Teacher, teacher! Listen, I ask the questions, I don’t answer them!

One would want to have sympathy for Adrienne Pine, anthropology professor at American University in Washington, DC, who apparently offended someone by breastfeeding her daughter in her class. One would feel sympathy from just about anyone who received an email from a student reporter like the following (taken from the professor’s lengthy online account):

Oy, the false courtesy! “I hope you had an enjoyable first week of classes.” Yeah, well, I hope you had an enjoyable first week of classes too, honey. Oy, the grating officiousness! “It was brought to our attention that you breast fed your child during your “Sex, Gender and Culture” class.” Brought to our attention! That you breast fed your child!

Like the rest of us, Adrienne Pine was not expecting the Spanish Inquisition. But, unlike the rest of us, that was because Adrienne Pine was used to being the Spanish Inquisition. “I was shocked and annoyed that this would be considered newsworthy, and at the anti-woman implications inherent in the email’s tone.”

It gets worse. Heather shows up and asks all sorts of snotty PC questions, like “AU prides itself on its diversity and on having a large number of foreign students among its student body. Were you worried about what they’d think?” Seriously, girlfriend, how anti-woman can you get?

After the interview, Adrienne stews and stews, and just decides that Heather’s article shouldn’t appear. Presumably, the whole thing would be “anti-woman,” and Adrienne presumes herself to be endowed with plenary powers to prevent anything that would be anti-woman. But since the Eagle won’t give in, Adrienne instead asks that her name not be mentioned in the article, and then reveals the whole thing—her side of it, at least—in her own posting, thereby making a complete ass of herself, and making me sooooo glad that I’m not a college student these days.