Sadomasochism at Harvard (poem) by E D Phillips on AuthorsDen

Sadomasochism at Harvard
by E D Phillips → (All Poetry by E D Phillips)
Rated "PG13" by the Author.

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Thoughts on Harvard’s recent approval of the new student BDSM Club dubbed the “Harvard College Munch” and other pain inducing activities.

Sadomasochism at Harvard Whips and chains that inflict pains Are proper in their place But on the banks of the river Charles They’re a mocking slap in the face. Where hands are tied and feet are bound And open wounds start burning When blood is dripping on the ground How can there be much learning? I won’t say Harvard has gone to the dogs Because dogs have a lot more sense But teaching and learning are painless pursuits And academic freedom is no defense. Don’t raise the right to freely speak We’ve heard all that before Untie your hands and arms and legs And get up from the filthy floor. Your pampered butts no doubt need whacking And your heads could use some learning But under the guidance of a tortured teacher Not from your own perverted yearnings. And should we hear this sad refrain “Oh beat us, flog us, make us pay” We may just come to collect the price and Let you make our day. * * * * Why this issue matters: The executive functions of the frontal lobes involve the ability to recognize future consequences resulting from current actions, to choose between good and bad actions (or better and best), override and suppress socially unacceptable responses, and determine similarities and differences between things or events. In humans, the frontal lobe reaches full maturity only after the 20s (age 30+).[i] If scientific research means anything among educated persons it includes this: Many college-aged adults are not yet able to make sound judgments in matters involving future consequences, nor are they able to choose wisely between good and bad actions. College administrators therefore have an obligation to forbid patently objectionable organizations from their campuses such as those that promote BDSM (bondage, discipline, and sado-masochism). [i]Giedd, Jay N.; Blumenthal, J; Jeffries, NO; Castellanos, FX; Liu, H; Zijdenbos, A; Paus, T; Evans, AC et al. (October 1999). "Brain Development during childhood and adolescence: a longitudinal MRI study". Nature Neuroscience 2 (10): 861–863. doi:10.1038/13158. PMID 10491603

Reviewed by Chip Bergeron

Reviewed on December 4, 2012

OH LORD!!! You Tube up a song by 1950's era MIT math prof. and comic song writer Tom Lehrer ehntitled "The Masochism Tango" It's there. This would all be funny if it wasn't so pathetic....

Chip

Reviewed by Ronald Hull

Reviewed on December 3, 2012

Within the strict confines of Harvard academe, wealth and intellect has always fostered secret societies, like Yale's Skull and Bones––now public. Some people have to try everything (like some of our founding fathers) before they can reach maturity.

I would write the same thing, but you have done it better. There comes a line between what is stimulating and what is hurtful. I believe that most of the people that join the society are only there to experiment. But for those that started it, they probably were practicing already and just needed cohorts in pain.

Ron