On the dark side look for decanal types and those who revel in being on committees.
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In The Prevalance of Deceit [xi], anthropologist F. G. Bailey alludes to the Lapps, deans, and dedicated members of committees:
#####My academic colleagues who have risen above
#####scholarship and teaching to become administrators
#####or dedicated committee members could benefit
#####from this example of Saami,* who are at least
#####straightforward about their own lack of virtue.
#####The academic arena, too, is populated by deceivers,
#####whether sporty or malicious or obsessed with
#####triviality, public-spirited gamesters enjoying their
#####politics. But very few would concede that mostly
#####it is a game (the spoils being often of little substantive
#####value); still less would they admit to enjoyment.
#####But most of them do little harm. Moreover, if my
#####argument is correct, since they are contenders for
#####power, they could not do otherwise than practice
#####deceit while being enthusiasts for truth.
W#####
What do I love about this quotation?
First, I shall steal the phrase "My academic colleagues who have risen above scholarship and teaching to become ... dedicated committee members ..." because I shall laugh at that phrase every time I write it, say it, or see it or hear it. What could be more pathetic than one dedicated to being a member of a committee in academe? Even being a dedicated member of a bowling team would be better.
Second, I love of course the caricature of deceivers who can or will admit neither their deceptions and their mendacity nor their enjoyment of deceiving and lying as they compete for next-to-nothing than getting their way.
Third, Bailey's pity is devastating but hilarious: the deans and dedicated committemen or committeewomen do little harm. Since they do little, I guess they can do little harm.
Fourth, I love the "syllogism:" Committeemen and committeewomen would have power; therefore, they must endorse truth even as they must exemplify deceit. Nyuk!
Fifth, academe is populated by deceivers? Who knew?
What's not to love about this quotation?
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#####
*F. G. Bailey quotes Myrdene Anderson on the Lapps, as we know the Saami: "Lying, bluff, secrecy, and espionage are all coordinated into their dealing with non-Saami and nonhumans and in their daily routines with other Saami, to form an instrumental and expressive drama. The challenge for Saami actors resides in orchestrating a distinctive social character in which one's reputation as a humorous, clever and sporty deceiver exceeds that as an excessive, trivial and malicious one. Moreover, individuals expect others, including herding dogs, reindeer, and ethnographers, to behave deceptively."
