But that isn't all I have to say about the shooting at the University of Alabama, which apparently was a dispute over tenure. I know nothing of the merits of the case -- I am not a biologist and have never taught at that university -- but I do know:
1) it doesn't vitiate the analysis I posted yesterday re: the 2A and gun free zones;
2) tenure fights can be quite emotional -- lifetime employment is at stake after all.
Such fights usually take place behind the scenes or in a small percentage of cases in courtrooms -- we're talking about professors after all, not the Sopranos, though they have the tenure-like institution of becoming a "made guy." If it seems a bit odd that U.S. colleges and universities share a major institution with the mob, you need to check out two of my forthcoming books, Fubarnomics and Higher Education and the Common Weal. There's a lot in higher ed that simply doesn't make sense. That doesn't absolve the shooter of responsibility but rather suggests that we need to re-think our public policies. Seriously.
