Nursing student story is too "cute" to be true.
Update:
Another reader on another blog made the following discovery...
Graphically:------------------------------------Original screenshot:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36800888@N02/3391775680/sizes/o/in/set-72157615921627243/
Missing pixels from 'y' and 'g':
http://i41.tinypic.com/11u7n87.jpg
Incorrect text alignment:
http://i43.tinypic.com/29xg1td.jpg
Hypothesis: the instructor's email address in the 'from' field was cut from another screenshot (hence the missing pixels), and pasted into this one (hence the wrong alignment). Classic c&p. (cut and paste)
I was a little concerned about it when I posted it. Still Salon.com has the post up on their site.
If you look at the email purported to be from the Nursing Faculty member to the aggrieved one, you see the email is a rogers.com email, not an email from the school. Anyone with a Roger's account could set up any name they want for an email address. It would seem odd that a teacher would use her home email to communicate with a student.
I have removed my story on this until I can confirm more of the facts...
The Salon post is here and the blogger that has written about it is here
As one of my readers stated...
The story about the lesbian nursing student appears to be a complete sham. There was a lot of Internet detective work going on behind the scenes by some active web users and it would appear the prof/instructor is being trashed and her reputation destroyed by a person that should be in a psychiatric hospital and not a place of higher education. ...
As I read the story published by salon.com it appeared too over-the-top to be real. It definitely had shock value. I'm very surprised salon.com ran it without doing any further research and getting official statements seeing as it's posting real names/contact info that would likely result in some pretty nasty hate-mail, etc.
6 comments:
Yeah. I read it and was outraged, sent a link to Mark at Slap, and only later, as the commenters at pharyngula started investigating, did the story become fishy.
Good & bad: good that this kind of homophobia isn't happening, but bad because these hoaxes don't help students who really are facing bigotry.
*sigh*
Thanks for posting on this ... I saw the posting over at Pharyngula and had suspicions too.
One thing the Internet has taught me is that when I come across a story that is written to spark immediate outrage, it's always a good idea to step back and maybe do a little research. I give them what I call the 24-hour test; if it still stands after 24 hours, it's probably legit. This one didn't even make it that far.
Just another bitter nutbar out for revenge.
Of course you are right Bruce! Another nut bar out there!
I think the problem is that as I read the story I instantly recognized that this "COULD" occur. There were certain things that said, "not likely" in this specific instance of claimed homophobia, but it's a sad story just the same.
My belief on the future of the world is optimistic overall. I look at past and the present and say we've come leaps and bounds from where as humans we once were with regard to our social behaviour towards others.
I continue to be shocked and have some pretty major bouts of pessimism when I read similar articles (all forms of prejudism - and not just homophobia), that aren't in any way fictitious. In my humble opinion they occur much too frequently.
As a people, all that is wrong with our world can be changed for the betterment, but at a minimum we have to show respect for one another, compassion and dignity comes first, everything else second.
Cheers!
LOL - I just read what I wrote. Sorry for the novella. I had to breathe verbally and my keyboard was the only one listening to me at the moment.
Oh my - I've just referred to my keyboard as a being something other than an inanimate, non-living organism.
There coming to take me away, he he, ha ha.
Post a Comment