Idiocy At UVA

You would expect that those who hold the highest positions in academia would exhibit higher intelligence than the rest of us.

That they would employ superior critical thinking skills. That they would think before they act.  That they would demonstrate intellectual curiosity before taking an axe to American traditions. 

You would be wrong.

Consider the recent idiotic actions of the administration of the University of Virginia regarding its annual Veterans Day celebration.

The school cancelled the ROTC’s traditional 21-gun salute for veterans on the 11th day of the 11th month because, well, guns. 

The president of the university was afraid that if the timid enrollees at this woke institution heard gunfire they would wet their pants.

Ok, that isn’t exactly what he said. I’m distilling his virtue-signaling gibberish for you. Here’s a portion of James Ryan’s actual two-pronged explanation for that boneheaded decision as posted - where else - on Facebook: 

“First, to minimize disruptions to classes, given that this event is located at the juncture of four primary academic buildings and is held at a time that classes are in session; and second, recognizing concerns related to firing weapons on the Grounds in light of gun violence that has happened across our nation, especially on school and university campuses,"

Had Ryan taken the time to wander over to the Alderman Library - or if he’d simply Googled “21-gun salute” as I did - he would have learned that the firing of the guns was traditionally a signal of goodwill.

“The use of gun salutes for military occasions is traced to early warriors who demonstrated their peaceful intentions by placing their weapons in a position that rendered them ineffective,” according to the US Center for Military History.

In an interview with NBC, Ryan expressed fears that students would panic if they heard gunfire.

You know who’s frightened of 21 guns firing blanks? Small dogs and babies.

The decision to abolish the 21-gun salute was so asinine that even the relentlessly liberal Charlottesville newspaper, The Daily Progress, sneered that the university “erred mightily” in removing the highest military honor from its Veterans Day ceremony, noting that Ryan’s reasoning called into question the maturity of the student body.

“It also, ironically, sends an unfortunate message about students: That they are too fragile, too delicate, too distractible to deal with the “interruption” of the salute. That they are too insular, too wrapped up in their own worlds to comprehend and accept this long standing practice. That they must be protected from the reality that exists outside academia.”

The blistering piece went on to scold the school for failing to understand the sacrifices veterans had made to ensure that the cream of Virginia’s students could study freely

“...eliminating the salute because it disrupts classes strikes us as a flimsy justification….A few moments of distraction is of infinitesimal importance compared to the sacrifices made by men and women in uniform.

“It’s a small, simple sacrifice that students, faculty and staff can make to honor the fallen, the missing and all veterans who have preserved this country’s freedom — and fought and died for freedom in other lands, as well.”

This knee-jerk impulse by some to arbitrarily trash American traditions is tiresome. So is the imbecilic coddling of college students and their need for safe spaces.