Jason Arday found dead today.

Sorry my message has just vanished !
It went all blippy, then popped -up before I'd finished!
Rest in peace Professor Arday, you didn't deserve to be so brutally treated! Anyone could see he was a very gentle & sensitive man.

Galaxy

And again a perfectly reasonable thing to discuss.

Certainly it should be discussed - but there are better ways than picking on one individual (who himself did not initiate positive discrimination) and grinding him down.

Positive discrimination in jobs etc. is a matter for debate not vendetta.

M0nica

greyfur16

I think " the race card " is a highly offensive phrase.

It's not a game.

But to those who play it, it often is.

Please, not now. Not today.

I feel so very sorry for Professor Arday, this clever, prun

Happen to agree with you on that, Luckygirl.

greyfur16

I think " the race card " is a highly offensive phrase.

It's not a game.

But to those who play it, it often is.

And again a perfectly reasonable thing to discuss.

I do think the media piled in because of his race/colour because of the issue of positive action in trying to include minority groups - a favourite bugbear of the right.

Investigation...yes
Pile on....no

greyfur16

I think " the race card " is a highly offensive phrase.

It's not a game.

Agreed. I said exactly that upthread, or maybe on another one on the subject. It is a deeply offensive phrase.

Who do you think is wiser than the common herd doodledog? The guardian? His pupils who expressed their views? The police ( who apologised for their actions against the journalist). I dont understand what you mean.

The trouble with naming is that you get reported for being personal. So I won’t fall for that trick this time.

😬

Some posts on this thread have been deleted.

Do we know for sure that DEI practices were to blame?

I agree with the rest of your post, but doubt that the judgemental will ever reflect on what they do. Their feelings of superiority are too ingrained for that.

No-one is suggesting that there were not issues that the university needed to look into; that this young man was perfect in every way.

But it was not necessary for the media to pile in and vilify him. It warranted a paragraph - that is all.

I think " the race card " is a highly offensive phrase.

It's not a game.

“It is enough. It us more than enough.”

This whole tragic debacle will have to be throughly explored because it doesn’t just involve Jason Ardy personally.

All the educational institutions involved must examine their appointment processes and and their awards systems.

The Police have already had to examine their response to accusations of harassment.

The press should examine their practices too. Though I don’t hold out much hope on that. Nor on people reflecting on their social media posts.

DEI practices will inevitably come under question.

And when the findings are verified they must be made public to establish, hopefully the trust that has been destroyed.

But I don’t believe it can be shut down now.

Lathyrus3

I think that those who are being very vocal about bullying through the media should perhaps look at their own posts where they name and express very personal opinions about people in the public eye.

They may believe they are justified in doing that but if it is wrong to do it for one person, it is wrong to do it for all. Or if it is right then it is right for all regardless of who.

I agree with Galaxy that truth should not be hidden, especially on a partisan basis. I too believe hat would be very dangerous. Opinion is a different matter.

Ok. Are you willing to name the ‘Some People’ to whom you refer? And maybe even the context of their posts?

Icarus, Monica.

Remember is is still considered shameful by many still to admit you have MH needs or care, especially in this sort of situation. Society still judges. SM headlines "JA ill with ......" and the comments?

Thank you Fallingstar

It’s easy (I assume) to sit on a tall chair and make proclamations about how you know or have grave doubts about this and that, without giving detail or context. If someone thinks they are wiser than the common herd then I guess they are guided by that belief, and are happy with the contradictions it encapsulates.

I am all for openness in reporting and debate. I don’t like the ‘innocent until proven guilty’ cries of those who want to protect the powerful who have ensured that they can never be charged with anything. But ‘race card’? ‘He/she did it because’, ‘ the university was at fault because of DEI’ All of that is speculation and a projection of personal bias, isn’t it?

And the truth is that a young man took his life for what may amount to lying on his CV.

A fair penalty? Not in my book.

I appreciate that I may be seeing this more personally than usual because of my past experiences, but I struggle to see why anyone feels that they can know what goes on in other people’s minds. What gives them that sense of superiority?

Very sad that he felt that taking his life was his only option.

Maybe he realised that with all the investigations going on that the truth will out and he wouldn't be able to cope with the fallout, so better this way.

There will be finger pointing at various people and organisations but a very sad end for a man who had not found his early years easy, had made a success of his adult years, for it all to become exposed. RIP.

Three days ago I was discussing JA with DS, also an academic.

He said to me 'My biggest fear is that he will be found dead in a few days.' Sadly that has come true.

I would have thought he was such an obvious high suicide risk, that all, from friends and family to the university, should have been exercising a 24/7 watch on him.

Curiously, DD comment was that this ending was inevitable, as the whole event was playing out like Greek tragedy whom the Gods wish to destroy they first drive mad

I think that those who are being very vocal about bullying through the media should perhaps look at their own posts where they name and express very personal opinions about people in the public eye.

They may believe they are justified in doing that but if it is wrong to do it for one person, it is wrong to do it for all. Or if it is right then it is right for all regardless of who.

I agree with Galaxy that truth should not be hidden, especially on a partisan basis. I too believe hat would be very dangerous. Opinion is a different matter.

Doodledog

I don’t think anyone is saying that asking questions is bullying. But ‘race card’ accusations are. As are dissections of an interview process the dissectors weren’t part of, and the general pulling apart of a young man’s life.

If he had been proven guilty of misrepresentation then he should have been sacked - of course he should. But AFAIK that has not been proven, and public humiliation is a huge price to pay for what amount to rumours about his profiting from his racial status.

To ‘Galaxy What do you know about Caroline Flack that the rest of us don’t? I agree that talking about things isn’t bullying, but ascribing motives and pushing a narrative can be.

For context - I was once a victim of a public ‘shaming’. I don’t want to go into detail for obvious reasons, but it was devastating. The basis of it was true, but the (crucial) context was missing, and the hypocrisy I saw from people I’d thought were my friends was unbelievable to me.

I will never forget it, and I can well understand how someone might feel that life isn’t worth living if you think that everyone believes things about you that are not true. There is also the terror of not knowing what your persecutors will do next.

Mindgames can be worse than physical pain. I have a lovely husband and had a young family at the time, so I didn’t contemplate suicide, but I can see why someone young who feels alone might do so.

Thanks for your honesty Doodledog and am sorry you had to endure that. I have been through similar tough times for bad decisions I made. And am sure we are not alone in this, there will be other members who have made bad decisions or done the wrong thing, causing most harm to themselves rather than others.
This tragic young man should no longer be hounded. It is enough. More than enough. And let’s please consider his loved ones.

They aren't rumours are they though? The Guardians investigation was quite comprehensive, it wasn't just about plagarism it involved a myriad of claims. We cant not have investigative journalism because people might do something terrible, it isnt a way society can function. Should we have discussed the salt path people, should there have been an investigation into Rachel Dolezal?
I know about the allegations and court appearance of Caroline Flack. It was in the public arena.

At the very least the media should have backed off when he resigned his post. However, they continued with the relentless campaign with his photo emblazoned everywhere. No wonder he couldn't cope.