‘Reverse Pol Pot’: Berkeley philosophy lecturer slammed after saying rural Americans made ‘bad life decisions’ & should be SHAMED
RT | November 9, 2019
A Harvard-educated UC Berkeley philosophy lecturer is catching flak for bashing rural Americans as parasites on more “efficient” city-dwellers. He has since apologized for the tone of the original tweets, but not their substance.
Disdain for “flyover country” by the coastal elites is a trope of American politics and culture wars at this point, but Jackson Kernion apparently sought to embody it with a series of tweets this week, declaring that Americans living in the countryside should not be “subsidized by those who choose a more efficient way of life.”
“Rural healthcare should be expensive! And that expense should be borne by those who choose rural America!” Kernion argued in now-deleted posts. “Same goes for rural broadband. And gas taxes.”
“It should be uncomfortable to live in rural America. It should be uncomfortable to not move.”
Another user screenshotted several more now-deleted tweets, which include statements such as “I unironically embrace the bashing of rural Americans. They, as a group, are bad people who have made bad life decisions,” and “We should shame people who aren’t pro-city.”
While some people online did agree with Kernion, his tweets mostly drew an avalanche of disapproval and bewilderment. He was dubbed “philosophy bro,” and one user even called him a “reverse Pol Pot,” referring to the notorious Cambodian dictator blamed for over a million deaths due to his campaign of forcing people from cities into the countryside.
The most common response was people pointing out that rural America is where all the food for the cities is grown. “Is this satire?” and “How is this person a real person?” were other frequent reactions.
The answers to those questions appear to be no and yes, respectively. Kernion’s Twitter feed is filled with praises of Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren and her “wealth tax” proposal, as well as the “Great Awokening,” so-called “woke capitalism,” and “LIBERAL SOCIETY.”
In his official biography, Kernion says he graduated from Harvard in 2012 with a degree in philosophy and is currently earning his PhD at Berkeley while teaching as an assistant. Following the backlash, he offered an apology of sorts for the tweets, saying that “my tone is way crasser and meaner than I like to think I am.” He did not appear to disavow their content, however.
Kernion is hardly the first to express disdain for Americans living in the US countryside, dubbed “flyover country” by the coastal elitists. The enmity has taken on political overtones in recent years, however, as Democrats who dominate in urban environments have lashed out at rural Americans who have overwhelmingly supported President Donald Trump.
8 Comments »
Leave a reply to Darrel Cancel reply
Featured Video
9-11 Is the Litmus Test
or go to
Aletho News Archives – Video-Images
From the Archives
Climate Science: Is it Currently Designed to Answer Questions?
By Prof. Richard S. Lindzen | Global Research | September 22, 2014
Program in Atmospheres, Oceans and Climate. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Global Research 30 November 2009
Abstract
For a variety of inter-related cultural, organizational, and political reasons, progress in climate science and the actual solution of scientific problems in this field have moved at a much slower rate than would normally be possible.
Not all these factors are unique to climate science, but the heavy influence of politics has served to amplify the role of the other factors. By cultural factors, I primarily refer to the change in the scientific paradigm from a dialectic opposition between theory and observation to an emphasis on simulation and observational programs. The latter serves to almost eliminate the dialectical focus of the former.
Whereas the former had the potential for convergence, the latter is much less effective. The institutional factor has many components. One is the inordinate growth of administration in universities and the consequent increase in importance of grant overhead. This leads to an emphasis on large programs that never end. Another is the hierarchical nature of formal scientific organizations whereby a small executive council can speak on behalf of thousands of scientists as well as govern the distribution of ‘carrots and sticks’ whereby reputations are made and broken. The above factors are all amplified by the need for government funding.
When an issue becomes a vital part of a political agenda, as is the case with climate, then the politically desired position becomes a goal rather than a consequence of scientific research. This paper will deal with the origin of the cultural changes and with specific examples of the operation and interaction of these factors. In particular, we will show how political bodies act to control scientific institutions, how scientists adjust both data and even theory to accommodate politically correct positions, and how opposition to these positions is disposed of. … continue
Blog Roll
Recent Comments
Aletho News- They Think We Are Stupid, Volume 8
- Russian Strike on Kharkov TV Tower Deprives Ukraine’s Army of Eyes and Ears for Spying
- Ukraine, Israel Aid Bill ‘Abomination’ That Will Prolong Suffering – Former US Diplomat
- New $17Bln Aid to Israel ‘Last Nail in Coffin of US Credibility’ – ex-US Envoy to Riyadh
- Pro-Palestine rallies spread on US campuses despite heavy repression
- Google fires more employees protesting giant deal with Israel
- EU will be the biggest loser if it confiscates assets – Moscow
- ‘Let’s debunk the myth that mass migration brings an economic benefit,’ says former UK immigration minister
- The WHO and Pandemic Response – Should Evidence Matter?
- ‘Misinformation’ and ‘disinformation’ in the pandemic treaty
- If Americans Knew
- Blinken claims State Dept has no double standard favoring Israel – Day 199
- Still no evidence of UNRWA employees’ participation in October 7th – Day 198
- New mass grave found in Gaza with at least 180 bodies – Day 197
- UNICEF: one child in Gaza is killed or injured every ten minutes – Day 196
- “October 7” Documentary: The Lies
- “October 7” Documentary: Israeli Military Kills Israelis
- “October 7” Documentary: Israeli Failures
- “October 7” Documentary: The Background
- “October 7” Documentary: The Full Story
- “October 7” Documentary: The Director
- Richie Allen
- The Richie Allen Show Returns Tomorrow Wednesday April 24th
- Call Richie Today Monday March 11th From 4.30pm
- Connect To The Richie Allen Show WhatsApp Today
- NHS Asks Patients To Choose From 12 Genders, 10 sexual Preferences & 159 Religions
- The Richie Allen Show Moves To A New Time Slot From Monday Nov 20th
- Starmer Will Sack Shadow Ministers Who Vote For Gaza Ceasefire
- AI Tool Can Predict Heart Attacks Years In Advance
- Nepal Bans TikTok To Preserve Social Harmony
- Bloke Appointed Boss Of Womb Health Charity
- WHO – “Gaza’s Biggest Hospital Becoming A Cemetery”
- No Tricks Zone
- “New Ice Age Has Begun,” Astrophysicist Warns…Due To Reduced Solar Activity
- 3 Physicists Use Experimental Evidence To Show CO2’s Capacity To Absorb Radiation Has Saturated
- Winter Weather Slams Into Large Parts Of Europe…Madrid Spain Sees Snow!
- New Study Unveils Global Warming’s 65-Year-Old ‘Evaporation Paradox’ Problem
- Rise And Fall Of The German Economy… Energy Debacle Leading To Economic Meltdown
- Antarctica Is Colder, Icier Now Than Any Time In 5000 Years. The Last Warm Period Was 1000 Years Ago.
- Comprehensive Russian Temperature Reconstruction Shows Warmer Temperatures 1000 Years Ago!
- Germany Electric Car Sales Plummet 30% As Country Floats Idea Of Weekend Driving Ban!
- Three More New Temperature Reconstructions Document A Warmer Medieval Period
- The Lake Garda Climate-Freak-Show Disappears… Italy’s Largest Lake Now Overflowing!
Aletho News 
Kernion should be forced to grow his own food and agree that he is the parasite producing nothing of value except hot air and being supported in this by the taxpayer . He seems to think that food comes from supermarkets only – lol .
Where do they get these detached from reality PHD’s who pile it Higher and Deeper.
LikeLiked by 1 person
They get these PhDs from Harvard. Not the brightest but at least the richest.
LikeLiked by 1 person
an entitled turd with a rubbish degree in Spending Daddy’s Money. Jaysus Krist, a f***king in f**king philosophy, the most pretentious degree on campus. And to get a PhD, with a minor in How-not-to-get-a-job 1A. Rich f**ks send their privileged sh*ts off to an over-priced degree mill where they major in networking. This crap is what brought down the British Empire, and its doing a job here too. While China and Russia push hard core STEM, our elites are pushing hard core anal in the form of gibs’in idiot kids positions based on clout. We must now pause to remember where Affirmative Action came from. Little shits like this idiot that had to be mixed with low performing kneegros and afleets, since Jr. would lose his mind when getting less than an A in college. Since getting professors shot by students was bad for job recruitment the Ivys came up with the idea of allowing lesser endowed students that would be happy just to be in their hallowed halls. And the more unstable rich kids would be pushed into the easy A fields… Like Philosophy.
If you want to see just is wrong with this country, just read about this intellectual idiot, and realize just how many of this animated anuses there are in those so-called elite institutions. No imagine just how amused the Chinese, Russians, or even Kazakhs are to see what kind of morons our political classes have become. BTW, the percentages of the Tribe that are good Harvardites is growing every year. Just like Britain, they have burrowed and gnawed their way into our more venerated tradition, while the goyim are supposed to be oblivious. The correlation between Elite rot and Chosen infiltration is approaching Bolshevik levels. If we change to Red Menace of McCarthy’s day with that of the (((Chosen))), it is obvious that the infiltration never stopped, and turds like Kernian are examples of their Shabbos Goyim, trotted out to do their dirty work. Kapos if you will
LikeLike
The business classes, which are primarily run by guess (((who))) like to push these fools. Stupid with money, and/or credit, it’s win-win for the marketers of stupid distinctions (like PhDs) and $$$ degrees
LikeLike
Living in the country is more expensive, but it’s well worth it.
LikeLike
Amen, Brother
LikeLike
This literal parasite vermin is exactly the type who does his best to give Pol Pot a good name. The cities always have been purely parasitic on the ecology including upon the primary workers among humanity, i.e. those who produce food. And of course urbanizing savages like Cortes, Bolsonaro and Kernion invariably have sought the genocide of all traditional and indigenous peoples. So shorter Kernion: “The only good Indian is a dead Indian.”
How ironic that he’s so full of praise for the fraudulent Indian Warren.
LikeLike
Contact info for our “hero” (zero) Jackson Kernion
E-mail: jacksonkernion@berkeley.edu
LikeLike