“Firestorm” About Liberty University Reopening

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Jonathan Whatley, Mar 29, 2020.

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  1. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

  2. Acolyte

    Acolyte Active Member


    This chart demonstrates nothing. Random stats to illustrate whether something was a good policy decision or not? All I see is that a well developed persecution complex remains at the core of a lot of people's identities, and it is very precious to them. Maybe there wouldn't have been so much "negative media coverage" if Falwell hadn't suggested that COVID-19 was a plot to hurt the president, or a bio-weapon created by North Korea, and not an actual public health concern. When you put that kind of nonsense out there, people (rightly) question your motives and methods, and that is what drives this kind of coverage.
     
  3. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

    Your comment demonstrates what Liberty is trying to convey - y'all a bunch of haters. While I'm no Falwell or Trump fan, who cares what Falwell said or didn't say. The bottom line is that there are other schools that did what Liberty did but got no negative media attention. Liberty is unapologetically a conservative Christian school and that's why the liberal media continues to paint them as bad. Well, guess what? With an endowment inching towards 2 billion, Liberty is here to stay and keep growing!
     
  4. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

  5. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Ironically, this is a hateful and judgmental comment. Welcome to the very club you decry.
    Many people care, and many lives are affected by both the words and actions of each. While I appreciate your assertion that they are irrelevant and should be ignored, I think it would be better to remain aware what each of these people are up to.
    Please provide an example of a school whose leader was so aggressive in defying the science and inevitability of this contagion's spread. (Which he eventually bowed to, by the way.) Being in a leadership role comes with tremendous power and responsibilities. What one says and does matters.
    No one denies Liberty's existence, nor its future prospects. I don't recall anyone here suggesting they should close. Those are irrelevant to the matter at hand. The media paint this school as bad when it acts in a bad fashion. Notice that it is the schools run by fundamentalists that are the ones who do outrageous things. Bob Jones, Oral Roberts, Liberty, Regent. But I'm sure they love the negative coverage. As mentioned elsewhere on this board, a persecution complex is fundamental to fundamentalism. The story of the Big Guy is all about that. Negative stories about Liberty function like advertising to that market.
     
  6. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

  7. not4profit

    not4profit Active Member

    Falwell's comments, if they were made as you say, were ridiculous. However, the chart sure does seem to hint at some media bias, given the media focus on Liberty's handling of the pandemic. I think, in this case, just because someone has a persecution complex does not mean they are not being targeted in this one instance. I have to say I am pretty middle-of-the-road politically but I have still noticed a definite anti-anything conservative theme from the media (with the exception of ridiculous Fox News). What makes me the most angry is that I sometimes find myself defending Trump (who I do not like) because most of the mainstream news media is so... Damn... Biased. I dont trust their intentions.
     
  8. not4profit

    not4profit Active Member

    I think this is where things are going off the rails. Four schools do the same arguably irresponsible thing, but the one that gets called out in the media is the one who's President runs his mouth ignorantly. At face value the only difference is (1) the type of school or (2) the fact that the President is ignorant and ran his mouth. Either one of those is not really an adequate reason to judge Liberty more harshly than other school whose actions were as irresponsible or more irresponsible based on the numbers of students exposed. So is it really worse to say dumb things than expose more people? Because that seems to be the argument when we overlook actions and focus on the words to justify criticisms.

    On another note I think the existence of the chart created by Liberty adds weight to the persecution complex argument.
     
  9. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

    Blah! Blah! Blah! Are you done rambling?

    We The Champions!! Flames Pride...
     
  10. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    That wasn't much of a counterargument.
     
    Vonnegut and Rich Douglas like this.
  11. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    How bitter and little. Enjoy.
     
  12. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

    Thank you. I'm honored!
     
  13. JoshD

    JoshD Well-Known Member

  14. not4profit

    not4profit Active Member

    As prior law enforcement I find this amusing.
    -School partially closes due to pandemic.
    -Reporter seeks story on why not fully closed.
    -Reporter trespasses on private property to gather further info, thereby creating an additional presence on campus and possibly further spreading virus to the community.
    -Does so in order to write a story about irresponsibility of unnecessarily spreading the virus (which he just did as well).
    -Reporter ignores VA Tech which is right down the road and doing the same thing.
    -And now it is newsworthy that a reporter further exposed people, and broke the law, and is being held accountable.

    Yes, I understand Falwell made dumb comments, but you guys are really telling me this passes the smell test? THIS is where the persecution complex comes from...
     
  15. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    I'm no lawyer but I think the problem with filing a lawsuit is that you open yourself up to discovery and I'm betting that in the end, the board will decide that they don't want other people digging around in all the Liberty records, memos, emails, etc. As to whether they have a case, I don't know. Just because they filed a suit doesn't mean they have a good case. It could be one of those Donald Trump empty threat lawsuits, more PR than anything else. They could have avoided the whole thing if they had done it differently. . . . "Look at the wonderful thing we're doing, giving refuge to students who have nowhere else to go during this pandemic. "We're caring for them, following all rules, being very careful, etc. etc." That's a slam dunk PR move there. I think the thing they're most guilty of is being stupid about the way they rolled it out because you can absolutely keep a bunch of students safe on a college campus. If you do it right. So I'd be interested in knowing if the kids in the dorms were properly cared for when they came back to campus. This, I think, is a totally separate issue than the question of how messed up the Falwells are. And they are.
     
  16. not4profit

    not4profit Active Member

    This is not a civil matter. It is criminal. Liberty is considered the victim. There would be little if any opportunity to go into Liberty's records. This would be walled off at whether the guy is proven to have tresspassed based on the elements of the offense in VA. Discovery would likely not extend to Liberty's records except as they relate to having to post signage and whatnot depending on VA's laws. There is also the question of whether the DA will follow through with prosecution. Sadly, that is more of a political decision than anything, in these situations.
     
  17. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    If it's as simple as all that then I'd say they're wasting a lot of money on expensive lawyers. Both sides
     
  18. not4profit

    not4profit Active Member

    1000% agree. This could have been a win. Instead it turns into a dumpster fire. Simple: "Jesus would not turn away these students, and despite the fact that we could never be like him, that wont stop us from trying. So, we won't turn these students away either." Insert song: I need a heeero! I'm holding out for a hero till the morning liiiiight!"
     
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  19. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    I think that you and I could work for the same PR firm.

    [​IMG]
     
    JoshD likes this.
  20. Stanislav

    Stanislav Well-Known Member

    Arrogance, that's what it was. And spiritual pride.

    I'll just go ahead and interject foreign stuff no one asked for. Historically, the holiest place in Ukraine is (rough translation) Kyiv Caves Monastery. Today, it is quite busy monastery, held by the Russian Orthodox Church's branch and headed by a high ranking and very controversial Metropolitan Pavel (secular name Petr Lebed'). The place was open as long as it could, and Vladyko Pavel was very outspoken (as is his habit) on keeping churches open and following all tradition (in case you wonder, we take Communion, traditionally, from a communal Cup using a single spoon. Yeah.). Pavel himself celebrated Liturgy in suburban parishes, even after first signs of respiratory illness.

    Fast forward, the place is in quarantine now, blocked off by police. Met. Pavel is in hospital, over 90 monks tested positive for Coronavirus, one Archimandrite and one hieromonk dead of Covid-19. The biggest COVID outbreak in the whole country (and the Monastery is practically downtown Kyiv, not to mention Holy Mary knows how many pilgrims from wherever returned to their wherever). Thy shalt not test the Lord thy God.
     

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