Iowahawk does it again!

The ever-brilliant Iowahawk weighs in on the Gates controversy with a side-splitting commentary, written from the point of view of – as he puts it – a ‘Harvard faculty asshole’.

An excerpt to whet your appetite:

Our table exchanged knowing glances, for we knew immediately that Skip was only the latest victim of a system that singles out the Harvard faculty asshole for stigmatization and unequal justice. It is a system that all of us knew too well, and provided an opportunity for an open conversation about our shared experiences as Harvard faculty assholes in America while waiting for Sergio to bring the dessert cart.

One after one came the cascade of stark stories: the rolled eyes of our department secretaries. The Spanish language mockery of our office janitors. The foul gestures of drunken strap-hanging Red Sox lumpenproles aboard the MBTA. The frequent police stops on the highway to Cape Ann and Martha’s Vineyard for “Volvoing While Asshole.” And then there are the insulting media stereotypes, where we are routinely caricatured as pompous, effete, self-important, irrelevant elitists. All, I might add, by a motley collection of lowbrow inferiors, few of whom have ever published in a peer-reviewed journal. Let alone edit one.

Sometimes it even comes at the hand of self-styled “peers” from D-list state ampersand institutions. One colleague recounted the tale of his restroom confrontation with a Texas A&M professor at a national academic conference last year. After relieving themselves at adjacent urinals, my colleague noticed the oaf leaving hastily for the plenary session and decided to gently point out his hygienic forgetfulness. “A Harvard man washes his hands after urinating,” he said. “And an Aggie don’t piss all over his hands, asshole,” came the reply.

A female colleague from the English department recalled a recent incident along the Charles River jogging path during her regular morning run. A confused passer-by rudely interrupted her progress and requested directions, as if my colleague were some sort of lowly campus guide or untenured adjunct. “Where does this street go to?” she demanded. Naturally, my colleague took the opportunity to correct her, noting that “at Harvard we do not end our sentences in prepositions.”

“Okay, Where does this street go to, asshole?” barked the interloper. Needless to say, my colleague’s daily morning runs have since been replaced with tear-filled visits to the Faculty Asshole Self Esteem Counseling Center.

There’s much more at the link. Wonderful, laugh-out-loud reading. Highly recommended.

Peter