Tryin' to pull myriad thoughts on this together since Spring, anyway, often wondered about :
this sort of storied relationship between UC and:
https://journalism.berkeley.edu/person/daniel-ellsberg/
At times wondered about it often here and in the subject matter detail to the point of feeling 'adrift' (when my alma mater promised it would be a helpful anchor to graduates) -
And the confusion can get even more pronounced esp if one has a nuanced view on what, historically, Ellsberg 'did'.
Because sometimes the things Ellsberg would say about his experiences of being a whistleblower etc were not at all --assuring, much less comforting...And many times its felt like the operations of the University did not give a damn about the very things he was talking about in terms of institutional governance. Yet, the University touted, plays up on the affiliation w/ him when advantageous....
Periods of wondering endlessly about 'how much' or 'how little' Ellsberg is instructive to UC Title IX complainants and also to UC whistleblowers -those of us w/ WB and IX cases prior to #MeToo...
As now so much of the caseload in #MeToo and elsewhere is called reflexively 'whistleblowing', so...
And it feels like maybe there are a few other 'cultural influence' things to note in this mix as well, like : former NYT columnist Frank Rich (that Succession finale heady buzz mostly for those who thought that program was something) who mentioned: here. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/03/frank-rich-succession-season-4
"Frank Rich Bids Farewell to Succession" | "Rich’s fleeting sabbatical meant that he had time to squeeze in a gab session while polishing off a plate of scrambled eggs and Nova. We began with his reflections on another milestone this week, the 20th anniversary of the Iraq War, which Rich covered prolifically in his past life as a New York Times op-ed columnist. “I take the long-view perspective,” he said. “I’m old enough to remember how the Vietnam War and Watergate completely incinerated the American public’s trust in governmental institutions.” Rich recalled that the first article he ever sold, fresh out of Harvard in 1971, was a 10,000-word profile of Daniel Ellsberg for Esquire. He never heard from Ellsberg after the story ran. But last month, out of the blue, he got a DM from a friend of Ellsberg’s, who told Rich that the 91-year-old Pentagon Papers whistleblower had spoken fondly of the Esquire piece in a recent conversation. Ellsberg also told this friend that he would love to hear from Rich, who was delighted to oblige, corresponding with his former profile subject for the first time in 52 years. Days later, on March 2, Ellsberg went public with news that he was suffering from terminal cancer. He shared an email on Twitter that he’d written to friends about the diagnosis, indicating he had three to six months left.“It was really like, I was so excited, I thought I might see him, and then he wrote this,” Rich said. “Anyway, I mention this in terms of my thinking about Americans’ distrust of institutions and their government. That said, what Trump has done is taken this to a new level and undermined things no one even thought of undermining, such as the actual voting system. That’s something I don’t think would have occurred to Richard Nixon or George W. Bush, quite honestly.”
But-yes, then have to remember there is 'Succession and Title IX and MeToo and Whistleblowers' in that Succession plot, (btw the end scene with Shiv and Tom in that limo is not of 'them holding hands miserable together' as so many have described it -no: its a Throne Scene - cuz, really this is not an American Dramedy -it always was a UK version of what they think that would be- mixed with a fictional portrayal / composite of that 'real family' it is based on... But, ultimately, in viewing it- it always missed something-- the raunchy exchanges between the siblings devolved into 'W.Ferrell DumbDumber-like or trying to channel Zoolander-like Stiller-type but cruder skit exchange feel to 'em - cuz it was mixed with a certain generation's British Brothers Banter trying to pass as wealthy American Bros Banter -So, a sense that dialogue missed something about how a mix of Americans like that would actually communicate... Maybe John Cusack would have been a good addition or substitute in some of that cast -or what would he have done with some of the less worthy lines in those scripts? Yep, John Cusack and Ellsberg - that's a thing, too.
Anyway, if there was a similar deli interview w/ Ellsberg back in the day-say at S--l's - (cup of chicken soup or challah french toast or bl--- ) what would be the UC Berkeley-WB questions on UC cases w/ Succession-like scenarios to ask Ellsberg about? What questions would've prompted answers that could better inform complainants and policy makers and others? As though there is some magic answer in that imagined exercise...
There are a bunch of mixed thoughts swirling given Ellsberg's announcement, developments and maybe later there'll be a longer revisit-reflection here of how 'Title IX and whistleblower in higher ed case management failures' interplay with these other types of cases. How often its to the detriment of higher ed staff who just simply want to do their job and be able to report issues as necessary and be able to move on...-since that's long been the beat here.
For instance, various details keep coming to mind- stuff over the years like this UC whistleblower case archive from UC Davis - how it was handled by UC and by the complainant and that campus etc- it included:
pg 16 here : https://acua.org/ACUA/media/ACUA_Resources/documents/ACUA_CandUJournalWinter2016_FINAL_000.pdf
..."Enraged colleagues distributed a negative petition to remove me from office. When I found out, I sought and received advice from my neighbor and friend, Daniel Ellsberg, the famous whistleblower who released the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times: “You’ll not regret what you did, but your life will be different…It’s going to get harder but don’t despair when your friends desert you. This is a future-altering event that will change your view of the world forever. Accept your new life and embrace it.”
- That UC Davis case was strange in details for many reasons and so the questions remain...
Now, in this sad news that is becoming more widely known now, Ellsberg is speaking out and its important to note it might come across as 'chilling effect' vibes in his last comments, here:
"Daniel Ellsberg Is Dying. And He Has Some Final Things to Say." - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/06/04/daniel-ellsberg-final-advice-00099639?cid=apn
includes this Q and A Ellsberg participated in with a reporter there:
..."And in the end, that is the legacy Ellsberg hopes to impart — the idea that whistleblowers are not alone. They are a team, and they need to become more effective by learning from each other....
“My biggest advice is, don’t do this unless you’re ready to accept the high risk of having your career destroyed and actually going to prison,” Ellsberg says. “Going to prison is a new one, starting under Obama, but it’s there now, very much so. Obviously, that really narrows the number of things worthy of whistleblowing considerably. I wouldn’t do it, for example, just for bribery or cost overruns. That’s not important enough to go to prison.”...
When I asked whether whistleblowing has made government or corporate America any more honest, however, Ellsberg waxes gloomier.
“That’s easy to answer: No. The short answer is no. The long answer is no. ...
Those aren’t very encouraging words, I reply.
“Despite all those odds there is a chance and that can make it worthwhile,” Ellsberg says. “When everything is at stake — I’m talking about nuclear war implicitly here but climate is the same. When we’re facing a pretty ultimate catastrophe. … From the point of view of a civilization and the survival of eight or nine billion people, when everything is at stake, can it be worth even a small chance of having a small effect? And the answer is: Of course. Of course, it can be worth that. You can even say it’s obligatory.”...
-So, as the world acknowledges or opines on his contributions and thoughts in various ways throughout these days and going forward..
And as those of us w/ affiliations to UC Berkeley have long been accustomed to being cast in 'certain light' as e.g. 'liberal' when at times we've had to experience a UC and Cal that are 'far less liberal' in its operations than the common belief.
We also already know UC will continue to spin the affiliation w/ Ellsberg in its own self-serving way... While refusing to express where UC parts company w/ Ellsberg's positions etc. We've noted : that particular 'Ellsberg affiliation with Cal' often was used as a detail to paint all of UC Berkeley in messy and inaccurate and overly broad-strokes as though casting everyone at Cal a whistleblower, so as to try to diminish the term somehow...
And UC admin, in turn, w/ the tactic of framing UC whistleblowers as though 'Ellsberg aspirants-wannabes'- even when complainants have no idea what that would refer to, or means...
Have to find the language to fully describe those effects...
Anyway...
There's a personal wish on this - the wish would be for the time to have..for Ellsberg to have spoken directly and in-depth to regular UC staff about Title IX and whistleblower cases in higher ed specifically... The handling and the clear delineation of differences or sameness b/ween 'run of the mill' campus cases and these other very weighty non-higher ed gov whistleblower cases... If he would posit that might play into policies adopted so as to be intentionally to the detriment of UC-higher ed staff whistleblowers etc. Which classes of employees would he regard as most vulnerable in such scenarios? etc- that sort of knowledge...Once again, a fantasy of solutions.
We have to find instances of the language now to fully describe these WB mixed w/ IX experiences...and Ellsberg has always been good at that WB part...
(If there is any 'WB and IX higher ed' specific analysis-content Ellsberg has generated in the past maybe folks will share it going forward. Curious that it seems missing. Another wish.)
Is it 'UC thinking' that Berkeley Law appointment of Chesa Boudin is supposed to be what fills that gap? Or, was it really just a legacy hire?:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Boudin
