Sunday, December 11, 2011

Another Day, Another Bullshit Gratuitous Mention By Dishonest Donald Douglas

In a post primarily discussing a college professor's run-in with two Muslim students that resulted in the professor's resignation, Dishonest Don appended the following:
"No doubt Walter James "Occupy" Casper III would be down with that "female Muslim student." The dude called for an investigation of Pamela Geller and berates conservative counter-jihad bloggers as racist. For pro-terror progressives like Racist Repsac3, the professor had it coming and he obviously deserved to be out on his ass, pounding the pavement for a job."

Why?

Who the fuck knows...

As I've said before, if you want to know what professor Douglas is up to, the best way is often to watch what he accuses others of doing. The man claims I'm obsessed with him... ...and yet he won't stop lashing out with these nonsensical, counterfactual, gratuitous mentions in posts about other subjects, regardless of whether I write about him--or the subject in question--or not. His fact free suppositions about what he thinks I might believe or maybe would do as regards the main subject of these posts (the strand of thread he uses to drag me into his posts and then lash out at me for whatever dastardly belief or action he's invented for me in a given situation) are not supported by anything but his own fevered, hateful imagination. In most cases I've never even discussed the topic at hand, and even when I have, Donald doesn't quote me, making it far easier to put his words and ideas in my mouth and then attack his made-up bullshit version of what "I" actually said...

I get it... Dishonest Don doesn't like me... Of all the people he's fought with over the last several years, I'm obviously the one he most hates, for reasons known only to Donald himself... ...but dragging me into all these posts based solely on what he guesses I might say or believe about the subject at hand does little more than make ol' Don look pretty desperate to lash out at me. And if he really is so desperate that he's willing to throw these wild drunken punches at me as these bullshit "W James would no doubt..." posts make him seem, I actually feel kinda sorry for the guy...
---

Added, after doing a bit more reading:

As for the subject of the post itself--the resignation of the professor--there seems to be more to the story than Dishonest Donald Douglas was willing to offer.

The professor's blog, Christian Apologetics Project--listed on the syllabus for the class in question--lists Islam, Mormonism, and Jehovah's Witnesses as cults rather than as religions, and reads a whole lot like the average Pamela Geller screed where Islam is concerned. (And for the record, yes, I do believe that Pam Geller is a bigot. The only Muslims she seems to approve of or in any way support are former Muslims or dead ones. She opposes Muslim religious services for US soldiers on military bases, and even at the Pentagon.

I'm fine with folks opposed to the strain of Islam that creates and feeds terrorism... ...but I don't believe that every Muslim is a potential terrorist any more than I believe every person practicing any other religion is... There are millions of Muslims throughout the world, and the vast majority never had and never will have a single "terrorist" thought. Those who fight against mosques, footbaths, religious services, etc, strictly because Muslims will use them are bigots. Pamela Geller--and yes, some of her "anti-Jihad" blogging followers and fellow travelers too--are indeed bigoted against all Muslims (except the ones who converted and the ones who are dead, of course.)

This news story (non-Fox, not Con blogger) paint a more nuanced picture of the situation: TCC Disputes That Professor Was Forced Out For His Beliefs - CBS Dallas / Fort Worth

I don't know what actually happened... (That's what I was trying to determine by googling the story.) But even reading Professor Derengowski's account, it sounds like he's got piss-poor classroom management skills, although--if his account is to be believed--the Muslim students behaved badly, no matter their complaint.

On the other hand, if the professor was teaching the kind of things posted on his website--and again, note that he listed his blog as a resource on the class syllabus, making it more than just his personal opinions on his personal blog--I could see where Muslim students (and Mormon students, and Jehovah's Witness students, and atheist students, too) would have a legitimate complaint against him. And according to the news story above anyway, at least one Muslim student (seemingly not one of the ones who caused the disturbance in class, though the article could be more clear on that point) says he was.

Contrary to Dishonest Don's wild guess, I don't know enough about the story to venture much of an opinion on the whole of the story. Here's what I can say:

I think the professor was right to report the student's threat. One cannot be too careful.

I think the students were right to report what they believed to be classroom bias to college administrators. The e-mail the student sent around was more than likely over the top and inappropriate, though I'd have to know what it actually said to really judge--and no, I'm not willing to take the professor's characterization of it as Gospel truth. I have no problem with anyone on either side speaking out and pleading their case, and to whatever extent the e-mail was an attempt to persuade the other students in the class that Professor Derengowski was teaching in a biased manner, I don't have much of a problem with it... ...just as I don't have a problem with Professor Derengowski telling his side of the story on his blog, essentially trying to persuade others that he was in the right...

And perhaps it is naive of me, but I find it hard to believe that the administrators of the college were biased against him, too. I'm not saying they were right to reprimand him or require that he change how he teaches the course... but I am saying that unlike me (or Dishonest Don, for that matter), they had all the facts before them, and more than likely made a fair and judicious decision based on what they saw and heard.

I generally trust the officials we put in place to judge such things, and believe that even when they do get it wrong, that wrong will be set right further up the chain. I hope the campus police investigated the student's threat, evaluated the seriousness of it, and acted accordingly. The same goes for the college administrators who looked into the student's complaints of bias by Professor Derengowski. I don't know that they were right, but barring evidence to the contrary, I trust that they were, because that is their job. If they were wrong, I hope it gets fixed, somehow. (The fact that the professor voluntarily resigned might make that more difficult, however...)

In the end, Professor Derengowski felt he was being treated poorly and chose to leave... ...but from what I can tell based on what little evidence is available, that wasn't the fault of these Muslim students or some so-called "Terroristic Act of Jihad" (a designation which itself ought to tell the reader something about the professor making the claim--no matter how vehement, arguing with a professor in class, lodging a complaint with his superiors, or even circulating any kind of fact sheet, diatribe, or petition against him via e-mail, are hardly "terrorist" acts); Professor Derengowski made that choice all on his own.
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Another Update: The more I read, the more I see why our Dr Douglas feels an affinity for Professor Derengowski. Those interested need only follow this link to read the professor's epic 13 page ranting diatribe against the two students who complained about him, in his own words. It is unprofessional, unethical, personally motivated holier-than-thou pompous clap-trap of exactly the sort our Dishonest Don regularly engages in when attacking others on his own blog. (Luckily, Donald has so far managed to keep himself from attacking his own students... ...though if he felt himself backed into a corner as a result of a complaint against him, is there anyone who doubts he would, the same way he's attacked those bloggers who've had the temerity to disagree with him?) A professor who would write a post like this, no matter the reason, almost certainly lacks the temperament and professional ethics required to teach. (And if Dr. Douglas keeps spewing the hate for all who disagree with him the way he has been, it'll likely be just a matter of time for him, as well...) YMMV...

According to Professor Derengowski:
1) the student quoted in the CBS article above was one of the two who lodged the complaint against him, and
2) he quotes portions of the text of the e-mail the female student sent to her classmates in his 13 page diatribe--though, again a lot like Dr. Douglas, he edits it, and intentionally hides her supporting links. (In his post, the quotes are interlaced with his own responses to them, some of which are pretty far "out there..." If you want to get a picture of who Dr. Douglas is defending, I urge you to follow the link (the same one I added above) and read it all, in context.) Judge for yourselves:
“Good morning classmates…
"I am Emailing you all some information that you might find interesting, relating to our World of Religions teacher."
"After the other day in class, I couldn’t help but feel that he was teaching my religion of Islam in such a hatred and bias way…"
"And to my findings, he was…”
This man has been teaching our class in his point of view, in the way that he thinks it should be…”
“He is not being informative about religions, but rather creating a religious intolerance.”
“This is a philosophy class, he is supposed to be opening our minds and getting us to understand why other people believe certain things…”
“I’m sure some of you have felt that he does slander other religions’ beliefs and speaks ill of some as well.”
“I knew me and Muhammad were not crazy speaking up against how he was teaching.”
“It wasn’t the information and facts we were debating against so much, he was teaching it all wrong, and taking so many things out of context, focusing on the ugly things instead of teaching the actual religion itself…”
“I will let you all read what our teacher has written about Islam and Mormonism, the two religions he continues to speak out against in our class.”
"I will not be attending this man’s class again, and I will be showing the dean of our school."
"By the way… He gave us both zero’s on our quizzes we fairly earned 6/6 on that day in class, and an absence because we left a few minutes early…"
"We weren’t going to sit there any longer and allow him to slander our beliefs the way he was that day…"
"Enjoy:”
---

Links:
* American Power: Professor Paul Derengowski Resigns from Tarrant County College After Muslim Students Launch 'Terroristic Act of Jihad'
* Christian Apologetics Project
* TCC Disputes That Professor Was Forced Out For His Beliefs - CBS Dallas / Fort Worth
* Tell Them the Truth
* Donald Douglas: "Conservatives have proudly exhibited bigotry against Muslim prayer before"
* What'd I Say?: In Reply: There were Muslims involved; Of COURSE Geller and Spencer Objected...

* Wingnuts and Moonbats: Investigate Pamela Geller...

* Jihad Against Tarrant County College Professor Paul Derengowski - Atlas Shrugs
* Jihad Against Tarrant County College Professor Paul Derengowski�|�Conservatives for America

12 comments:

Carl said...

Hm. So a professor's personal blog was used by students to complain about bias.

And you don't see a small connection to AssProf, Reppie?

AssProf is fortunate that he has stopped listing his shitty little blog as a resource for this students to refer to. There but for the grace of Allah...

repsac3 said...

The more I read about the situation in Texas, the more I noted the similarities between Dishonest Don and Paul, though so far, I am not aware of any substantial bias complaints against him. (And it's pretty damned likely that if one or more LBCC student(s) ever did lodge a complaint against AssProf, he would take to his blog to name, shame, and otherwise denounce them, just like this character in TX did.)

So far, there have been a few comments about bias and pigheaded "my way or the highway" stubbornness (mostly political, from what I recall) on the "RateMyProfessor" type sites, but no up the chain complaints by students that he's written about. (Most of Dishonest Don's problems seem to be with his co-workers...

First, there was the "bulletin board" incident - here and here (and apparently, AssProf has been a Willard supporter for quite some time, in spite of his recent defense of--and similarity in temperament and character to--ol' Newton Leroy... Guess that answers the question as to who he's supporting, as each of the real nut bags he prefers drop out of the race... ...or just fade away...)

And while this is more of a guess on my part, there probably was the "movie review" incident, where Donald Douglas attacked several of his fellow LBCC professors (and at least one former student) as "Marxists, lesbians, and “'leftist indoctrinators'” in a post that he pretty quickly disappeared from his blog, with no notice or explanation: "American Power: Long Beach City College Premier of Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story" (ScreenCaps), In Reply: "Marxists and Indoctrinators Everywhere!!", In reply: Military Expenditures - 19% of total budget (2010), 59% of discretionary spending (2011). (The first link is screen caps of the disappeared post. The other two are comments I made relating to it. Also note, this seems to be the post that made the guy "ban" me from his blog... He couldn't argue against the truth, so he had to try to silence it...)

Now I can't say for certain that he removed the post and all record of it because his co-workers and superiors at Long Beach City College told him it was unprofessional libelous claptrap that went against his contract with the college, and opened him up to legal ramifications personally, as well... ...but that would certainly be my guess...

The bottom line is, yes, I fully expect Dr. Douglas to implode his teaching career in a ball of vitriol and bile one day, just like this professor from TX did. A guy as full of hate for those unlike himself (politically, socially, religiously, ...) as Dishonest Donald Douglas appears to be online, cannot hold all that in too long before erupting... While I'm pleased it hasn't happened yet, and I'm hopeful that it never will, I believe the odds are against him, given his hateful online behavior...

Carl said...

I know you feel differently, sad for the man, but I'm buying popcorn in bulk.

I gotta admit, Reppie, I admire that despite the constant provocations he's thrown at you, you've turned the other cheek every time. Not many people can say that. I wish I had one-tenth your patience.

Kevin Robbins said...

Reppy, gotta admire you if you actually made it thru that whole diatribe. There was some great stuff in it, tho. I'm sure the guy was totally open-minded when I see statements like "Mohamad Khorchid and Randa Bedair, both admitted members of the Islamic religion" and "In 20/20 hindsight the whole evening seemed orchestrated for disruption, much like Muslims have done elsewhere to thwart the telling of the truth about their oppressive religion."

And of course I can't help being a spelling Nazi so gotta love "Clearly the class period was one of the most bazaar displays of student conduct that I have encountered since the days of substituting at a Middle School years ago. At that time the inanity was based purely on immaturity; this time I’m not so sure it wasn’t by design. The shock, though, of that evening was only the tremor of even more unethical, illegal, and bazaar behavior to come."

Personally, I find it bizarre that he would mistakenly use a word describing an Arabic marketplace when he is clearly bigoted towards them. Is that some sort of Freudian slip? Or Mohammedan?

repsac3 said...

I just don't take Dishonest Don Douglas all that seriously... Sure, there's a little twinge when he spreads some bullshit lie about me, but at this point, his record for lies is voluminous, and often precedes him.

I am aware that there will be people who will assume that if they read it on the Internet, it must be true--as well as others who believe that every whisp of smoke denotes some kinda fire--but there's little I can do about either...

I still believe that most folks--if they care about what's being said, at all--will care enough to check for themselves, and will quickly discover that Donald's allegations against me are baseless, vindictive nonsense...

The harder Donald tries to lash out at me, the more pathetic and desperate he looks... (I mean, look at his most recent bunch of attacks, where he makes up some bullshit about what my response might be to a given news story, and then attacks his own made up bullshit version of things I never said... Who the fuck does that?!? And what kinda people take folks who do that at all seriously?!? Donald Douglas is a laughingstock of his own making... ...and yeah, seeing him fall so far does make me feel kinda bad for drawing attention to his antics, like I'm making fun of a mental patient, or something... The guy used to write like a political scientist... Now he writes like that little moron on Red-Eye... Sure, it had viewers (that crap isn't still on, is it?), but it came off like pablum for Fox-watching wingnuts too stupid to understand the comic stylings of Beck and O'Reilly.)

Anyway... My point was, his jabs don't land, because I don't value anything he has to say. He can-- and often does--call me every damned dumb name in his ad hom lexicon, if that's what he needs to do to feel like a real he-man. I know who I am... ...and I know who he is, too, which may be what pisses ol' Don off most of all, where I'm concerned...

repsac3 said...

At the point at which you're exposing a Mohammedan slip, I think it's safe to say you're out of spelling Nazi territory, my friend...

xpatPhD said...

A key difference between this Christian-Apologist bigot (a redundant term if there ever was one) and Donny is that the former is/was an adjunct, not a tenured member of the regular faculty. Adjuncts and other un-tenured types get the sack for far lesser transgressions all the time. There was a hot article at Inside Higher Ed recently on a b-school prof who got sacked for calling on students who hadn't raise their hands.

I think that we need to keep in mind that this current election must be tremendously uncomfortable for Don. It pits a mixed-race guy from a broken home with daddy issues against a remade, formerly-failed social science scholar; neither of whom Don respects, yet both have completely eclipsed him by any standard of personal accomplishment. At the same time, it seems clear that he's going to have to find a way to articulate support for a GOP nominee that he finds distasteful if he wants to hang on to even his dubious achievement of authoring a Top 40 (barely) conservative blog. I understand that together with four bucks that will get you a venti peppermint mocha.

Merry Christmas!
Dr. ExPat

xpatPhD said...

PS: Is there one of these 10 steps that Don has failed to achieve? At least he's killing it on the Rule 5 reach-around.

Carl said...

Reppie, part of AssProf's psychology is the echo chamber of like-minded, long-winded losers that whip his charges around like a double play ground ball.

People like Speedo McCain and Zilla, the Monster of Mistakes, only enable the poor man which prevents him from taking a good long look at himself in the mirror. His only accomplishment is the hit count, and I'm betting that anytime he sees his Sitemeter (or whatever metric) drop, he goes full "REPSAC".

It would be an interesting graph to see.

Carl said...

At the same time, it seems clear that he's going to have to find a way to articulate support for a GOP nominee that he finds distasteful if he wants to hang on to even his dubious achievement of authoring a Top 40 (barely) conservative blog.

I wonder...if you factored out his hits from liberals and sickos who just like watching train wrecks, you think he'd be top thousand?

Kevin Robbins said...

Thanks for the better blogging link, ex-patPHD. Donnie should really take a look at that.

6.Be critical, but don’t be unfair. You’re not a jerk in person. Don’t be one on the Internet. (Unless it’s funny, of course.)

This may be the one he FAILS most egregriously on. It's not totally his fault tho because he likely is a jerk in person.

Carl said...

I agree, Kev. He's probably one of those guys who tells a really horribly offensive joke, laughs outrageously loudly at his own joke, then glares when you don't join in.