One of the bigger gaffes I’ve made, in a life full of gaffes, was sending a link to to my department’s e-mail network encouraging people to sign a petition of solidarity with the editors of the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. This was back at the time when death threats were being made against the cartoonists and editors over the Mohammed cartoons. In my infinite naïveté I imagined that defending people against death threats over something they had published would be uncontroversial.

In the ensuing uproar I managed to stay rational and deal pretty well with all the abuse I was subjected to, even eliciting an apology at one point. It’s fortunate that it all took place by e-mail; I could never have handled it in a face-to-face conversation. But I’m still getting feedback about some of the colleagues whom I alienated.

For myself, I love these outraged yawps when university administrators act like what they are. Especially yawps from stupid alumni who will, on the whole, keep on supporting such scum no matter how many times sharp sticks are thrust into their eyes.

To roughly quote someone from another context, “We’ve already determined that Madam. Now we’re just negotiating over price.”