Sunday, April 26, 2026

Radicalized by Higher Education

 

Is college radicalizing Americans?  This chart demonstrates that those most in favor of violence are the most educated.  That strikes me as backwards.  Shouldn't more education lead to support of less violence?

When Good Will Hunting was all the rage in the theaters, I recall being unimpressed.  Sure, Robin Williams was great, but this Will Hunting guy didn't make sense to me.  He is a genius and a prolific reader with an encyclopedic knowledge of many subjects who is nonetheless prone to violence.  He's both the smartest person in the room but dumb as a box of rocks.  Smart people avoid violence whenever possible, but not this guy.

The chart shows a clear correlation between the amount of education and the acceptability of violence to get one's way.  It is interesting how it goes down with 2 years of college but rises afterwards.  Odd.  Maybe Good Will Hunting understood something that I didn't.

Cole Allen, the would-be assassin, has a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, a master's in computer science, and clearly falls into the 40% of graduates who believe violence is necessary.

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