Plagiarism? That Depends!

Don't talk to progressives about the facts—nuance matters!

Equal justice? That’s so fifteen minutes ago!

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Do the facts matter to progressives? That depends.

It depends, for instance, in the case of Claudine Gay, President of Harvard University, fake academic, and shameless plagiarist. Gay covered herself with ignominy and shame during her testimony before a congressional committee, during which she opined that in certain contexts, calling for genocide of Jews might not be antisemitism. Big mistake. As when another academic grifter, Ward Churchill, attracted attention to himself by remarking that the victims of 9/11 were “little Eichmanns,” Gay’s despicable words drew scrutiny to her career and qualifications. It was found, first, that her academic record was remarkably thin for a person in her exalted position: just eleven published papers and no books at all. Then it got worse. Gay’s writings were shot through with plagiarism, including a passage in her doctoral dissertation lifted almost verbatim from another scholar’s work, with no attribution.

Ward Churchill was dismissed from his position as chair of the Ethnic Studies Department at the University of Colorado for “research misconduct,” including three instances of plagiarism. It was also found that his claim to Native American ethnicity was false. Claudine Gay, however, still bestrides the academic world like a colossus, Harvard having decided that her transgressions, though “regrettable,” don’t rise to the level of plagiarism. (Here, probably, I should mention that “bestrides the academic world like a colossus” is a borrow from Shakespeare. So don’t taser me, bro.)

Harvard’s judgement on Gay is risible, given the university’s treatment of mere students found guilty of doing exactly what she did. They get the bum’s rush. The President of Harvard, however, is gently chided and offered an opportunity to correct the record. Indeed, it’s whispered that the Greatest President Who Absolutely Ever Was, Barack H. Obama, has put in a good word on Gay’s behalf.

Now it’s obvious what’s going on here. Claudine Gay is an affirmative action hire. She got where she sits by playing the cards of race and gender. Given the thinness—and, as we now know, the fraudulence—of her scholarship, there can be no doubt of that. Gay is the sign and symbol of the intellectual and moral corruption of American higher education. And that’s why she must be defended. For to dismiss her would be to admit that something is rotten in the state of Harvard (Shakespeare again).

The defense of Gay is based on that most convenient of principles: nuance. A CNN story quotes Jonathan Bailey, “a plagiarism expert who runs the site Plagiarism Today.” He describes the Gay affair as “a nuanced case” that is “politically charged.” That it’s politically charged is beyond doubt, given the circumstances that led to Gay’s exposure as a plagiarist. That it’s nuanced, however, seems doubtful given the evidence that CNN details in its story. The nuanced approach is hard to square with a glaring double standard: Students guilty of the same transgression as Gay have been booted from Harvard, so how can she be let off the hook? Her continued tenure in office is a scandal—period. And in fairness it should be mentioned that some progressives realize this: The Left is not united in its support of Gay. See, for instance, this article in The Atlantic.

It may be that after some time has passed, Gay will announce her resignation, citing personal reasons & etc. But even that would stir up the leftie fever swamps, whose denizens will cry racism/sexism and denounce the conservative critics who had the temerity to point out the embarrassing facts. Those facts, of course, are what they are: Who voices them is irrelevant. But the accusation of racism is, shall we say, nuanced. For it’s true in a way that racism/sexism affects the case of Claudine Gay. Their postmodern variants, DEI, secured for her the presidency of Harvard University despite a patent lack of qualifications. And now it armors her in her mediocrity and mendacity against the administration of justice.

But there’s justice, and then there’s cosmic justice. The Harvard establishment would do well to remember that.