Western Michigan University Music professor Daniel Mattson prides himself on being a “world-class trombonist.” He says that he had a promising and successful academic career when he was a gay faculty member. However, he alleges that changed when he found religion and declared that he was no longer gay. In a new lawsuit, Mattson claims that the university’s president, its College of Fine Arts dean, its School of Music director and a former director became openly hostile to him and ultimately denied the renewal of his contract after a quarter of century.
Mattson wrote a 2017 memoir titled Why I Don’t Call Myself Gay: How I Reclaimed My Sexual Reality and Found Peace. He also wrote a 2018 article “Why Men Like Me Should Not Be Priests.”
According to the complaint, that did not go over well when, in the fall of 2021, “campus activists discovered Mr. Mattson’s writings on Catholicism and same-sex attraction.”
He specifically blames Professor Lauron Kehrer, who was appointed to the music faculty around 2021 and, in late September of 2021, “discovered Mr. Mattson’s writings on his experiences with homosexuality and his effort to reject the ‘gay lifestyle’ by returning to his Catholic faith.”
Kehrer’s bio states that “she has published articles on queer identity and women’s music, white rapper Macklemore, and Beyoncé in the journals American Music, the Journal of the Society for American Music, and Popular Music and Society, respectively. Her research focuses on the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality in American popular music, especially hip-hop.”
Mattson alleges that “Professor Kehrer started a campaign to restrict and cancel his planned events as a Guest Artist [and] engaged students, other faculty members, and administrators in this effort, notably the Dean of the College of Fine Arts (Defendant Guyette) and his Special Assistant for Diversity and Inclusion, Kenlana Ferguson.”
The complaint includes a tweet from Kehrer declaring that “I will not be going to any recitals by ex-gay activists, thanks.” Kehrer does not appear as a defendant in the lawsuit.
Mattson’s Catholic views were declared offensive by many, he was removed from a student-faculty ensemble, and ultimately denied contract renewal.
Mattson insists that he never raised these issues in classes or on campus. He is alleging violations of his freedom of speech, religion and equal protection.
I have previously written how the environment of intolerance on our campuses has a particularly pronounced chilling effect on “contingent” or contractual faculty.
Most professors are not protected by tenure, and universities can cite other reasons for not renewing their contracts.
The percentage of tenured professors has been declining for half a century. Roughly three of four faculty today are what are called “contingent faculty,” or faculty who work contract to contract.
The problem is that this contingency often seems to depend upon an adherence to a new orthodoxy on racial justice, police abuse, gender identification and other issues. When a professor voices a dissenting view, universities will often defend free speech principles but then simply fail to renew a contract on unstated grounds.
That’s what happened to Greg Manco, a professor at St. Joseph’s University, who was effectively terminated for criticizing calls for reparations, including three tweets from Manco’s anonymous Twitter account, “South Jersey Giants.” The school’s human-resources department informed Manco he was responsible for “biased or discriminatory” statements and placed on administrative leave pending an investigation’s outcome. After he was cleared, however, the university refused to renew his contract. He has filed a federal lawsuit.
Some of us have tenure and that makes it more challenging to fire us. The fact is that, for the many faculty in the same position, their continued teaching is both legally and practically “contingent” on satisfying the demands of the majority at universities.
Here is the complaint: Mattson v. Guyette
A wholly unconstitutional “gag” order constitutes the denial of the constitutional freedom of speech and unconstitutional amendment of the absolute 1st Amendment by a judge who is willfully committing crimes of high office as abuse of power, usurpation of power, illicit and improper amendment of the Constitution et al.
Nowhere does the Constitution deny freedom of speech to any citizen.
Amendments are absolute unless self-qualified, as is the 5th Amendment right to private property which voids itself in the case of allowing the government to “take” property for public use with just compensation.
Modifying the Constitution may only be accomplished by the formal constitutional amendment process.
The singular American failure has been and remains the judicial branch, emphasis on the Supreme Court.
____________________________________________________________________________________
1st Amendment
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
“Double Jeopardy?”
Nay
“Octuple Jeopardy!”
Real President Donald J. Trump, the most “JEOPARDIZED MAN” in American political history.
Excellent commentary with for me are new insights into attaining tenure status at universities. Knowing this it’s no wonder 90% of university professors are of like liberal mind. Hallmarks of today’s liberals are not being open to differing views, not being able to defend your views, and (consequently) a willingness (and even drive) to harm people who don’t share their views.
O T
More good news about Vitamin D. It is correlated with a 45% decrease in suicides among military veterans. This is another blog from Dr. Campbell.
edwardmahl: —Yikes, –but does it make our faces look like that?
Lin- you should see what he looked like before taking vitamin D.
By weaponizing woke ideology a powerful group is destroying the modern world by poisoning the wells we all share of comradery, fellowship, and family – they are doing everything they can to decimate the ties that bind us together and to destroy every trace of common ground and brotherhood between us.
Values we all once shared that were intended to do the most good for the most people are being maliciously torched in the name of discord and disunity by utilizing a reality denying, mentally ill, family destroying, child warping, depraved ideology.
United we will stand, divided we will fall, our adversaries know this which is why we are being mercilessly divided.
https://tritorch.com/united
(OT)
Dear Comrade Biden:
As partial repayment for the millions we funneled to you and your family, you will sit on your hands, as our spy balloon traverses and does figure-eights over America’s military sites.
Thank you for the past repayments. More to come.
Your Banker,
Comrade Xi
“The Chinese spy balloon that flew across the U.S. was able to gather intelligence from several sensitive American military sites . . .”
“China was able to control the balloon so it could make multiple passes over some of the sites (at times flying figure-eight formations) and transmit the information it collected back to Beijing in real time . . .” (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/china-spy-balloon-collected-intelligence-us-military-bases-rcna77155)
While the Left denounces “Putin stooges,” we have a Xi stooge in the White House.
The “collegiate” pooling together of all things minority (LGBQT-IA and Blacks in particular) in order to overpower the majority goes beyond the present aggressive effort of the last few years. Indeed, its primary focus is the “education” of our vulnerable, susceptible, gullible, and impressionable youth, from pre-school story hour through college lecture (or prohibited non-lecture).
“Get the hell away from black people.”
“Black people are a hate group.”
– Dilbert
Thanks, Abe!
You can self identify but it has to be an “APPROVED SELF IDENTITY”. Insanity, mass hysteria come to mind. Are we going to have to wear various symbols across our chest or tattooed on our forehead so all the world will know who or what we are. Religious signs would be a Star of David, a cross, a crescent, mini-Buddha statue, and various others. Then gender and/or sex, XX, XY, XXX (also a restaurant),XYY, cis, trans, etc.
Then racial signs (any suggestions) and on and on. I would suggest the left side of the chest like the military ribbons but always mandatory on any and every occasion. Having your ribbons wrong would be a Crime Against Humanity. To the STOCKS!
In today’s cancel culture we forego the stocks and implement a guillotine in its stead.
Still silent on the Mackey meme verdict. A man is currently facing ten years in prison for creating a meme version of an old election joke. The greatest threat to the First Amendment is the actual criminalization of internet humor…. But let’s focus some more on navel gazing by narcissistic academics.
Should’ve stayed in the closet. What is the point of promoting details of one’s private life?
Don’t ask, don’t tell .. . always worked for me.
*one of the few things slick Willy got right.
“Don’t ask, don’t tell” was a craven policy unbefitting American armed services. Clinton was “triangulating” between two sides of the issue (as with “safe and rare” abortion). It would’ve been far more courageous had he said instead, “The record shows homosexuals have served this nation honorably in wartime so we’re going to stop discriminating and integrate our armed forces.”
But how would he know? He was a draft dodger who thought the purpose of the military was “retribution”.
Im pleased as punch they served their country honorably (I know I did), but I don’t really care if they’re homosexual or not. I won’t ask, and I’d prefer they not tell me about their sex life at all .. . unless, it’s something they just have to get off their chests.
*William J. Clinton was slicker than snot .. . and probably still ‘is’.
If you want to get ahead in this world, you can try diligence, education, and hard work. Or, if you feel that requires too much effort, you can make sure everyone knows you are pro-LGPTQ, pro-abortion, pro-BLM, pro-illegal immigration, pro-China, pro-war-in-Ukraine, pro-LSU women’s basketball, pro-non-GMO farming, pro-marijuana, anti-CO2, and anti-Israel,
DEI actually means Discrimination, Exclusion, and Intimidation
“No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?”
George Orwell. Animal Farm
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
George Orwell
Animals Farm
So we’re living the reality of Orwell’s and Miller’s allegories, and coming to our planet soon, the reality of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Ex-“Gays” are by far the most oppressed minority in America, but the most admirable contingent of the larger recovery community because same-sex attraction disorder is the most insidious of behavioral compulsions. Not only do Ex-Gays have to cope with more powerful enslaving forces within themselves than even heroin addicts, the entire population of their former friends become instant enemies using all their skills and influence to try and trigger their recidivism so that the general public never has cause to question the Goebellian “Big Lie” that homosexuality is innate and unchangeable. It’s mind-boggling that the LGBTs claim that “sexual orientation” (which is essentially a state of mind) is fixed and permanent, while simultaneously claiming that DNA-prescribed gender (which is IS fixed and permanent) is completely fluid and malleable. Talk about cognitive dissonance! I’ve done a lot of work with Ex-Gays and find those who survive that gauntlet of hate to be some of the strongest Christians I’ve ever known. https://www.scottlively.net/2017/09/05/gay-recovery-recidivism-and-grace/
It’s mind-boggling that the LGBTs claim that “sexual orientation” (which is essentially a state of mind) is fixed and permanent, while simultaneously claiming that DNA-prescribed gender (which is IS fixed and permanent) is completely fluid and malleable. Talk about cognitive dissonance!
That is such an excellent observation. Thank you Scott.
“campus activists discovered Mr. Mattson’s writings on Catholicism and same-sex
attraction.”fetishism.time to cut off all federal funding and loans of colleges
Also any non-profit, like a college, should be TAXED if they give anyone $100k+…you aren’t a non-profit if you football coach makes $10 Million or a hospital Exec makes $5 Million!
TAKE AWAY THEIR MONEY
time to cut off all federal funding and loans of colleges
Excellent. Just call it “top” and “bottom” surgery of federal funding.
So you are or are you not allowed to self identify? And what does any of it have to do with his job?
You may self-identify, but only if you self-identify the way the left says you may self-identify. Otherwise you’re one of the many “phobics” they apply to anyone who disagrees with their doctrine.
This is a silly argument. It doesn’t seem to matter how I ‘identify’. .. Hell, as they say, is other people.
*i was praying to the Lord the other night and a bunch of bare nakied ladies walked in .. . I figured it was a sign & wonders.
I wish the professor well
So much for the theory that
“Musick has Charms to sooth a savage Breast,
To soften Rocks, or bend a knotted Oak”