Taking responsibility, not blame

In his Sunday polemic attacking Linda Katehi, Nathan Brown makes much of the fact that Katehi has accepted responsibility for Nov. 18′s brutal suppression of a peaceful student protest. Brown argues that taking responsibility should mean that Katehi resign.

Professor Brown would do well to consider the difference between taking responsibility and taking blame. I understand Katehi’s saying that she takes responsibility to mean that she understands that UCD’s institutional actions were unacceptable, will work to make sure it doesn’t happen again, and will engage the community to make progress on the grievances behind the protest.

I do not take it to mean that she personally accepts full personal blame for the incident. Indeed, for her to accept personal blame might mean covering up failings of policy and decisions made by others.

Many of us are encouraged and excited by the UCD student movement, and the Occupy movement in general, because it means that students and citizens are taking responsibility for the future of the university and our society. That doesn’t mean they’re taking blame for selfish management of the economy. Nor will taking responsibility for good social change allow individuals to avoid the blame for mistakes that they might make in the course of protest.

I’d like to challenge Professor Brown to take more responsibility for the implications of his rhetoric. That means things both small and big. It means that if he wishes to remind us that the Davis Faculty Association board has called for Katehi’s resignation, he should take responsibility for also telling us that the DFA membership was polled and did not support the board’s call.

It means that if he calls for the chancellor’s resignation, he should tell us why he thinks that the next chancellor, appointed by the same Board of Regents and working with the same fiscal limitations, will be likely to do better. Without that key part of the argument, I fear that if Katehi leaves, it will be because she’s lost the confidence of the 1 percent, not the 99 percent.

Steve McMahon

Davis

Short URL: http://www.davisenterprise.com/?p=117885

Posted by Letters to the Editor on Dec 20 2011.
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