Some thoughts on truth and virtue

[tacit]

"When in doubt, tell the truth."
-- Mark TwainSome time ago, I was embroiled in a bit of a sticky situation between some friends of mine and some other friends of mine. The first friends had asked me, unbidden, if I knew something about the situation of the second friend; the second friend and I had talked about this very thing just days earlier

Comments

[roaming]

Well, I wonder what you'd make of this situation, Franklin. On LJ animal rights, high school student had a dilemma. The class was asked to make a presentation on organizations that had an impact on society. She chose PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.) Now, I don't want to get into a whole thang about PETA, pro and con. It's not about them. :-)

The student did her presentation, talking about her values as a vegan. The teacher, wearing leather shoes and a fur coat (not really), kept making personal asides like, "well, I guess I'm the enemy in this little scenario, eh?" (wink wink nudge nudge). The teacher's attitude that anyone who's personal ethics were contrary to hers were assholes. The student, worried that she'd get a failing grade, completely backed down in the face of the teacher's derogatory remarks. The student had literature (with upsetting pictures of factory farming and slaughterhouses) to hand out, but didn't. She lacked the courage of her convictions. But the question is:

Was it worth failing, knowing that she would not convince the adult power authority who has the upper hand while she's in high school? Or is it better ot retreat in order to fight another day, when the scales may be more evenly balanced? Was the student unethical, a liar, and a coward?

I don't have an answer in mind. I ask because I can't decide myself.

[anklesnake]

Having been an uppity little feminist/animal rights/youth rights teenager, I must say that it is important to choose ones battles. You can't fight every moral war, you will bury yourself and never accomplish anything. When it comes to activism, effectiveness is more important than absolute consistency. Because, after all, isn't activism about getting things done?

To me, this example is not about courage, it is about saving ones energy for the bigger fights.

[roaming]

Thanks. That's the way I was leaning, but didn't have the right words.

We had another example, which I think goes the other way about courage. Young girl noticing animals not being properly cared for in a pet shop. Didn't know what to do. Didn't think the manager would take her seriously. We counseled her to report to someone who DID have authority. She didn't. But she said "NEXT time I encounter this situation, I know what to do." Heh. Right.

I'm out of the right words a LOT these days, reduced to gibberish. :-)

Moving ot Boston, en masse, eh? :-) Well, i's about friggin' time. You, um, do all know it's not just cold, but DAMN COLD, up here? My heating bills doubled this past Dec/Jan. I just put on a few more cats on the bed.

Can't wait to meet you all end of the month!

Silence does not constitute agreement

[roaming]

What I might have done in the student's case (of course, this would presume my having had the self-possession as a HS student as I do now, at 25 -- NOT a likely scenario) is not to agree with the teacher, but perhaps refuse to discuss further, while stating that my silence does not constitute my acquiescence.

Arguing with people who can't be argued with is a waste of time, and in this student's case, possibly hurtful to her grade. In such a situation, I think it is morally permissible to state "I do not agree" and leave it at that.

Incidentally, this is sarameonblue from the PolyMono list, and not the "you're an asshole" anonymous poster. Although I may disagree with Franklin at times, I attempt to do so without name-calling, and always with my list-name attached.

Re: Silence does not constitute agreement

[roaming]

Stella! Hey babe. You got an LJ? Do tell. :-)

Yes, they don't teach us how to debate adult authority in high school. I'm just amazed -- or maybe not so -- that the teacher didn't debate HER disagreement in a more scholarly way, as an example of how to disagree. WE need the courage not to suffer fools gladly.

For me, courage is doing what I know is right but find hard to do. Like. . . I don't get out there in the field and actually DO any hands on animal rights work. Like volunteering at shelters, who desperately need help. Because I'd be depressed and crying all the time -- I know from personal experience in the past -- AND I'd bring every single animal home in order to save them. You think the Ark was crowded? It would change my daily life as I know it, and I don't have the courage to face the dismal facts day after day. I give money instead. But it's guilt money.

But I think the courage Franklin is talking about has to do with being unpopular, and perhaps losing friends, because you have as they call it "the courage of your convictions."

Re: Silence does not constitute agreement

[roaming]

Nope, no LJ for me. I do have a blog though (email me if you want the location, I prefer not to post it willy-nilly).

Agreed that the teacher hardly displayed maturity in handling the situation thus. The student may not have known what to do, but the teacher damn well should have.

Re: Silence does not constitute agreement

[tacit]

"Arguing with people who can't be argued with is a waste of time, and in this student's case, possibly hurtful to her grade. In such a situation, I think it is morally permissible to state "I do not agree" and leave it at that."

This assumes that one cannot successfully argue with a tacher; my esperience says that you can, in fact, do this, and succeed.

Students have a number of avenues of approach which can give them a significant amount of power, if they but use it. In a case like this, I would suspect it's quite possible to get the teacher to back down, either by challenging him directly or (if that does not succeed) by formally complaining about his lack of professionalism to school faculty. I've known high-school students who have succeeded in having teachers reprimanded or even fired for unprofessional behavior--but it takes the courage to act.

[tacit]

"The student, worried that she'd get a failing grade, completely backed down in the face of the teacher's derogatory remarks. The student had literature (with upsetting pictures of factory farming and slaughterhouses) to hand out, but didn't. She lacked the courage of her convictions. But the question is:
Was it worth failing, knowing that she would not convince the adult power authority who has the upper hand while she's in high school?"

Inteesting question, on a number of levels.

First of all, I believe that it is often necessary to choose one's battles, and fight only those battles which can be won. Having said that, though, I do ot believe this is a battle that could not be won.

True story:

A long time ago, back in my school days, I was taking a speech class, and had to give a rhetorical speech--a speech on some topic whose purpose was to persuade others to adopt some view on that topic. The teacher said the speeches would be graded solely on their value as rhetoric, and not on their content or topic. I did mone on morality, arguing that conventional views of morality were inherently unjust and unworkable.

The teacher--a politically conservative man--was quite personally offended, and announced to the class "That's the stupidest thing I ever heard" before failing me.

I called him on it. Right there in fornt of a class full of students, I hauled him across the carpet. I told him he had violated his own grading standards, and I also told him it was not his place to judge whether or not my ethical or philosophical standards were "stupid."

You know what happened? He backed down, apologized in front of the class, and gave me a very high grade.

Power lies in the hands of the person who weilds it, not necessarily in the hands of the authority figure. It is not a given that the student was faced with an unwinnable battle here.

And here's the crux--it's possible that fighting this battle might have had value far greater than winngin a good grade or expressing her views. A battle won at an early age, particularly in this kind of situation, can set a powerful precedent; once you've won a battle like this, you begin to see that you do have power, and that sense of empowerment can help you win future battles. It really takes only one victory at the right time to completely rewrite one's sense of what is possible.