Cambridge University has defended one of its academics after she tweeted “white lives don’t matter,” despite the institution previously dismissing another academic who made far less controversial statements.
This controversy began when Dr Priyamvada Gopal, English academic and Churchill fellow, tweeted, “abolish whiteness” and “I’ll say it again. White Lives Don’t matter.”
Cambridge University swiftly issued a statement defending Gopal’s racist remark.
“The University defends the right of its academics to express their own lawful opinions which others might find controversial and deplores in the strongest terms abuse and personal attacks. These attacks are totally unacceptable and must cease,” said the statement.
Media reporting on the incident has centred around alleged “abuse” Gopal has received off the back of a petition being launched to get her fired. Apparently, the backlash to Gopal’s remark is more contentious than the racist nature of the remark itself. Highlighting Cambridge University’s hypocrisy, the same institution previously investigated and dismissed sociologist and intelligence researcher Noah Carl after 500 academics signed a letter challenging Carl’s research on race and intelligence.
This is not the first time that Gopal has shown her obnoxious racist views. She previously caused offence when she treated the Porters at King's College as if they were in a lower Caste than her. When they refused to change their centuries old tradition of calling female staff member 'Madam' and address her as 'Doctor' she launched into a demented tirade of racist abuse accusing the porters of “consistently racist aggression and profiling”, Gopal went on to refer to the Porters as "All white, all male" as if somehow this is relevant or a crime. Finally, after weeks of her tantrums the Porters at King's college went on strike. A subsequent investigation be the university found no evidence of wrong doing by any staff.
Gopal, is a Fellow specialising in 'postcolonial literature', which is probably all you need to know.