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<\/a>Mike Rowe\n<\/a><\/span><\/span>August 22 at 2:53pm<\/span><\/abbr><\/a><\/span>\u00a0\u00b7\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/h4>\n
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Off The Wall<\/p>\n
[FIRST] Chuck Atkins says…<\/p>\n
“One of the tenants of white nationalism is that college educated people are academic elitests. Comment? No? I’m not surprised. You never take a political stand because you don\u2019t want to alienate anybody. It’s bad for business. I get it. But there is a current of anti intellectualism in this country – promoted by Republicans. Those people love you, and they think your initiative is their initiative. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is kickin’ our ass academically.”<\/p>\n
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[THEN MIKE ROWE RESPONDS]<\/p>\n
Hi Chuck,<\/p>\n
Since we\u2019re being candid, allow me to say how much I dislike your post. Everything about it annoys me \u2013 your smug and snarky tone, your appalling grammar, your complete lack of evidence to support your claims, and of course, the overarching logical fallacy that informs your entire position. What really bugs me though, is the fact that you\u2019re not entirely wrong. It\u2019s true; I haven\u2019t shared any political opinions this week, in part anyway, because doing so might very well be \u201cbad for business.\u201d<\/p>\n
What can I say? I work for half-a-dozen different companies, none of whom pay me to share my political opinions. I run a non-partisan foundation, I\u2019m about to launch a new show on Facebook, and I\u2019m very aware that celebrities pay a price for opening their big fat gobs. Gilbert Gottfried, Kathy Griffin, Colin Kaepernick, Milo Yiannopoulos\u2026even that guy from Google who just got himself fired for mouthing off. There\u2019s no getting around it \u2013 the first amendment does not guarantee the freedom to speak without consequences. And really, that\u2019s fine by me.<\/p>\n
So no \u2013 I\u2019m not going to share my personal feelings about Charlottesville, President Trump, or the current effort to remove thousands of statues of long dead soldiers from the public square. Not just because it\u2019s \u201cbad for business,\u201d but because it\u2019s annoying. I can\u2019t think of a single celebrity whose political opinion I value, and I\u2019m not going to assume the country feels any differently about mine. So, rather than blow myself up, or chime in with all the obvious observations about the cowardly scum in the pointy hats, I\u2019m going to talk instead about my belief that comments like yours pose a far greater threat to the future of our country than the existence of a memorial to Thomas Jefferson, or a monument to George Washington. Ready? Let\u2019s start with a closer look at your claims.<\/p>\n
You say that White Nationalists believe that everyone who goes to college is an \u201cacademic elite.\u201d You then say that Republicans promote \u201canti-intellectualism.\u201d You offer no proof to support either claim, but it really doesn\u2019t matter \u2013 your statements successfully connect two radically different organizations by alleging a shared belief. Thus, White Nationalists and The Republican Party suddenly have something in common \u2013 a contempt for higher education. Then, you make it personal. You say that Republicans \u201clove\u201d me because they believe that my initiative and \u201ctheir\u201d initiative are one and the same. But of course, \u201ctheir\u201d initiative is now the same initiative as White Nationalists.<\/p>\n
Very clever. Without offering a shred of evidence, you\u2019ve implied that Republicans who support mikeroweWORKS do so because they believe I share their disdain for all things \u201cintellectual.\u201d And poof – just like that, Republicans, White Nationalists, and mikeroweWORKS are suddenly conflated, and the next thing you know, I\u2019m off on a press tour to disavow rumors of my troubling association with the Nazis!<\/p>\n
Far-fetched? Far from it. That\u2019s how logical fallacies work. A flaw in reasoning or a mistaken belief undermines the logic of a conclusion, often leading to real-world consequences. And right now, logical fallacies are not limited to the warped beliefs of morons with tiki torches, and other morons calling for \u201cmore dead cops.\u201d Logical fallacies are everywhere.<\/p>\n
As I type this, a Democrat on CNN is making an argument that says, \u201cbecause Thomas Jefferson owned slaves, those Republicans now opposed to tearing down his memorial are \u201cpro-slavery,\u201d and therefore aligned with the modern-day KKK.\u201d That\u2019s a logical fallacy.<\/p>\n
Over on Fox, a Republican is arguing that \u201cany Democrat who has not yet condemned the Senator from Missouri for publicly wishing that Donald Trump be assassinated, is guilty of wishing for the exact same thing.\u201d That\u2019s a logical fallacy.<\/p>\n
Yesterday, on The Science Channel, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, a noted astronomer, tweeted that the ability of scientists to accurately predict the solar eclipse, was proof that predictions of global warming were also accurate. That\u2019s a logical fallacy.<\/p>\n
Want to hear another one? Imagine something like this, unfolding over on MSNBC.<\/p>\n
“Good Evening, America, our top story tonight\u2026 Chuck Atkins is a racist! Why? Because he can\u2019t spell. Just look at his grammar! In a recent post on Mike Rowe\u2019s Facebook page, Mr. Atkins, while bemoaning America\u2019s global academic standing, not only misspelled \u201celitist,\u201d he used \u201ctenants\u201d when he meant \u201ctenets.\u201d He neglected to use a hyphen in \u201canti-intellectual,\u201d and he misplaced several commas and apostrophes! But why is he a racist, you ask? Simple. Because everyone knows racists are ignorant. Chuck Atkins is clearly a poor speller. Poor spelling and grammar are signs of ignorance. Ergo – Chuck Atkins is a racist! Boom! The matter is settled!”<\/p>\n
There\u2019s not much we can do about the news, but here on Facebook, I think we can do better. This isn\u2019t Twitter. We\u2019re not limited to a few inflammatory sentences and a flurry of emojis. Take a moment, Chuck. Think. Make a rational argument. Otherwise, just link us to a cat video. People love those, and they\u2019re almost never \u201cbad for business.\u201d (Unless of course, the cat gets hurt. People hate that.) Just don\u2019t assume that people will care about your beliefs, if you\u2019re not willing to back them up with some relevant facts and a rational conclusion. Here, for instance, are a few facts that matter to me, with respect to my foundation and the recurring charge of \u201cfostering anti-intellectualism.\u201d<\/p>\n
mikeroweWORKS is a PR campaign for the skilled trades. For the last nine years, we\u2019ve partnered with numerous trade schools, raised millions of dollars for work-ethic scholarships, and called attention to millions of jobs that don\u2019t require a four-year degree. But that doesn\u2019t mean we\u2019re \u201canti-intellectual.\u201d We’re not even \u201canti-college.\u201d We simply reject the popular notion that a four-year degree is the best path for the most people. And we\u2019re hardly alone.<\/p>\n
Millions of reasonable people \u2013 Republicans and Democrats alike \u2013 are worried that our universities are doing a poor job of preparing students for the real world. They\u2019re worried about activist professors, safe spaces, the rising cost of tuition, a growing contempt for history, and a simmering disregard of the first amendment. These people are concerned that our universities \u2013 once beacons of free speech \u2013 now pander to a relatively small percentage of students who can\u2019t tolerate any political opinion that challenges their own. And they\u2019re concerned \u2013 deeply concerned – that millions of good jobs are currently vacant that don\u2019t require a four-year degree, or any of the catastrophic debt that comes with it.<\/p>\n
Again – these are not the concerns of \u201canti-intellectuals.” They are the concerns of people who care about the future of the country. I don\u2019t know how many of these people are Republicans, but I can assure you that no one who actually supports my initiative is remotely confused about my feelings on education, because I\u2019ve been crystal clear on that topic from the very beginning. To quote Thomas Jefferson, (while I still can,) “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free and live in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.” On this point, my foundation does not equivocate.<\/p>\n
In other words, Chuck, I have no idea what The White Nationalists think about my efforts, or the Republicans, the Democrats, the elitists, the Italians, the Presbyterians, the unions, or the self-proclaimed anti-intellectuals. And really, I couldn\u2019t care less. My question is, why do you?<\/p>\n
Mike<\/p>\n
PS. Ok, I\u2019ve just re-read this, (in a desperate search for typos,) and I want to apologize for pointing out that you\u2019re a lousy speller. This is probably not the time to trot out The Grammar Nazi, but your tenor and tone pissed me off, and I responded in my own snarky way. Sorry.<\/p>\n
PPS Maybe this is how political correctness begins? Maybe we start by correcting each other\u2019s grammar, and then move on to the business of correcting everything else? Today a missing hyphen, tomorrow a missing monument. Or, maybe not.<\/p>\n