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His resignation letter chastises the school for not giving enough attention to his mother's death-- he only got two condolences. Does this strike anyone else a

His resignation letter chastises the school for not giving enough attention to his mother's death-- he only got two condolences. Does this strike anyone else as a really strange thing to bring up a tally of condolences in a resignation letter?

yellow_lead 5y ago
Yes. I was wondering if I was misunderstanding what he meant by "public replies."
pradn 5y ago
He means that his colleagues at the Divinity School don't seem to care enough about him to send him a condolence for his mother's death. It's about the apathetic work environment at the school. That would be a problem for me, too, at my company if I chose to disclose that via a public email. Hell, I have several colleagues that wish me well when I have a cold.
- whymauri 5y ago
  Especially for a Divinity School, his point is that it marks a fundamental departure from the spirituality and community that made the school special at some point.
  - fidesomnes 5y ago
    Comedy gold right here.
  - OrvalWintermute 5y ago
    What struck me about his letter was not only that specifically about the death of his mother, but he also referenced the death of his colleague's mother, Dr. Cooke-Rivers, received no public condolences. Whether that is Spiritual Bankruptcy, or merely Indifference, I know not, but it definitely reflects a culture problem of sorts. The best workplaces do not involve parking your humanity or caring at the door.
  - threatofrain 5y ago
    What does it mean to send condolences to a colleague when you don't know much about their mother? That carries the intimacy of sending someone a life event message because FB told you so. I really don't see that as "spiritually bankrupt".
    - ashtonkem 5y ago
      I mean, I got more than two condolences from my team when I mentioned that my cat was sick, and I think my team is smaller than the Harvard Divinity School. Spiritually bankrupt? Not sure. It’s not great though.
    - chrismcb 5y ago
      It has nothing to do with the mother. You would be sending condolences to him. If it's about his loss. Presumably his colleagues know something about him.
      - deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
    - op00to 5y ago
      It means “I recognize your humanity, and we all feel bad at times. It’s ok to grieve. I hope you feel better soon.” That’s what I hope it means when I send condolences to coworkers.
      - deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
- duxup 5y ago
  He might think it is apathy, but it's not like we know their motivations.
- darkerside 5y ago
  He specified public condolences. I don't think it's uncommon for people to share those types of messages privately.
  - onecommentman 5y ago
    In my past experience, public condolences at work were the responsibility of administrative assistants, the folks formerly known as secretaries. Complaining about a lack of a sympathy card is basically complaining that the admin support staff dropped the ball on meeting his personal emotional needs. So how old is Cornel? Be nice if the complaint mentioned the unmet emotional needs of his support staff (garbage collectors, groundskeepers, janitors, food service, admin assistants, etc.) instead of simply the top of the ladder folks. Did he send sympathy cards to them during their moments of need? I’m guessing not, but I don’t know. In my worlds, anything more public than a sympathy card would have been thought inappropriately intrusive, borderline cruel and just weird. It’s a place of work and the presumption would be the worker values a wall between work and family. An emotional HIPAA policy as it were.
duxup 5y ago
I don't know Cornel West, but I often find academia and some who inhabit it ... sort of impenetrable to understand. My theory: Many of them are passionate, and it makes them good at their job, but their personalities and their job and the relationships with their peers seem almost inseparable... resulting in the sort of mish mash of professional and personal life that seem inseparable. For some almost everything can be personal to some extent... and in some cases I would find it inappropriate to mix all that up in the way some (not all) of them do at times. It doesn't make them wrong, but it makes it really hard to understand. Such things happen outside of academia too, but it seems particularly prevalent there in my experience. At least that's how I explain it to myself when I bump into such things.
handrous 5y ago
I took it as an example of how fake and political their communication has become, and/or how disconnected a "community" they are. Course announcement that's easy to comment on, 20 pointless "that's great!" replies. Something serious and personal, 0 or 2 (there are two cases mentioned, not just his) because it's a channel for obligatory, performative engagement with strangers, not sincere communication with close colleagues. It's probably intended to land best with people who are familiar with how communication works in that school/department, and the general atmosphere there, I'd expect.
- lupire 5y ago
  a tweet eulogy seems like an easy peformative act. likely he suspects that colleagues are afraid to publicly associate with him because he is too left wing / unapologetically Black / hot topic for Harvard.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - handrous 5y ago
    Maybe, and maybe the other person with a similar experience is also to be understood as similarly persona non grata, for those with more insight into the circumstances. This is definitely one of those "could be full of shit, or might barely even be scratching the surface and is actually quite restrained" kind of letters. It's hard to tell without more info.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
germinalphrase 5y ago
Perhaps, he expects colleagues in a divinity school would be more aware and responsive to such a large life event.
- oh_sigh 5y ago
  Maybe religious people are less likely to offer condolences because they think the deceased are in "a better place"?
  - FooBarBizBazz 5y ago
    I don't think the people at Harvard Divinity School believe in heaven.
klyrs 5y ago
No, the death of a parent (depending on one's relationship) can be incredibly devastating. It is certainly appropriate to bring that to work, because it will almost always impact one's performance. Is it strange for folks to talk about a newborn child, or marriage at work? Conversely, what about infant death or divorce? Can you bring your "whole self" or just the good news?
- lmilcin 5y ago
  I think it is one thing to "bring that to work" and another to expect condolences. Weren't there truly any better reasons to resign? If no, then I think Harvard is really a good place to work.
  - handrous 5y ago
    I don't know if anything in the letter is true or accurate, of course, but that anecdote seemed to be illustrating a subtle point for people with better insight into his school than most of us have, and was definitely not the only reason cited (or else it really is just a weird thing to mention, which is possible, but, regardless, it's far from the only complaint)
  - benjaminjosephw 5y ago
    For an academic in a Divinity school, an uncaring but professional environment is a dead canary. It means something much worse than the lack of sympathy in that moment. But, if that doesn't make sense to you, how about being systematically passed over for a promotion because of your political views? It's hard not to see this as being a crappy place to work if you put yourself in his shoes.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
- stevecalifornia 5y ago
  You are right, I didn't write out my intention clearly. People should bring life experiences like that to work-- probably shouldn't keep a scorecard though.
Black101 5y ago
I didn't take it that way, but the news was published in the newsletter.
rdiddly 5y ago
Yeah it's odd. Especially for those of us whose moms weren't such wonderful blessed martyrs (eyeroll). Doesn't really bolster any particular point either, unless maybe it's about careerism in the department, but otherwise seems petty: "My mom's death didn't get enough likes." Would've been good to expand on the theme maybe. Although that would've incurred costs to the current brevity.
LatteLazy 5y ago
It's pretty standard for West, I remember him complaining the Summers (president of harvard) didn't send him a get well soon card quickly enough when he got cancer.
block_dagger 5y ago
I thought the exact same
failwhaleshark 5y ago
No. It's a signal of the lack of the Golden Rule / interpersonal, real reciprocity. I worked at a STEM department in Pac12/Ivy that was very family-like. I think that's what he felt was missing and turned him off because he's a touchy-feely (not John Key-style), warm guy who's a free-love hippie like George Clinton.
throw7 5y ago
He's playing dispirited that only 2 colleagues made public replies while he'd get many replies for a "narcissistic academic achievement". One wonders if he had gotten tenure and received much beloved public replies he would resign thereafter.

yellow_lead 5y ago

Yes. I was wondering if I was misunderstanding what he meant by "public replies."

pradn 5y ago

He means that his colleagues at the Divinity School don't seem to care enough about him to send him a condolence for his mother's death. It's about the apathetic work environment at the school. That would be a problem for me, too, at my company if I chose to disclose that via a public email. Hell, I have several colleagues that wish me well when I have a cold.

whymauri 5y ago
Especially for a Divinity School, his point is that it marks a fundamental departure from the spirituality and community that made the school special at some point.
- fidesomnes 5y ago
  Comedy gold right here.
- OrvalWintermute 5y ago
  What struck me about his letter was not only that specifically about the death of his mother, but he also referenced the death of his colleague's mother, Dr. Cooke-Rivers, received no public condolences. Whether that is Spiritual Bankruptcy, or merely Indifference, I know not, but it definitely reflects a culture problem of sorts. The best workplaces do not involve parking your humanity or caring at the door.
- threatofrain 5y ago
  What does it mean to send condolences to a colleague when you don't know much about their mother? That carries the intimacy of sending someone a life event message because FB told you so. I really don't see that as "spiritually bankrupt".
  - ashtonkem 5y ago
    I mean, I got more than two condolences from my team when I mentioned that my cat was sick, and I think my team is smaller than the Harvard Divinity School. Spiritually bankrupt? Not sure. It’s not great though.
  - chrismcb 5y ago
    It has nothing to do with the mother. You would be sending condolences to him. If it's about his loss. Presumably his colleagues know something about him.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
  - op00to 5y ago
    It means “I recognize your humanity, and we all feel bad at times. It’s ok to grieve. I hope you feel better soon.” That’s what I hope it means when I send condolences to coworkers.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
duxup 5y ago
He might think it is apathy, but it's not like we know their motivations.
darkerside 5y ago
He specified public condolences. I don't think it's uncommon for people to share those types of messages privately.
- onecommentman 5y ago
  In my past experience, public condolences at work were the responsibility of administrative assistants, the folks formerly known as secretaries. Complaining about a lack of a sympathy card is basically complaining that the admin support staff dropped the ball on meeting his personal emotional needs. So how old is Cornel? Be nice if the complaint mentioned the unmet emotional needs of his support staff (garbage collectors, groundskeepers, janitors, food service, admin assistants, etc.) instead of simply the top of the ladder folks. Did he send sympathy cards to them during their moments of need? I’m guessing not, but I don’t know. In my worlds, anything more public than a sympathy card would have been thought inappropriately intrusive, borderline cruel and just weird. It’s a place of work and the presumption would be the worker values a wall between work and family. An emotional HIPAA policy as it were.

duxup 5y ago

I don't know Cornel West, but I often find academia and some who inhabit it ... sort of impenetrable to understand. My theory: Many of them are passionate, and it makes them good at their job, but their personalities and their job and the relationships with their peers seem almost inseparable... resulting in the sort of mish mash of professional and personal life that seem inseparable. For some almost everything can be personal to some extent... and in some cases I would find it inappropriate to mix all that up in the way some (not all) of them do at times. It doesn't make them wrong, but it makes it really hard to understand. Such things happen outside of academia too, but it seems particularly prevalent there in my experience. At least that's how I explain it to myself when I bump into such things.

handrous 5y ago

I took it as an example of how fake and political their communication has become, and/or how disconnected a "community" they are. Course announcement that's easy to comment on, 20 pointless "that's great!" replies. Something serious and personal, 0 or 2 (there are two cases mentioned, not just his) because it's a channel for obligatory, performative engagement with strangers, not sincere communication with close colleagues. It's probably intended to land best with people who are familiar with how communication works in that school/department, and the general atmosphere there, I'd expect.

lupire 5y ago
a tweet eulogy seems like an easy peformative act. likely he suspects that colleagues are afraid to publicly associate with him because he is too left wing / unapologetically Black / hot topic for Harvard.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- handrous 5y ago
  Maybe, and maybe the other person with a similar experience is also to be understood as similarly persona non grata, for those with more insight into the circumstances. This is definitely one of those "could be full of shit, or might barely even be scratching the surface and is actually quite restrained" kind of letters. It's hard to tell without more info.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

germinalphrase 5y ago

Perhaps, he expects colleagues in a divinity school would be more aware and responsive to such a large life event.

oh_sigh 5y ago
Maybe religious people are less likely to offer condolences because they think the deceased are in "a better place"?
- FooBarBizBazz 5y ago
  I don't think the people at Harvard Divinity School believe in heaven.

klyrs 5y ago

No, the death of a parent (depending on one's relationship) can be incredibly devastating. It is certainly appropriate to bring that to work, because it will almost always impact one's performance. Is it strange for folks to talk about a newborn child, or marriage at work? Conversely, what about infant death or divorce? Can you bring your "whole self" or just the good news?

lmilcin 5y ago
I think it is one thing to "bring that to work" and another to expect condolences. Weren't there truly any better reasons to resign? If no, then I think Harvard is really a good place to work.
- handrous 5y ago
  I don't know if anything in the letter is true or accurate, of course, but that anecdote seemed to be illustrating a subtle point for people with better insight into his school than most of us have, and was definitely not the only reason cited (or else it really is just a weird thing to mention, which is possible, but, regardless, it's far from the only complaint)
- benjaminjosephw 5y ago
  For an academic in a Divinity school, an uncaring but professional environment is a dead canary. It means something much worse than the lack of sympathy in that moment. But, if that doesn't make sense to you, how about being systematically passed over for a promotion because of your political views? It's hard not to see this as being a crappy place to work if you put yourself in his shoes.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
stevecalifornia 5y ago
You are right, I didn't write out my intention clearly. People should bring life experiences like that to work-- probably shouldn't keep a scorecard though.

Black101 5y ago

I didn't take it that way, but the news was published in the newsletter.

rdiddly 5y ago

Yeah it's odd. Especially for those of us whose moms weren't such wonderful blessed martyrs (eyeroll). Doesn't really bolster any particular point either, unless maybe it's about careerism in the department, but otherwise seems petty: "My mom's death didn't get enough likes." Would've been good to expand on the theme maybe. Although that would've incurred costs to the current brevity.

LatteLazy 5y ago

It's pretty standard for West, I remember him complaining the Summers (president of harvard) didn't send him a get well soon card quickly enough when he got cancer.

block_dagger 5y ago

I thought the exact same

failwhaleshark 5y ago

No. It's a signal of the lack of the Golden Rule / interpersonal, real reciprocity. I worked at a STEM department in Pac12/Ivy that was very family-like. I think that's what he felt was missing and turned him off because he's a touchy-feely (not John Key-style), warm guy who's a free-love hippie like George Clinton.

throw7 5y ago

He's playing dispirited that only 2 colleagues made public replies while he'd get many replies for a "narcissistic academic achievement". One wonders if he had gotten tenure and received much beloved public replies he would resign thereafter.