Uh oh … what’s he done now?
We’re used to seeing President Trump being dragged for everything he says and does, but it was a bit of a surprise to find out that he was in hot water with an assistant professor of classics at the University of Iowa for calling Ancient Greece the birthplace of democracy and Western Civilization.
Trump made the “controversial remarks” in the East Room of the White House on March 22 at the White House’s official Greek Independence Day celebration, triggering Professor Sarah Bond.
https://twitter.com/SarahEBond/status/977893595490504704
Her tweet slowly caught on, and a lot of people aren’t seeing the problem, particularly as the president was speaking at an event celebrating Greek independence and Greece’s influence on America’s politics, philosophy, architecture, and more.
https://twitter.com/notwokieleaks/status/978641204932939778
https://twitter.com/notwokieleaks/status/978642938040340480
Yep. Let's avoid saying nice things about someone at their birthday party unless we do the same for every other person in the family. https://t.co/JEYohBtm1g
— COLLECT ROCKS, PLANT FLAG (@deanriehm) March 27, 2018
From the department of You Can't Praise Anybody If You Won't Praise Everybody: https://t.co/JEhSUVKCEo
— The Don Lachlan (@brightlancer) March 27, 2018
You're absolutely right. Trump should have just said that the Greeks's contributions aren't worth dick compared to others on their independence day. https://t.co/PXqWcFKtJD
— I Don't Sniff Bath Salts, I Sniff Bath Bombs (@DryChrisVII) March 27, 2018
Come on. He was at event about Greece and said something nice about Greece.
I mean OK the nuances and contradictions of civilizational development are incalculable & "civilization" itself is a reifying construct always already embedded in formations of power & etc.
But come on. https://t.co/Pb0rFU1ijk
— Omri Ceren (@omriceren) March 27, 2018
The absolute state of Classics right now https://t.co/2SIWnLBdrH
— Sebastian Milbank ? (@JSMilbank) March 27, 2018
That Greece is the birthplace of Western Civilization is now contested?! What the hell is wrong with these people? https://t.co/hF6PtnOcbE
— Firas Modad (@FirasModad) March 27, 2018
Trump is right. These people are stretching.
When people talk about the birth of Western Civilization they generally mean the post-Socratics. https://t.co/OppV3iZzg3
— David Betz (@DFBetz) March 25, 2018
Who could possibly forget the great Mesopotamian Republic, or the Egyptian Senate? https://t.co/QIKAECkOK7
— Rancor Keeper (@Mama_kili) March 27, 2018
Those places aren't part of the west and in fact are highly easternized philosophies in terms of culture, religion, and human development. No one said those places didn't contribute to the world, just not as much to Western Civ as they did to overall human advancement. https://t.co/BzsqaBTzbh
— The Ghost Who Walks (@patr_brown) March 27, 2018
https://twitter.com/CryptykAlt/status/978647836727357446
It's an accurate tweet — all cultures are result of imagination & post hoc curation. Sadly, as with most leftist contributions to academia, these insights are rarely applied to non-western cultures, which, instead are lauded as "authentic". https://t.co/vRtLYSJrEQ
— Byzantine Ambassador (@byzantinepower) March 27, 2018
https://twitter.com/formerleft/status/978336159117053953
Of course it's true that the Greek achievement didn't happen in isolation, and western civilization developed in a multicultural setting, but to describe Greece as "the birthplace of Western Civilization" is perfectly sensible and meaningful. A bit precious to pretend otherwise https://t.co/rOdrezSSDQ
— JerryS01 (@JerryS01) March 26, 2018
These days leftist academics call that cultural appropriation. https://t.co/GFo64tShxV
— Rev. Ducati? (@Reverend_Ducati) March 27, 2018
Even by lauding Greek civilization at a celebration of Greek independence, Trump managed to trigger academics:
https://twitter.com/Ysrith/status/977988971295846401
Every Classical bone in my body weeps when this idiot opens his mouth https://t.co/la8UgyB3F5
— SEKHMETSUNLIONESS (@Paleopath9) March 25, 2018
Sorry?
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