My Idea Of Social Justice

I have seen the insanity of an inner city school where kids poop and pee in the stairwells because bathroom doors are locked out of fear that fires will be set or sex rings will run rampant. I have had my laptop stolen off my desk and been told by other teachers which gang leaders to see to try and buy it back. I have been threatened by a leader of the Crips, who once entered my room only to throw all of my belongings and books and papers on the floor before leaving the room saying he was going to “F*** me up.”

But I don’t know if I’ve ever experienced anything more at odds with reality than my recruitment into the academic world, where I have been offered to pursue a Ph.D in a field and school where conservative voices don’t seem to exist.

That I have gained admission to this university and this particular department is shocking in itself. The first thing I was told by the chair of the department when I was interviewed in the fall is that “we are extremely far to the left.” I was prepared for something like this, responded neutrally, and impressed her with my stories from the inner city education system and my desire to do in depth research about how so many levels of American society fail urban children. I also demonstrated a flawless expertise at discussing my “white privilege” because I knew it would be necessary for a straight-edge white guy to gain admission to a competitive left wing Ph.D program.

During a recruiting visit last month, the other accepted candidates and I were asked to say something that others wouldn’t think to know about us. The professors led off this activity as a sort of ice breaking activity, sharing everything from their sexuality and even history as strippers at gay strip clubs. One shared the galling fact that she was once registered as a Republican. It was just assumed that these comments were normal and that those gathered around the table were radicals.

I sat in my chair pondering what to say. What they wouldn’t know about me is that I was the captain of my college cross country and track teams. This was pretty boring and neutral, safely meeting the two criteria of things I will tell people I’ve just met. If I end up attending this institution, they’ll find out I’m a conservative. I didn’t want to open that can of worms during this touchy feely sharing session because the department is still doling out funding packages.

I ponder the achievement gap between white students and minorities and work my hardest in a dismal school and neighborhood to close it because it’s the right thing to do and I love doing it. That’s what I told the assembled panel of professors and prospective students my “idea of social justice” is. It took me about 30 seconds to describe my brand of social justice, while it took the others about five minutes each to explain why they’ve become “radicalized” in their pursuit of social justice or search for self, identity or sexuality in this world.

My idea for the study of my country is rooted in reality and what I see in the shameful state of our inner city schools. My prospective colleague’s ideas seem fundamentally rooted in a radicalized search for self, identity and meaning.

They are all good people and I certainly respect the challenges many go through as human beings in terms of their gender, sexuality and diversity. But at the end of the day, who are radical gender and sexuality experts speaking to other than each other and leftist professors and impressionable college students? And how many people is this helping in our country? And if I’m not interested in someone else’s sexuality (my mom always told me not to worry or inquire about what others do behind closed doors and I go by that) does this make me less of a person or intellectual?

A major draw for me to pursue this degree: If I do, someday I’ll have the credentials to stand up to liberal ideology and radical brainwashing theory in a college setting. For sure, more conservative voices are needed in classrooms at all levels. These are places to share core ideals and beliefs, not through dogma and agenda pushing, but through example, objectivity and common sense.