open up your heart like the gates of hell

Cambridge professor of sociology Jason Arday is accused of plagiarism by another academic

the accuser is a "race realist" who believes that in a true meritocracy all university professors would be white. this is somehow not acknowledged much during the entire ordeal

this leads to several days of media coverage demanding an investigation, or that Arday is expelled from his post immediately

somehow this accusation that has no effect on the lives of 99.99% of the population becomes FRONT PAGE NEWS in all the newspapers for multiple days, above anything else happening in the UK or the world at large

following intense media scrutiny, Arday resigns his post as a Cambridge professor

today, august 14th, days after resigning, Arday is found dead at his home in Battersea

a few things:

the guy who started all this shit is Nathan Cofnas. he was fired from Cambridge's Emmanuel College for making a blog post that said there shouldn't be black professors. his intentions were in no way related to a care for academic accuracy and honesty. he was angry a black man was working at the school that had fired him.

Cofnas started all this by running Arday's work through a plagiarism machine unprompted. not only are those things infamously inaccurate, but Arady was ultimately cleared and- hey, why was Cofnas driven to do that in the first place?

the British press does not give a fuck about academia 99% of the time. they fucking don't. none of this was about education. they saw an opportunity to attack a black man--notably, one in a position of respect and authority--and took it.

even if he had lied about EVERYTHING he's achieved, if Arday had been white, no one in the press would have given a fuck. he would've, in all likelihood, been fired at most.

to people claiming his claims of racism were false, i just... don't believe that one sorry. this is the UK, we're talking about.

u/AristotleLivesInMe

My wife and I have five daughters, aged 22-16. As you can imagine, the house is constantly noisy and busy. My wife is also a big source of disorder. I tend to stay in my study away from all the chaos.

A few months ago my youngest "Lyla" was invited to travel to a seaside resort with a friend. It seemed like a golden opportunity to have some peace at home. My second eldest daughter, Beth, told me not to let her go as Lyla is very poorly behaved and Beth was worried it would reflect negatively on our family.

I did not want to deal with the whining from Lyla and her mother if I withdrew my permission. I was also hoping Lyla would be publicly embarrassed, which I really think is the only thing that would curb her behaviour.

Unfortunately, while on vacation, Lyla eloped with a man of poor character. Clearly her friend's husband was not giving her sufficient supervision. Her sister (my 4th daughter) also knew and said nothing to us. I went to try and recover her, but ultimately, Beth's boyfriend found them and paid for their marriage. So it all worked out well in the end and at no expense to myself (these young lovers won't take repayment).

I overheard some men in my home town yesterday calling me a bad father and an AH, but I can't see how this is all my fault. After all, my wife encouraged Lyla's poor behaviour, my 4th daughter should have warned us, and her Lyla's friend did not watch her well enough. What was I supposed to do? AITA?

Top Comment:

u/ShakespearesMuse

I guess I should try parenting via public embarrassment, it has worked so well for you /s

YTA

u/MollyOrMary I really want to know what a "good" outcome would have looked like from this situation. He is such an YTA

u/ShakespearesMuse I guess his daughter is publicly shamed and comes back as an angel and not an emotional mess? Hate to tell you, but a 16 year old ugly crying is probably worse noise-wise than whining about a trip. Also doesn't do permanent damage to their life.

u/MaryOrMolly He could try actually parenting. But his poor little ears. 🙄

u/BiddyHenshaw

I hope Beth doesn't need physio from carrying her whole family on her back.

YTA

Have you ever been writing some historical fiction and wondered "hey, I wonder if my characters would have been able to pop an ibuprofen in 1977?" Well, you're in luck, because this post is all about when common medications became available:

Acetaminophen: 1950

Albuterol: 1969 (UK) 1982 (US)

Allopurinol: 1966

Alprazolam: 1981

Amitriptyline: 1961

Amlodipine: 1990

Amoxicilin: 1972

Amphetamine/Dextroamphetamine (together as Adderall): 1996

Apixiban: 2012

Aripiprazole: 2002

Aspirin (first NSAID): 1899

Azidothymidine (first antiviral): 1987

Barbital (first barbiturate): 1903

Bupropion: 1985

Buspirone: 1986

Calcium Carbonate (TUMS): 1930

Captopril (first ACE inhibitor): 1981

Chlordiazepoxide (first benzodiazepine): 1960

Chlorothiazide (first thiazide diuretic): 1957

Chlorpromazine (first antipsychotic): 1952

Cyclobenzeprine: 1977

Diphenhydramine: 1946

Furosemide: 1959

Fluoxetine (first SSRI): 1988

Gabapentin: 1993

Glipizide: 1984

Hydrochlorothiazide: 1959

Ibuprofen: 1969 (UK) 1974 (US)

Insulin: 1923 (though many types of insulins would become available over the next century)

Imipramine (first tricyclic antidepressant): 1959

Iproniazid (first antidepressant (MAOI)): 1952

Levothyroxine: 1927 (though desiccated pork thyroid was used for the same reasons as early as 1890)

Lisinopril: 1987

Lithium: 1949

Losartan (first ARB): 1995

Lovastatin (first statin): 1987

Naproxen: 1976 (Rx) 1990 (OTC)

Nitrogen Mustard (first chemotherapy agent): early 1940's

Methotrexate: 1947

Methylphenidate: 1954

Metformin: 1957 (France) 1995 (US)

Metoprolol: 1978

Montelukast: 1998

Morphine: early 1800's

Omeprazole: 1989

Penicillin: 1945

Phenbezamine (first antihistamine): 1942

Prednisone: 1955

Propranolol (first beta blocker): 1965 (UK) 1967 (US)

Sertraline: 1990

Spironolactone: 1959

Sulfanilamide (first modern antibiotic): 1935

Tolbutamide (first oral anti-diabetic drug): 1956

Tramadol: 1977 (Germany) 1995 (US)

Trazodone: 1981

Valacyclovir: 1995

Verapamil (first calcium channel blocker): 1964

Warfarin: 1954

Morphine: early 1800's

Aspirin (first NSAID): 1899

Barbital (first barbiturate): 1903

Insulin: 1923 (though many types of insulins would become available over the next century)

Levothyroxine: 1927 (though desiccated pork thyroid was used for the same reasons as early as 1890)

Calcium Carbonate (TUMS): 1930

Sulfanilamide (first modern antibiotic): 1935

Nitrogen Mustard (first chemotherapy agent): early 1940's

Phenbezamine (first antihistamine): 1942

Penicillin: 1945

Diphenhydramine: 1946

Methotrexate: 1947

Lithium: 1949

Acetaminophen: 1950

Chlorpromazine (first antipsychotic): 1952

Iproniazid (first antidepressant (MAOI)): 1952

Methylphenidate: 1954

Warfarin: 1954

Prednisone: 1955

Tolbutamide (first oral anti-diabetic drug): 1956

Chlorothiazide (first thiazide diuretic): 1957

Metformin: 1957 (France) 1995 (US)

Furosemide: 1959

Hydrochlorothiazide: 1959

Spironolactone: 1959

Imipramine (first tricyclic antidepressant): 1959

Chlordiazepoxide (first benzodiazepine): 1960

Amitriptyline: 1961

Verapamil (first calcium channel blocker): 1964

Propranolol (first beta blocker): 1965 (UK) 1967 (US)

Allopurinol: 1966

Albuterol: 1969 (UK) 1982 (US)

Ibuprofen: 1969 (UK) 1974 (US)

Amoxicilin: 1972

Naproxen: 1976 (Rx) 1990 (OTC)

Cyclobenzeprine: 1977

Tramadol: 1977 (Germany) 1995 (US)

Metoprolol: 1978

Captopril (first ACE inhibitor): 1981

Trazodone: 1981

Alprazolam: 1981

Glipizide: 1984

Bupropion: 1985

Buspirone: 1986

Zopiclone (first "Z-drug"): 1986

Lovastatin (first statin): 1987

Azidothymidine (first antiviral): 1987

Lisinopril: 1987

Fluoxetine (first SSRI): 1988

Omeprazole: 1989

Amlodipine: 1990

Sertraline: 1990

Gabapentin: 1993

Losartan (first ARB): 1995

Valacyclovir: 1995

Amphetamine/Dextroamphetamine (together as Adderall): 1996

Montelukast: 1998

Aripiprazole: 2002