Report: College Professor Shoots Himself To Protest President Trump
[guest post by Dana]
In this season of Trump, posting criticism about the president at a right-leaning site such as this one, have been with consternation and outright rejection – even before the merits of the argument are have been considered. And as it’s being rejected, the author of the criticism is frequently accused of having Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) . Commenters have been known to leave this site as a result of said perception. Criticisms might include President Trump’s decision making, tweets, policies, lies, legal debacles and any number of issues that are the result of his weak character, lack of understanding (and unwillingness to learn), lack of a functioning moral compass and his basic ignorance with regard to history and political philosophies. As a guest contributor, I believe disagreement is a great way to fine-tune what I believe, as well as consider whether my beliefs really hold water. And to be challenged by a persuasive argument is always welcome. Who doesn’t want to learn, or have the gray matter stimulated? However, what is frustrating is to see an opinion reflexively thrown into Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) waste bin because said opinion is diametrically opposed to a reader’s own view. Often it seems that there is a reflexive rejection if Trump was their first pick, thus taking the argument presented as a personal attack. (In my estimation, this usually excludes those who, with frustration, plugged their noses and voted what they decided was the lesser of two evils.) But as for the true believers, those who really bought into Trump’s claims that he would fight for them and drain the swamp, there seems to be a lot of the “personal” at stake (i.e. pride, ego). It also seems that they believe if they agree with criticism of the president, it’s not only a betrayal to the president himself, and thus unpatriotic, but that it is also seen as a betrayal to the GOP, and even America itself. Whatever the reasoning, it’s discouraging that discussion and sound debate have been replaced by angry hyperbole, emotionally driven attacks as critical challenges are reflexively tossed straight into the TDS waste bin.
So because of that, I wanted to write a post about an incident which truly demonstrates exactly what real Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) looks like. And there is a very sad, and very vast difference between it and a reasonable criticism of Trump being made.
It is being reported that a sociology professor at the College of Southern Nevada shot himself to protest Trump:
A longtime College of Southern Nevada sociology professor is facing felony gun charges in connection with an on-campus shooting on the second day of classes.
Mark J. Bird was charged last month with discharging a gun within a prohibited structure, carrying a concealed weapon without a permit and possessing a dangerous weapon on school property, court records show. He was found bleeding from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his arm about 8:15 a.m. on Aug. 28 outside a bathroom in the Charleston campus K building.
Inside the bathroom, campus police found a $100 bill taped to a mirror along with a note that said, “For the janitor,” according to Bird’s arrest report. On the floor of the restroom was a black-and-white, .22-caliber pistol and one spent shell casing.
The sociology professor was hired Aug. 26, 1993, and was an emeritus faculty member at the time of the shooting, college spokesman Richard Lake said. Bird was not scheduled to teach any courses during the fall 2018 semester.
While a student waited with Bird for the police to arrive, the professor made this mind-boggling claim:
Bird said he had shot himself in protest of President Donald Trump, police noted in their report. The report did not elaborate.
This, people, is real TDS. It’s not presenting a different point of view involving the president. It’s not challenging anyone’s perceptions and thought processes. It’s not debating the finer points of an argument, or even making the argument. Shooting oneself to protest President Trump is a very real and very disturbing demonstration of TDS. (But more than that, as I’m sure we would all agree, it’s evidence of a troubled individual.)
Because I’m just not game enough to look, I would not be surprised if someone, somewhere is saying, “See, this is what the mad fascist in the White House has driven people to do.” And that would be just as sad as people angrily and automatically lobbing accusations of TDS before they’ve even read through an argument or considered its merits.
P.S. I believe that Professor Bird is obviously unwell. I hope that he is getting the help that he needs. With that, the report states that as of yesterday, he was still employed by the college.
(Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.)
–Dana
Hello.
Dana (023079) — 9/12/2018 @ 3:37 pmI think of all the education that he’ll miss
Colonel Haiku (56f14c) — 9/12/2018 @ 3:46 pmBut then derangement was never quite like this
Ow he got it bad, got it bad, got it bad,
He shot teh teacher
He got it bad, so bad,
He shot teh teacher
Cheap shot…
Colonel Haiku (56f14c) — 9/12/2018 @ 3:47 pm“This, people, is real TDS.”
Sorry, but TDS, like cancer or pornography, is a progressive condition, you start out by holding Trump to standards you’d never have realistically held for other candidates, you start palling around with and minimizing the lies of media lefties to give yourself the large virtual crowd sizes you desperately crave, you ignore the growing crop of shameless shills and crazy lefties who start to push harder and harder TRUMP IS A RUSSIAN ASSET WHO IS BEING BLACKMAILED WITH GAY SEX positions because they sense your own emotional weakness will let them do it with impunity, you lose your job when you constantly make the perfect the enemy of the good (which, again, you never did for previous candidates with far less overlap on your ideological side), you start amplifying and defending manifestly unhinged agitprop like THE OK SYMBOL IS AN ALT-RIGHT SYMBOL AND ANYONE WHO SAYS OTHERWISE IS A TRUMPADUPE, you reluctantly walk back on those things only with extreme commenter intervention, etc.
This is as silly and mendacious as saying that ONLY MUSLIMS WHO BLOW THEMSELVES UP IN SUICIDE ATTACKS ARE TERRORISTS-honey, the terrorism in all its forms was going on looooong before they got enough free money and manpower to start blowing themselves up opportunistically, but it was only when the bodies started hitting the floor that the problem could no longer be denied by even the most dedicated Saudi PR machine (that still pushes out frontlashing #IslamIsNotTerrorist hashtags following each major mass murder.)
Nonpartisan Actor (4b6815) — 9/12/2018 @ 4:39 pmwhy are we hearing about this a month later
happyfeet (28a91b) — 9/12/2018 @ 5:02 pmwait
two weeks later
happyfeet (28a91b) — 9/12/2018 @ 5:03 pmWait a minute, I thought Trump-hating college professors were, by default, liberal and therefore anti-gun…
Paul Montagu (9dcfd2) — 9/12/2018 @ 5:11 pmYou almost feel sorry for them: https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2018/09/12/leaked-video-google-leaderships-dismayed-reaction-to-trump-election/
Colonel Haiku (56f14c) — 9/12/2018 @ 5:47 pmIt’s like they are a branch of the Labour party
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2018/09/libs_outraged_because_education_department_working_to_fight_antisemitism.html
Narciso (5e2266) — 9/12/2018 @ 5:56 pmWow, folks. These comments really make folks on the Right look great, don’t they?
I’m sorry, Dana. I read your article and felt badly for someone who is sick and needs help.
Simon Jester (4357eb) — 9/12/2018 @ 6:19 pmOK, now that we’ve gotten the one-liners and quips out of the way, let’s try to pick up on questions prompted by Dana’s great post:
1. When, how, and why did academic social sciences turn into a miasma of unstable radical leftists and is there any hope of ever reversing that direction?
2. Given that the professor ended up shooting himself in the arm, was this just the cliched cry for help and was he really never planning to kill himself? Since he is an emeritus professor, I wonder if he missed the opportunity to spread his juvenile politics to impressionable young minds in the classroom and this was his attempt to try to win back an audience.
JVW (42615e) — 9/12/2018 @ 6:19 pmThe right way would have been to commit seppuku in front of the White House.
That’s part of what makes me doubt that he was actually going to hill himself.
JVW (42615e) — 9/12/2018 @ 6:20 pmSomeone tried to stab a congressman, there was a,shooting threat against the trump hotel, dc McAllister was driven underground for some reason or another, and this is exacerbated by an absolutely rabid media.
No one has been killed yet, but this katzenjammer craziness last week gave me more than a,little pause.
Narciso (5e2266) — 9/12/2018 @ 6:25 pmIt’s why I’ve always maintained that anthropology is a genuine social science (emphasis on science) but sociology is not.
nk (dbc370) — 9/12/2018 @ 6:47 pmFor those who might be hoping, no it was not me.
Dave (445e97) — 9/12/2018 @ 6:50 pm‘Unofficial’ official, general purpose Trump sympathy tweet:
“My deepest sympathies and respect go out to the family of [insert name here: Mark J. Bird.] Our hearts and prayers are with you.”
On deck:
“My deepest sympathies and respect go out to the victims of [insert name here: Hurricane Florence.] Our hearts and prayers are with you.”
DCSCA (797bc0) — 9/12/2018 @ 6:54 pmHe made a symbolic gesture, took one for the demented team. He’ll probably be given a sabbatical, full pay, to straighten himself out. It will all work out.
Colonel Haiku (56f14c) — 9/12/2018 @ 6:57 pmI believe that Professor Bird is obviously unwell.
Meh. He’s a better man that Cohen; Bird actually took a bullet for Trump.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 9/12/2018 @ 7:02 pmNah, I heard Trump on the radio … CBS, can believe it? He was saying a lot more than perfunctory platitudes about Florence.
nk (dbc370) — 9/12/2018 @ 7:04 pmI am going to close comments to this thread and delete every comment in which someone suggested that this person should have killed himself. Sadly, that is several comments.
Patterico (52aafa) — 9/12/2018 @ 7:09 pmHe’s published three textbooks.
Narciso (5e2266) — 9/12/2018 @ 7:10 pmIt’s a shame, because it’s a good post. But the reaction from Trump superfans is all too predictable.
Patterico (52aafa) — 9/12/2018 @ 7:10 pm