"Political correctness gone mad"

[Palinurus]

Source: Scientific journal snubs professor for 'offensive' Sleeping Beauty metaphor - DutchNews.nl

Scientific journal snubs professor for ‘offensive’ Sleeping Beauty metaphor

April 26, 2019

Disney’s classic image


A prestigious American scientific journal has refused to publish an article by Dutch professor Ton van Raan because his metaphoric use of the story of Sleeping Beauty is offensive to women and other cultures, the AD reports [in Dutch].

Van Raan, who is professor of quantative science studies at Leiden University, first employed the Brothers Grimm fairy tale as a metaphor in 2004. It refers to scientific research that has lain dormant for a long period of time to be suddenly rediscovered as a scientific breakthrough.

‘The article is being kissed awake as it were, just like Sleeping Beauty,’ Van Raan told the AD.

In the email sent to Van Raan, the Journal of the Association for Informational Science and Technology (JASIST) claimed his metaphor, which has been adopted by many other scientists, is ‘too sexualising’. It is also ‘culturally discriminating’ because Sleeping Beauty is not a story that is known to other cultures.’

Van Raan called the move ‘political correctness gone mad’. ‘I have used this metaphor in lectures countless times and everybody knew what I was talking about. Even in Egypt people loved it.’

As far as the sexual nature of the story is concerned Van Raan said he only lets his Sleeping Beauty wake up. ‘What my colleagues who also use the metaphor let their princes get up to is up to them,’ he told the paper.

Metaphor

Leiden university rector Carel Stolker called the journal’s reaction ‘bizarre’. ‘I have always wished I had come up with this great and illuminating metaphor myself’ he said in a Tweet.

In Leiden university’s independent weekly Mare [in Dutch], JASIST editor Julia Khanova said the article is not in accordance with the journal editorial guide lines. ‘If Mr Van Raan has any problems with that he can talk to me or the chief editor.’

Van Raan will not rewrite his article he said. ‘Science is dry and insipid enough as it is,’ he told the paper. ‘I will be sending my article to another journal with an equally good reputation.’

 

[Gwenllian]

Van Raan will not rewrite his article he said. ‘Science is dry and insipid enough as it is,’ he told the paper. ‘I will be sending my article to another journal with an equally good reputation.’

Good for him! I am glad that there are still people out there in Dutchieland that have their heads screwed on, since the mob is now also going after classical composers like Bach, stating that more work of women (or black, non-western) composers should be performed during recitals.
[Added:] Bach is one of the 'white male titans' who is responsible for the lack of interest in classical music among young people according to Lucy Noble, 'artistic' director of Royal Albert Hall...
Sheesh, it is so obvious that the destruction of western culture and beauty is in full swing.

I loved this rebuttal of political correctness gone mad:

Stories give us insight into successful human behavior; they don't turn us into fleshy robots who act exactly as the characters do. Understanding this is essential, because if we instead succumb to the current paranoia, we'll have to remove much of the fiction from the high school curriculum - lest, say, Edgar Allan Poe's Tell-Tale Heart lead yet another generation of young readers to murder their roommates, cut them up, and stash them under the floorboards.

Don't Deny Girls the Evolutionary Wisdom of Fairy-Tales and Princesses -- Sott.net

In Dutch: Ontneem Meisjes de Evolutionaire Wijsheid van Sprookjes en Prinsessen Niet -- Sott.net

 

[Seppo Ilmarinen]

It seems those SJW types lose their skill to have imagination and how to interpret any symbolic meaning -if they ever had that ability- and replace it with increasing rigidity and hostility - they become increasingly paranoid and see monsters (racism, nazis etc.) everywhere!

This mentality seems to be more and more widespread (or promoted) in the West, and not only in the academic world. Just few days ago I saw a tabloid magazine in my country publishing a 'news' piece, where some guy had bought chocolate easter egg to his child. Inside the egg was a fake mustache toy. Headline screamed "man found Hitler moustache inside easter egg!". In reality they were Chaplin-style moustache (or any other random moustache), as you can see:

_Espoolainen Tero häkeltyi: Lapsen suklaamunasta paljastuivat ”Hitler-viikset”

I think majority of people don't agree with this SJW nonsense at all, but the media gives them huge platform, thus creating a bubble and an illusion that it's a normal way of 'thinking'.

 

[Palinurus]

I think majority of people don't agree with this SJW nonsense at all, but the media gives them huge platform, thus creating a bubble and an illusion that it's a normal way of 'thinking'.

So true !