The Jason Arday scandal

[Ilikesundays]

To think that Cambridge University’s reputation has been shot to pieces by the revelations about ex-professor Jason Arday?

Sounds like a satirical take 😅

To be honest I didn’t actually consider their political affiliation - I was looking for examples of over-promotion + fantasist. I suppose I could have referenced Jeremy Corbyn but he’s less pathological.

Good point. If there are so many of them you have to wonder how they have gone unnoticed. Makes a good anecdote though.

If only it were.

What about Zak hypnotise your boobs bigger Polanski? Or David Ike? He was leftish and thought the royal family were all lizards ...

Less pathological 😆 🤣 😂

Anti-semitists are less pathological now That's about put the tin lid on it. No relevance to Arday - none of them.

People keep claiming that this story only has people interested because Arday is black but while people talk about the Salt Path author, I think a more comparable story in terms of general public interest would be Nicola Sturgeon's ex husband. He didn't tell ridiculous lies, but he did buy ridiculous things, and people loved hearing about the more and more batshit purchases that Nicola didn't notice. The campervan on the MIL's driveway. The multiple hairdryers. The ludicrously expensive pencil sharpener. The question 'how did she not spot he was embezzling money and spending it on loads of tat'?

Obviously there were people who were interested in the boring political fraud story (or the boring plagiarism story with this) but mainly people are there for the outrageously funny bits.

I was t being satirical, there are several. Liars all round a bit like Arday is being billed as. The difference is they don’t get sacked. They can have lots of reviews by people who spot their work is bad, but once they’re already a prof they are too powerful to sack, it seems. They fail upwards and are often narcissistic types. Also, and this relates to the theme, they often work on ‘noble’ themes (which I suppose you’d call woke) and so frame everything as an attack on their values, when in fact they’re just bad individuals. Brazen individuals, who operate in plain sight.

Liars all round a bit like Arday is being billed as.

What sort of lies do they tell? Exaggerating their abilities or lies like ‘George Soros rang me to ask my advice’ or ‘I was recommended by the King for an OBE but I told him where he could stuff it”.

Both of those types in the same person usually, and also lying that they’re happily married when actually they’re abusive etc. lying that they’re working class when actually they’re from a posh background— and so on.

Yes I think he was more sincere in his wrong-headedness, rather than being a pathological liar.

And this isn’t even particular to academe.

lying that they’re working class when actually they’re from a posh background— and so on.

I know a couple of people like that;one is an actor who keeps his private education and rich parents a secret as he thinks it would be damaging and make him unpopular - maybe that’s what the academics also think.
‘To thine own self be true’.

@38thparallel the academics just think it would be more expedient for them, if they work on left wing issues, to be perceived as WC. They curate their personas.

I must stress this is not all academics! Lots are lovely. I’m just saying there are a fair few I know who should have been in the queue ahead of Arday, but never would be because they’re protected by whiteness.

Again, are those other academics fantasists in their achievements outside of academia?

Ffs I’ve worked in education for over a quarter of a century. Do you want my CV and certificates? 😂

@LuckyHazelFox the one I’m especially thinking of is that sort of narcissistic fantasist through his whole life. Maybe not as naive as Arday.

Oh ok so some racism isn’t ok by you at least. Corbyn doesn’t strike me as more racist than Trump, and my point was simply that he wasn’t as much of a pathological liar.

The original discussion started when a pp claimed the only reason Arday was promoted as far as he was was because he was black. My response was that there are over-promoted white fantasists all around. And I named a couple.

I know one absolute wanker who appears on a certain genre of programme - a lot. I obviously can't name him but how he talks about his colleagues and students, compared to his tv persona. I don't know whether his privilege can be put down to being white, as I don't subscribe to white privilege. However, he has really gone under the radar but his achievements are all his own. If he brings the university revenue, he's untouchable. His conduct is so far misaligned from his academic discipline, it's unreal.

Urgh, @LuckyHazelFox I know exactly what you mean. A faked kind of empathy.

In fact the more I think about it the more I see it. These guys pour out sympathy onto whatever group they have publicly elected to sympathise with, for cover or moral absolution, while treating everyone else like shit.

Did they all plagiarise their PhDs? And make up complete nonsense which they spouted on the telly?

Not as bluntly as Arday, but yes.

You got it. A snake who thinks he's God's gift to woman. Gets off on the whole academic doctor and professor thing. Prolific publisher but lacking in humility. He just knows who to suck up to and he's good at his game.

I’m doing puking emoji, @LuckyHazelFox