My professor told me to ignore the protestors, that they'd just be loud and move on

This was last semester during that big speaker event at our school. My poli sci professor, Dr. Evans, said the protestors blocking the doors were just for show and to walk right past them. I tried it, and it turned into a huge shouting match, security got called, and I missed the first half of the talk. He was totally wrong. It wasn't just noise; it was a planned disruption that actually worked. Has anyone else had campus staff give advice that completely misread a protest situation?

3 comments

3 Comments

smith.nancy2d ago

Reminds me of people who tell you to just ignore a barking dog. Works great until the dog is actually guarding something and decides to bite. I see it all the time with building complaints, where management says a tenant's issue is no big deal until a pipe bursts or the elevator stops for a week. Some people in charge just default to calling things a nuisance instead of looking at what's actually happening.

shane_clark2d ago

Tbh @smith.nancy that dog thing is such a perfect way to put it. My old landlord was exactly like that, always saying my heater making that banging noise was just old pipes. Took it totally breaking in January for them to finally send someone, and we had to stay in a hotel for two nights. They just hope you'll get tired of asking and let it go. Makes you wonder how many small problems turn into huge, expensive ones because nobody wants to listen.

hayes.casey2d ago

My last apartment had a slow drip under the kitchen sink for months. The super kept saying it was condensation. Ended up with a huge mold patch and a collapsed cabinet. Sometimes the small stuff is a real warning sign.