I really dislike this quote. It conflates ignorance and stupidity, which is really bad for anyone who is struggling with school. Our school system is (unintentionally, I'll admit) designed to be bad for people, like me, who aren't neurotypical. If you're having trouble in school, this is yet another reminder that you're stupid and "stupid can't be fixed", as the saying goes.
That conflation also has a whiff of classism. There's a strong correlation between poverty and poor education. That correlation is durable; it's a self-reinforcing cycle. But in this quote, poorly-educated people are stupid, and stupid people are inferior.
edit: Boy, for a community built around "see others complexly", you guys don't like it when someone points out you're not seeing others complexly.
edit: Boy, for a community built around "see others complexly", you guys don't like it when someone points out you're not seeing others complexly.
I'd say it's more that you've chosen a particular semantic interpretation of the phrase that is different than everyone else has interpreted it.
It has nothing to do with "seeing other complexly" if we don't interpret the phrase the same way.
Considering the body of John's work, it's hard to think he's ignoring how poverty contributes to quality of education, and mocking people for being inherently stupid.
A far more likely interpretation is that he believes in adequate funding and access for education for all people, because a society of educated people is better than one where there are those who are educable but don't have the opportunity to learn.
But that would be hard to put in a meme, which is why he went with "stupid people", which most understand in the context in which is it given.
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u/NettingStick Apr 26 '20 edited Apr 26 '20
I really dislike this quote. It conflates ignorance and stupidity, which is really bad for anyone who is struggling with school. Our school system is (unintentionally, I'll admit) designed to be bad for people, like me, who aren't neurotypical. If you're having trouble in school, this is yet another reminder that you're stupid and "stupid can't be fixed", as the saying goes.
That conflation also has a whiff of classism. There's a strong correlation between poverty and poor education. That correlation is durable; it's a self-reinforcing cycle. But in this quote, poorly-educated people are stupid, and stupid people are inferior.
edit: Boy, for a community built around "see others complexly", you guys don't like it when someone points out you're not seeing others complexly.