When Columbia University acquiesced to every one of the Trump administration’s demands about school governance in an effort to have restored $400 million in federal funds, they were told kowtowing to Trump was only the first step in getting the federal money.
The Columbia University administration clearly had not learned the moral from the traditional folk tale "The Snake and the Farmer" attributed to the ancient Greek storyteller Aesop. Maybe one of the kindergarten specialists from Teachers College could have helped them.
One winter a farmer finds a poisonous snake half-frozen in the snow. Snakes are cold-blooded reptiles and cannot generate their own body heat. The snake begged the farmer to save its life. The farmer took pity on the snake and put it inside his coat to warm up. Once revived the snake bit the farmer who, on the verge of death, asked the snake, “Why did you bite me when I helped you live?” The snake replied “You knew I was a snake when you helped me and it is my nature to strike and kill.”
Columbia administrators should have realized that it is in Trump’s nature to strike and kill, to win at any cost, and never settle, especially once he perceives weakness. Once they acquiesced he was going to make new demands. Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania are now under attack by the Trump administration. The only way to stop a bully is to fight back.
Hands Off! New York City Fights Back Anti-Trump Rally
Saturday, April 5, 1 – 3pm, Bryant Park 42nd Street and 6th Avenue
