The political use of language as a tool to defend the indefensible was ably expounded by Orwell in his 1946 essay. He expressed this in extreme parody in the novel 1984 in which Newspeak was the language of control by the Party, the means of expression of doublethink — War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength.
One might think it risible to suggest that such language might be heard in a university but the neoliberals march on, possibly in jackboots. Plymouth University, the place with the lame duck VC, and which has already appeared in this blog for its abuse of students, employs casual music teachers in its Performing Arts school. Recently it informed them that their hourly pay rate is to be reduced from £40 an hour to £28, a 30% cut. But it’s okay, continued the communication, more hours are to be made available so this is really a pay increase. Yes, you read that correctly: Pay Cut is Pay Rise.
Naturally the musicians have objected to this but casual staff do not have much power, other than to tell Plymouth what to do with their “Pay Rise”. Some have ensured they don’t lose out by juggling numbers of students they teach at once, but the maltreatment of staff and downright dishonesty of Plymouth is enough to make even staff at Kingston marvel. So this blog proposes to combat this new Eduspeak with a more direct sloganeering. Plymouth is Shite. Sums it up — no doublethink there. Readers are invited to send in their slogans for Kingston. Bad language is encouraged.
For Jules and his SMT chums on the appropriately named Senate “I came, I saw, I ruined”