W.E.B. Dubois’ 1956 piece, Why I Won’t Vote. I know you think I’m a big cynic, but I [sic] this 1956 piece still makes me think about our country – especially during the election season.”
Read it, folks, if you haven’t come across it before. You’ll see a few things that Elmore neglects to mention: distress that a third party, the Socialists, are overshadowed by a corrupt two-party system; that the two parties aren’t different at all; the disenfranchised reality of the “Negro”; etc. Elmore does a disservice to these details - these issues, among others, that Dubois identified as driving his hopelessness - by comparing them to today’s issues. But for the pretentious pseudo-intellectual, confessing that you’ve read a piece of philosophy is usually enough.
“As I’ve said before, I struggle with American politics. I, like many of you, bemoan apparent public ignorance about decisions that have consequences for the country;”
Yes, we know you struggle with American politics - you’ve made that clear over the last few weeks. I’ve got no issue with that.
What’s unacceptable is the pointy-headed, smug contempt that Elmore expresses for the public. We’re not all dumb, we’re not so uninformed that we make choices blindly, and, frankly, if we needed guidance, we wouldn’t go to Elmore.
It’s bad to be pointy-headed, and it’s even worse when you stink at it.
I sense that Elmore feels a little guilt here, as he should - that’s why he tries to groom readers ["like many of you"] early on. Demagogue, demagogue, demagogue.
“[I bemoan] the money that is used to support political campaigns; opportunities for candidates that do not declare themselves Democrats or Republicans; the involvement of young people in traditional civic institutions;”
Does Elmore “bemoan” the financing for the McCain campaign that comes from the Federal government? Does he “bemoan” the money contributed to the Obama campaign, which amounts to even more? Should both campaigns instead use that money to buy us Prince CDs so we can all listen to the same inspirational music before writing?
These are tough questions. What else does Elmore bemoan?
“… tactics and procedures that are used to makes us loose [sic] our motivation to vote.”
I’d respond to this, but I haven’t a clue what Elmore means.
After a couple paragraphs of blather, Elmore concludes:
“I ask a lot of questions. We can be at our best during a conversation. Great conversations are about joy and the celebration of our human-ness. A wonderful conversation is thought-provoking, inspirational, and liberates my spirit. I feel like a human when I talk to others. Join me at this year’s first Coffee and Conversation session – Friday, September 12, in the Howard Thurman Center from 3 – 5 p.m. This upcoming election season drops a lot of clues about who we are. So, let’s talk about the upcoming election for leader of the world and why you should or should not vote. Please also check out this week’s post on your vote and geography.”
Elmore is exposing who he is - and, most notably, his limits and contempt for the non-intellectuals. The mix of irony and gall that Elmore stirs in each of these blog posts will likely go unnoticed by the public. After all, they’re just too dumb and ignorant …
… though hundreds of thousands have managed to scrape together the money for Boston University tuition over the last few decades. Must’ve been dumb luck.
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