Luther Ray Abel picks apart the latest writing from Harvard’s disgraced former president.
Chutzpah, gall, cojones — Claudine Gay, in writing “What Just Happened at Harvard Is Bigger Than Me” for the New York Times opinion pages, has surpassed any singular description of audacity. (And I apologize to Ms. Gay for the use of “chutzpah,” a Yiddish term I have no doubt she’d find offensive in its use to describe her disposition.)
Gay begins her apologia:
“On Tuesday, I made the wrenching but necessary decision to resign as Harvard’s president.” …
… “Wrenching” is an adjective with blue-collar associations — what a poor choice for a daughter of privilege. Claudine Gay, described as the “daughter of Haitian immigrants” by Harvard Crimson, should have continued searching the thesaurus. In troth, she is the daughter of one of Haiti’s most politically connected men. …
… Claudine Gay’s familiarity with work has been the pursuit, capture, and hebetudinous “wrenching” of others’ thoughts and efforts from the pages of their work. Unfortunately, what she stole was also the best work she produced. …
… Those who appreciate tradition and institutional reputation should look at the Gay scandal and weep. We see in the first paragraph Gay’s inability to admit the source of what has harmed Harvard, namely, her transgressions of transfer (not to mention her failure to speak in defense of Jewish students). Instead, she looks at the devastation she has wrought and, from atop the rubble, points to “demagogues” weaponizing her presidency as the reason for ruin. It is one thing to have been wrong (we all have); it’s the denial that it happened that shatters trust. …
… Gay cannot manage that delineator between adulthood and childhood: the ability to say, “I was wrong. I’m sorry.” In her defense, I don’t know whether anyone has ever asked her to say as much. There’s a level of elite advantage where one has the position, money, and connections that permit one to avoid contemplation and humility.
