Paz

The Pazuzu Excuse is an Ethics Alarms term for when someone, often a public figure or celebrity, is caught on video or on a recording saying outrageous, offensive, career-threatening things. With no reasonable excuse at hand, such miscreants often default to claiming that for some reason what came out of their own mouths was not really “them,” and didn’t represent their “true feelings” or beliefs.

You know, like when sweet 12-year-old Regan, possessed by the demon Pazuzu, shouts out to Father Karras, “Your mother sucks cocks in Hell!” in “The Exorcist.”

The Washington Free Beacon reported (this reflects badly on a woke university and its leadership, so you wouldn’t expect the Washington Post to break the story, would you?) that during a Columbia panel featuring the former dean of Columbia Law School, David Schizer, who co-chaired the university’s task force on anti-Semitism and others, Josef Sorett, the dean of Columbia College, and fellow administrators Susan Chang-Kim, the vice dean and chief administrative officer of Columbia College; Cristen Kromm, the dean of undergraduate student life; and Matthew Patashnick, the associate dean for student and family support, listened to the panel discussion while texting each other with snarky, dismissive comments.

Over nearly two hours, as the panelists offered frank appraisals of the hostility Jewish students have faced in the wake of virulent pro-Hamas sentiment on the campus, Columbia’s top officials sent “mockery and vitriol” back and forth on their smart phones dismissing claims of anti-Semitism while snarking that Jewish figures on campus were exploiting the moment for “fundraising potential.” Their disrespectful and offensive comments were captured and shared by another smart phone user who took photos of from behind of b Chang Kim’s screen. One of the text messages featured vomit emojis to describe an op-ed about anti-Semitism by Columbia’s campus rabbi.

Opined the Free Beacon, “The text messages betray an attitude of ignorance and indifference toward the concerns of Jewish students on a campus where protesters have called to “burn Tel Aviv to the ground” and said that “Zionists don’t deserve to live.” The exchanges also raise questions about Columbia’s ability to combat anti-Semitism if its top administrators not only dismiss the problem but also sneer at those who speak out about it.”

Gee, ya think???

Even though the mainstream media didn’t see this episode as “fit to print,” that darn conspiracy-theory-obsessed conservative news source was enough to force the dean of Columbia College, Josef Sorett, to try to explain away what happened. He resorted to both the Pazuzu Excuse and Rationalizatio #64, “It isn’t what it is.”In an email to Columbia’s Board of Visitors, an alumni body that advises the dean, Sorett apologized for the “harm” the text message exchange caused and pledged that “it will not happen again.” “I have already spoken to each person involved and we understand that, as leaders, we are held to a higher standard,” he wrote.

He did NOT write that he was a party to the text messages. What a weasel. (See, that’s not an ad hominem attack, because it is based on his weasel-like behavior in this matter.)

“These texts are not emblematic of the totality of their work,” Sorett wrote, “nor do they indicate the views of any individual or the team.”

Wait…whose views do those text messages sent by the individuals…and you (“their work?”)…on that team represent? Was it the DEVIL????? Who or what made these administrators text comments reflecting of attitudes that weren’t their own? Is it responsible for the Board to allow an Ivy League school to be led by administrators vulnerable to demonic possession?

Tellingly, Sorett also tried to blame the “unknown third-party” who photographed the damning messages, calling it an “invasion of privacy” and absurdly claiming the texts were ” taken out of context.” They were sent during the panel about anti-Semitism on the Columbia campus! That was the context.

Also there is no reasonable expectation of privacy for the contents of cell phone screens in a public setting.

First, Columbia’s alumni leadership needs to summon an exorcist. Then it needs to fire Sorrett…and maybe the rest of his “team” as well.