Dr. Susan Block

In the Chatroom

44 Comments

  1. Crystal Kaye
    01 · 24 · 15 @ 5:27 pm

    Dr. Susan, you possess a powerful voice along with a way with words.

    Reply

  2. DrGraceGPsyD
    01 · 13 · 13 @ 10:36 pm

    Bravo Darling. Bravo. I applaud you.
    Thank you for sharing the link with me. I hope to see you back very very soon. Love and Kisses to you and Max :)

    Dr. Grace

    Reply

  3. T.W.
    10 · 19 · 12 @ 3:51 pm

    Way to give ol’ rick an earful! I shall always consider the Y annex a great part of my Yale education

    Reply

  4. DrSuzy
    10 · 19 · 12 @ 3:54 am

    Dear Michael Madsen, Alumni Counselor to the Search Committee

    Thank you for keeping me and other alumni informed of the presidential search. As you may know, I worked closely with Eric Rubenstein, ’04 who was the main character who founded Sex Week at Yale in 2002, with the enthusiastic support of Dean Mary Miller (then Master of Saybrook), and I’ve been there every year since, except in 2012 when it was censored dramatically by the administration. You may have read about this in my Open Letter to President Levin which was linked to by the Yale Alumni Magazine and hundreds of sites around the world a few weeks ago. If not, here it is:

    http://bloggamy.com/yale-president-levin

    Of course, there are many issues to consider when choosing our alma mater’s next president. Hopefully, you’ve got more than a Binder Full of Women ;)

    Seriously, I would just like to emphasize the vital need for a president who honors Yale students’ rights to free discussion on campus and to hold peaceful, respectful, educational events like Sex Week at Yale.

    Reply

  5. David Cornell
    10 · 2 · 12 @ 12:04 pm

    A very powerful and informative letter. I am so sorry that you were treated so poorly by your alma mater. I agree with you that SWAY was scapegoated to deflect criticism from the administration’s failure to protect female students from sexual harassment. If it wasn’t for the federal government doing its job, they probably would still be ignoring the problem.

    I admire your passion for sex education and for standing up for your beliefs. I hope someday soon that Yale will realize their error, and apologize. If they ever decide to have a center for the study of human sexuality on campus, I think they should ask you to be its director.

    Reply

  6. James The Man
    09 · 20 · 12 @ 9:03 pm

    Just want to say Dr. Suzy is my fav doctor ever. She’s a great teacher of sexual fulfillment and she’s nice and she’s beautiful and she’s a truly amazing lady

    Reply

  7. Johann Lemmer
    09 · 17 · 12 @ 1:37 am

    Viva Sexual Health & Well-Being Viva
    Viva SWAY Viva
    Viva Dr Susan Block Viva
    ….and so say all of us around the world…
    us = fortunate to have more than one brain cell
    us = people who sincerely care about other people (especially the vulnerable)
    us = with years of academic experiences and loads of degrees but always a student
    us = firmly grounded in reality rather than in ideological masturbation
    us – a-political and a-religious (not unnecessarily non-political or non-religious) democratic principles and sexual rights aimed at the holistic well-being of all people all over the world.

    Reply

  8. Evan
    09 · 12 · 12 @ 7:50 pm

    Dr Suzy, I completely agree!! You always speak the truth. And you being an advocate of free speech is awesome. Mad respect.

    Reply

  9. Tasia
    09 · 12 · 12 @ 1:06 pm

    Shame on you Richard Levin, Mary Miller, Eduardo Andino, Bijan Aboutorabi, UBYC and all of the rest of you Christians, Republicans, conservatives and oppressors alike, shame on you, for banning and disrespecting Dr. Susan Block and ignorantly denunciating the fundamental necessity of the field of Dr. Block’s life’s work.

    Dr. Susan Block is so proud of her upbringing at Yale. She was there before you, and you should show some respect. Dr. Susan Block deserves a 10 story statue being erected on Yale campus of her, in all her glory, squirting a waterfall, to make up for your hurtful actions.

    As if sexuality was a minority, or a bad choice, or somehow NOT COMPLETELY NATURAL AND NECESSARY TO SUPPORT ALL LIFE!!!~ In fact, sexuality is the majority! ALL HUMANS are sexual, not to mention just about every other successful living organism in our known universe has SEX. Ooooooh! So WHAT! Everyone’s body needs to sleep, eat and fuck. There really isn’t any difference between Sex Week at Yale or Sleep Week at Yale.

    To Eduardo, and all other Christians and republicans, who want women to get impregnated by and then bear their rapists’ children you are either pure evil or heartless morons if you think that ANY RAPE VICTIM should have to bear their rapist children.

    Being a victim at the age of 14, to a violent rape and attempted murder by strangulation, by an illiterate, Mexican, immigrant, on hallucinogens, let me tell you first hand, from experience that YOU ARE FUCKING IN THE WRONG AND EVIL. The psychological trauma from rape is tremendous and irreversible. The very last thing that would be good for my, or any rape victim’s recovery, is a souvenir from the trauma in the form of a child that looks like your attacker. I would have flashbacks every time I looked in the eyes of little, Rapist Jr. And what about that poor, bastard kid’s feelings, ASSHOLES! That kid will be resented by and hated on by it’s mother. You people are so fucking twisted. UUGH!!!! This notion is so grotesque, it would be the scariest plot for a horror movie, but completely ludicrous in real life, you motherfuckers CAN NOT BE FUCKING SERIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

    Because you are a Christian, I understand that you have replaced intelligence; fact and science with make believe stories of a big, bearded guy in the sky, and according to your ancient stories designed to scare and control people before science, sex should be used for reproducing only. Well, if you could pull your head out of your priests robe for a minute and study environmental science you would learn that the earth is over-populated. The LAST thing we need is people having more kids. We are only given a certain amount of resources, as proven by the first law of thermodynamics (Science), we all have to share one pie and with the current population skyrocketing on a daily basis we are all going to be forced to lower our standard of living or nature or war will correct the carrying capacity the only way left, with lots of bloodshed. There simply isn’t enough. And if you haven’t seen the movie Idiocracy, do it. Then you might understand why we should not propagate such undesirable traits as RAPIST GENES!

    So, stop with your holier than thou bullshit. The holiest of thou, (i.e.: priests, popes, etc.) are THE WORST AND MOST PREVALENT sexual abusers ever spawned! Maybe if you had attended Sex Week at Yale, you may have learned that; When you Repress; You Pervert.

    And, hey, Eduardo, you uneducated, little, undergraduate, priest-cock sucker, I cannot even begin to try and help you understand how ass backwards and mentally challenged you sounded when you said, “I do not know if you are aware of how much damage our sexual culture causes us.” to the esteemed, experienced, educated, worldly, well rounded, emancipated, revered, Dr. Block. Um, Eduardo, she is, more than likely, THE MOST AWARE of all of the positive and the negative effects of our sexual culture, because she, unlike you, has an education specifically in that area. Yep, that’s right. She graduated from Yale. What have you done? She has two doctorates in Sexuality. Not only that. She has been providing therapy for the entire world, for over 25 years, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. She really does understand Sex. You, of course, do not. And probably have only had it with your uncle.

    Eduardo, states that Sex Week at Yale is; “offensive to anybody who believes in the dignity of the human body.” Um, once again, Eduardo, Sex is what creates the human body. The two cannot exist without each other. The sooner people like you stop trying to silence the sexual revolution the sooner you will see the error in your ways and have a shot at enjoying life on earth as a human being.

    STOP trying to make yourself and others feel bad about their sexuality!!!!

    PLEASE DO NOT HAVE SEX TO REPRODUCE!!

    Have sex for the sake of your physical and mental health and happiness. Or don’t. Who cares! Mind your own business and stop being such a bigot.

    Love, Tasia

    Reply

  10. Bill S in Mystic, CT
    09 · 11 · 12 @ 7:06 pm

    Rick Levin is a bureaucrat’s bureaucrat. He will do the wrong thing as long as it’s expedient. Keep fighting the good fight.

    Reply

  11. Ms. Lilithe Magdalene
    09 · 11 · 12 @ 7:01 pm

    LOL! I love it – “Dear Dick…”

    And the double entendres just don’t stop there! Well written, Dr. Block!

    Reply

  12. Kelsey Wright ‏
    09 · 11 · 12 @ 3:00 pm

    I am extremely faithful to Jesus, lost both my parents in the 9/11 attacks, Dr. Suzy is a crude, evil person and very offensive person. Her articles on 9/11, the victims, calling the towers dick 1 and dick 2 brings tears to my eyes, but I can’t stop reading them. I actually like her(isn’t that messed up) her words she uses are so genius and sound good reading them. She knows what she is doing. I actually am obsessed with her, I have read all her terror articles about 9/11 & God they are offensive and crude BUT I CAN’T STOP. I am very religious, yet I ADDORE and hve a fascination with Dr. Suzy. I love her to death!! Yes I think she is a crude, awful, offensive person, but goodness she can write, talk like no other. Instead of going to memorial for parents and prayer session at cemetery, I have been in house reading her articles non-stop. She is just plain intoxicating, amazing, and honestly brainwashing. Despite my opinions of her and being offended of her…I love her and cherish her articles. Bravo, Dr. Suzy, bravo indeed

    Reply

  13. Art Noble
    09 · 10 · 12 @ 6:37 am

    There are three factors at work in this discussion 1. The pleasure/procreation paradigm; 2. An ignorance of and our perception of sexual biology, and 3. The absence of love.

    The pleasure/procreation paradigm is a political construct designed to both keep us arguing and divert us from recognizing sex is also a mechanism for transmitting love. So is a smile. Erotic love is a more powerful mechanism. It is difficult to generate as much passion smiling at a crowd of people as it is in sexual congress with our beloved..

    The real study of sexual biology begins at the genetic level. It is our genes that produce the amino acids to create the proteins that make us “feel good.” But, it doesn’t stop there. There are far more responses and ancillary responses in erotic love than orgasm and childbirth. Although love is not necessary for any of these responses, neither is genital contact: even in childbirth.

    As Max pointed out above, the misogynistic treatment of erotic love throughout the history of “western” civilization, as it stretched its economic fingers around the globe, keeps us down. The purpose of misogyny is not to put women down: it is to keep men down!

    Once Eduardo, Dobson, Akin, et al, learn a little bit more about sexual biology they will see what a fantastic creatures women is and what they can do FOR men. The vulva was not called the “yoni” (the sacred place) in Sanskrit for nothing. I would further suggest for most of us, this knowledge provides an excellent rationalization for monogamy. But that would strip the false authority of both Church and State. Oh well.

    Reply

  14. Mel Fleming II, PhD
    09 · 9 · 12 @ 8:22 pm

    Absolutely on target. This type of censorship should not be tolerated.

    Reply

  15. Art Noble
    09 · 9 · 12 @ 2:11 pm

    Susan, you deserve four attagirls for your work! Ryan said “Our cultivated ignorance is devastating.” I believe it is at the root of all our social problems… Erotophobia is rampant! I can only assume as long as Levin thought he was being “PC” and avante garde, he was OK with the idea. Once the lawsuits started flowing, he quickly changed his mind, to the old mindset. I am delighted to hear your strong response to his attack. I strongly believe in sex education, from biology through love! Although I have a different perspective, dissemination of any valid information is always welcome to overcome the myths and misinformation we have lived with for centuries.

    Reply

  16. Rev Bookburn
    09 · 7 · 12 @ 10:37 pm

    Fantastic letter! It seemed the Dickster did not know where to go with his scandal. Looking for a scapegoat is so transparent and pathetic. He’ll probably bond with the Penn State guys. Hopefully, SWAY will return in full swing and resume such a valuable event. Amazing that we still have to fight these battles! Now the 2012 Republican Platform is calling for targeting adult porn! As always, thank you for defending freedom, liberating minds, and making the world a hotter place. Rev. Bookburn (Lolo Radio).

    Reply

  17. Carlo
    09 · 7 · 12 @ 3:09 pm

    Is it possible that Yale allows lobbyists like this Eduardo Andino who are on the payroll of covert political organizations acting as religious entities and have agendas that are detrimental to the health and well being of all students at Yale and around the country? Should this guy be turned over to the Yale authorities? Does Yale really allow covert operatives to act as students within Yale? It boggles my mind. These are the kind of Cracked Tea Cuppers, militia men and other paranoid malcontents that sometimes end up shooting their perceived enemies. Eduardo Andino should be put under psychiatric observation before he destroys himself and a few others along with him. That’s what I think…

    Carlo Fiorentino
    Porto Fino, Italia

    Reply

  18. Babe in Berkeley
    09 · 7 · 12 @ 1:21 pm

    Awesome, hilarious, right-on letter, Dr. S. I think this link should help in your efforts to explain the weird misogyny of the “Better” Yalies and their Republican Party mentors

    http://www.nerve.com/entertainment/the-republican-guide-to-female-anatomy

    These people aren’t just nuts, they’re dangerous, and there are a lot of them, and they may not read, but they all vote. We the People have to do what we can to stop them from boomeranging America back to the Dark Ages. We’ve got to keep Obama in the White House and bring Sex Week at Yale back to Yale!

    Reply

  19. Justin Case
    09 · 7 · 12 @ 3:51 am

    I for one am grateful for all the sex education I can get.

    Reply

  20. Kelly Binarte
    09 · 7 · 12 @ 2:38 am

    You go, Doc Block! Hit those reactionary loonies in their soft spots: their brains.

    Reply

  21. Eduardo Andino
    09 · 6 · 12 @ 7:21 pm

    Dear Dr. Block,

    In your recent Counterpunch post you made a number of assertions about the members of Undergraduates for a Better Yale College. My name is Eduardo Andino, I am one of the co-founders of UBYC and apparently one of those “zombie-like right wing fanatics” who “revere Congressman Todd Akin’s interpretation of female reproductive biology.” You have a right to your opinion, and so I take no issue with being called a zombie, or anything like that. However, I am concerned that some of your other comments are slanderous and unoccasioned. Your charge that we support Akin’s words, for example, is factually incorrect, nor is there any ground for labeling us “creationists,” which doesn’t even have anything to do with the issue at hand. Is there a reason you chose to put forward these particular assertions and epithets?

    Respectfully,
    Eduardo

    Reply

    • DrSuzy
      09 · 6 · 12 @ 7:34 pm

      Thank you for your message, Eduardo, and yes I know very well who you are. You’re the guy who’s trying to destroy Sex Week at Yale, and of course, I happen to be one of the people who helped the students start it, so I’m happy to address your points.

      Better Yale is intimately tied to Choose Life at Yale (CLAY) which supports the policies and viewpoints of Congressman Todd Akin and others against abortion for any reason except (perhaps) to save the life of the mother, as you yourself admit in this Yale Daily News profile: http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2012/feb/10/undergraduates-for-a-better-yale-a-profile/

      Since you’re trying to pick apart my prose, it’s interesting that you don’t deny that Better Yale is supported by Focus on the Family, run by Dr. James Dobson who passionately defends Congressman Akin, his “righteous” character, policies, interpretation of female reproductive biology and other far right-wing positions, as you’ll hear on this recording: http://www.afa.net/Radio/show.aspx?id=2147491263&tab=video&video=2147526044

      It is common knowledge that Focus on the Family has been a prominent supporter of intelligent design and has made a good living for Dr. Dobson (there’s big money in being a right-winger, even if most people think you’re a crackpot), publishing pro-intelligent design articles in Citizen magazine and selling intelligent design videos, including Unlocking the Mystery of Life with the Discovery Institute, hub of the intelligent design movement. It is also common knowledge that “intelligent design” is a form of “creationism,” defined as the proposition that “certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection,” promulgated by the Discovery Institute.

      I believe this answers your concerns. But I must admit, your writing is rather vague and confused, so if you have additional questions or points you’d like to make, please feel free to continue the conversation. I’d also like to invite you to be a guest on my show next Saturday night.

      ~SMB

      Reply

      • Eduardo
        09 · 6 · 12 @ 9:29 pm

        Dear Dr. Block,

        It was not my intention to turn this into a publicly displayed conversation. Nevertheless, I will not refrain from answering your concerns. I would first like to point out that I never picked apart your prose. My sole question in my email was why you found it necessary to make up information about our organization. That constitutes slander, which is unprofessional and malicious.

        Secondly, nothing said by Undergraduates for a Better Yale College or Choose Life at Yale (of which I am a member as well) has ever supported Akin’s comments. Neither UBYC nor CLAY, nor its members, have ever expressed support for Akin or his views on “legitimate rape.” That is a completely unsubstantiated assertion by you. We believe that abortion is wrong, and therefore we cannot in good conscience support it, not even in instances of rape. But that does not mean that we agree with his comments about “legitimate rape” or about the “woman’s body shutting down” or whatever it was he said a few weeks back (I assume that is what you are referring to).

        Thirdly, I imagine that UBYC is supported (morally) by Focus on the Family, because that organization supports traditional family and marriage, and such a group would sympathize with students advocating for a healthier sexual climate on our college campus. I think they interviewed us a couple of times last year. But I think you mean financial support? No, we have not received any support from them in money or supplies or otherwise. We have received funding from the Love and Fidelity Network, which may be tied with Focus in some way, but not directly from Focus. As for Dr. Dobson’s comments, I have not listened to the audio on the link you provided, but I am sure that you yourself run into situations where you agree with some statements made by some people and not with others, and that you do not need to reject a whole organization or a person for that matter, if they do not agree with you on every subject. Their overall cause can still be good, and there can be a lot of value in the other things they do and have to say. Just as an example: Dr. Dobson, according to wikipedia, is an evangelical Christian. I myself am Catholic, which means that theologically, doctrinally, and in almost every other way, I have a different Christian faith from his own. That would not prevent us, however, from being able to have a friendly and charitable conversation, or from being able to acknowledge good things about each other. But that also does not mean that UBYC, CLAY, or any of its members endorse his defense of Todd Akin. Again, a completely unsubstantiated assertion.

        Fourthly, you assert that I am trying to destroy Sex Week. Well, that may be true :) ! But I am going after something far different from what you started. Sex Week may have already been obscene and inappropriate when you started it (I was not at Yale at that time, so I cannot say), but what it was in 2010 was abhorrent and offensive to anybody who believes in the dignity of the human body and the human person. I do not have anything against you personally, because I do not doubt your good intentions. However, I am deeply concerned that so many of my classmates grow up to believe that a culture of self-indulgence provides for true happiness. I do not know if you are aware of how much damage our sexual culture causes us. If I am out to “destroy” Sex Week, then rest assured that I am not doing it as a destroyer but as somebody who still believes that love is truer than reckless hedonism.

        Finally, I would be happy to be on your show.

        Yours,
        Eduardo

        Reply

        • drsuzy
          09 · 7 · 12 @ 1:05 am

          I was trying to politely answer your concerns, but Eduardo, your dogged doublespeak is really pushing it. As a right-wing political advocate at Yale, I’m sure you’ve had training in the art of debate. But that doesn’t change the fact that you’re wrong. I haven’t “made up information.” I never wrote that you stood by Akin’s ridiculous assertion that the clever ladyparts of a victim of “legitimate rape” will automatically miscarry. Nobody believes that, not even Akin himself who immediately apologized, saying he misspoke. But you, Better Yale and CLAY do support Akin’s real contention that a woman’s body is no longer her own once impregnated and therefore she has no right to an abortion, even if she has been gang-raped. THAT is Akin’s actual interpretation of female reproductive biology, and that is what you and your groups support. I didn’t make that up.

          Now let’s talk about the meaning of the word “support.” It can be with direct cash, free positive publicity, free consultations, tuition, living expenses, dinner, drinks, opportunities and/or moral support. As you know, I didn’t say “financial support,” so don’t assume that is what I meant. I saw a Focus on the Family interview featured prominently on your site, so I supposed (correctly) that they “support” you. I imagine that for legal reasons, they can’t pay you directly. Apparently, the money, as you indicate, is funneled through the Love and Fidelity Network which has a remarkably similar philosophy and cross-promotional politics to Focus on the Family.

          As for your Christian/Catholic differences with Dr. Dobson, that’s hardly relevant. This is about the politics of denying women the right to choose what to do with our own bodies. This is about the politics of sexual repression. This is about censorship.

          Which brings me to your efforts to censor and destroy Sex Week at Yale. If you don’t wish to be seen as a “destroyer,” as you indicate towards the end of your comment, why don’t you just debate with it—or within it? As I state above, SWAY has always been a Big Tent, featuring conservative religious speakers right along with progressive ones like me. And yes, I helped to start it in 2002, and spoke at every SWAY since then—’04, ’06, ’08 and ’10—except ’12. You’re calling this sex educational program “obscene and inappropriate…abhorrent and offensive” is just, well, your opinion, and it probably has a lot to do with the fact you present yourself as a extremely conservative, devout, right-wing “holy man” who doesn’t like to “hook up.” You have a right to be that, and nobody ever required you or any other students to go to Sex Week events. Nobody is trying to destroy Saint Thomas Moore or any other on-campus chapels or your True Love events, so why should you try to destroy Sex Week at Yale?

          I don’t believe for a minute that you want to destroy Sex Week because you’re “offended” or for the sake of a “better Yale.” I believe you have mounted this campaign to promote your reactionary, repressive agenda, make some money and build a future in the right-wing religious business.

          And what’s this claptrap about “reckless hedonism”? SWAY never promoted anything like that. Where’d you make that up? I myself am an “ethical hedonist.” I’d tell you to look it up to find out what it really means but, in typical right-wing fashion, you didn’t even bother to listen to the Dobson interview, so why would you do research on my philosophy? So let me summarize: to be an ethical hedonist is to cultivate and share life’s pleasures while behaving as considerate, civilized ladies and gentlemen. It’s the Bonobo Way :)

          Finally, you really think I’ve “slandered” you? Why don’t you put the Love and Fidelity Network’s money where your mouth is and sue me? Let’s take this debate to court. After all, I can’t keep writing back and forth with you like this. My time costs too much, and the Love and Fidelity Network isn’t paying me for this.

          In the meantime, I’ll chat with you for a few minutes on my show next Saturday. Email me your phone number and we’ll hook it up ;)

          ~SMB

          Reply

          • Eduardo
            09 · 7 · 12 @ 9:17 pm

            Dear Dr. Block,

            I am not sure where in my comments you find doublespeak. The point remains that you lied to your audience about UBYC. I feel no need to sue you about it. But you should take seriously the fact that slander is not befitting of “considerate, civilized ladies and gentlemen.” Moreover, you should take seriously your responsibility to your audience to present the truth. The people who read your blog trust you, and shape their opinions based on what you tell them. If you tell them falsehoods, they are going to develop opinions against us which do not conform to who we really are. Moreover, through your inflamed rhetoric and reluctance to acknowledge any nuance or value in the views of UBYC you inspire hatred. A lot of danger comes into the world from a “they are evil and we are good” attitude. You are a Yale graduate. You are intelligent. I am not going to pretend that you do not know any better. There is, though, a lot of money to be made in being an extreme liberal, even if many will think you are a crackpot (do these words sound familiar?).

            You are right, again, to point out that we are against abortion. But to classify our opposition to abortion as Akin’s “main contention” is a slippery move. By associating the pro-life view in general with Todd Akin, you are causing your audience to associate us with his less savory comments. You never specified that you were referring to Akin’s “main contention” of opposing abortion, which is not even his “main contention.” Akin is not particularly known as a prominent pro-lifer (I myself, who am decently informed about the pro-life movement, had never even heard of him before his unsavory comments). No, your words about us were “a handful of radical right-wing students that revere Congressman Todd Akin’s interpretation of female reproductive biology.” Revere Congressman Todd Akin’s interpretation of female reproductive biology? What do you refer to there other than to his unsavory comments? No, you are implying a lot more than the fact that we oppose abortion. However, if your goal is merely to criticize our position that abortion is wrong, even in instances of rape, why don’t you accuse us of sharing the views of, let’s say, Alveda King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and prominent American pro-life activist? She is the national spokeswoman for Silent no More, a campaign to make the world aware of the fact that abortion ends a human life. She is much more well known in the pro-life movement and a much more accurate example of the nature of the pro-life movement: http://www.silentnomoreawareness.org/testimonies/alveda-king.html

            But no, your goal was not simply to call us pro-lifers, it was to completely discredit us by implying that we share Akin’s “interpretation of female reproductive biology,” an interpretation in which the woman’s body will “shut down” in the case of “legitimate rape.” Once more, a malicious and unfounded assertion.

            Since you say that you do not want to spend any more time on this thread I will close here. My original intention was not to get into a throng of other issues but to ask why you felt the need to make up information about us and misrepresent us. Even ethical hedonism demands better than that.

            Yours,
            Eduardo

            Reply

            • drsuzy
              09 · 8 · 12 @ 2:38 am

              Eduardo, as I said, I don’t have oodles of time to school you, and I’m not going to repeat myself in a dozen different ways, like you seem to relish doing. As I explain in more detail above, Better Yale (or UBYC, as you now call it) and Congressman Akin share the view that women should not be permitted control over our own reproductive biology, even when raped. The fact that Dr. Martin Luther King’s niece also shares this view doesn’t change the fact that you all do. It’s quite typical of right-wing ideologues to theatrically call such inconvenient facts and opinions “lies,” though I would think they’d teach you better at Yale. And yes, of course, I’m trying to “discredit” you and UBYC; I’m not your publicist, Eduardo. At least I’m not trying to “destroy” you, as you have sheepishly admitted is your goal with Sex Week at Yale. Think about that, Eduardo. If you weren’t trying to destroy me and SWAY, I wouldn’t bother discrediting you and UBYC. Maybe it would benefit you to rethink your goals. Choose knowledge, not ignorance :). ~SMB

              Reply

        • Maximillian Lobkowicz-Filangieri
          09 · 7 · 12 @ 1:37 am

          While my beautiful wife of 20 years, Dr. Susan Block, is in the other room writing to you, I’m at my desk laughing. I’m laughing because you’re really funny. I’m laughing–so many years of laughing–because you are not the first to tell these kinds of fairy tales. There have been greater prophets (and greater profits) then you, and they have all failed.

          These kind of stories that you right-wing cracked teapots tell are no longer believable in this new age of the cloud, an unprecedented era of information. You are faced with failure, just as religion is failing throughout the industrialized world. In France, many churches are on state aid. In Holland, the churches have been turned into nightclubs and restaurants. Here in the America, religion is declining on a day by day basis, all for the good of the people.

          Having come from a very long line of catholic families–Filangieri / Lobkowicz–that date back to the 1100’s and 1400’s, I can tell you this, the catholic church has caused tremendous damage to millions of people around the world. We here at the Block Institute work with victims of religious abuse on a daily basis. I’m not talking about physical abuse here, though that exists, of course. I’m talking about psychological abuse, lying to children, burning “heretics” at the stake and yes, perpetrating sexual repression. Dr Block gets no funding from any organization. This personal revolution is financed by her hard work, as well as the hard work of unpaid volunteers. Mostly, it comes from our hearts, for our love of people who have been so damaged by hypocrites like you and your whole propaganda machine of fear and loathing.

          I have worked hard over the years to defeat fascist views like yours, and we are winning and you should seriously think about switching sides…before you come to face mother earth for judgment ;)

          Best regards, I look forward to talking to you on the show…
          Max

          Reply

        • Mel Fleming II, PhD
          09 · 9 · 12 @ 8:30 pm

          Eduardo, you are nothing short of a narrow minded bigot, and your personal values do not reflect what this country is about. The US Supreme Court has ruled that for anything to be considered obscene it must have absolutely no value. If this event had no such value then there would have been reason to stop it. Obviously you have a bone to pick with Doctor Block, and you are using your political influence as a power wedge against her. As an ordained person of faith, I find your misuse of power offensive and obscene.

          Rev. Mel J.. Fleming II
          Riverside,CA.

          Reply

          • George H.B
            09 · 10 · 12 @ 1:30 am

            People like Eduardo are a part of a lost generation that believes in religious crusades against those they perceive as their enemies, that means destruction. People like Dr. Suzy who try to help the victims of religious indoctrination are his enemies…what’s crazy is that a man like Levin and him are on the same crusade of censorship of those they feel are some sort of inferior humans for teaching people to live better, more peaceful lives. Thank you Dr. Suzy, you’re winning.

            Reply

  22. James
    09 · 6 · 12 @ 2:14 pm

    Awesome F-U

    Reply

  23. Byron L
    09 · 6 · 12 @ 1:37 pm

    Excellent courageous piece, Susan, especially the way you tie the censorship of Sex Week at Yale in with the Yale-Singapore liaison. There is more on that in the link provided and here below. Although Shaun Tan tends to be quite conservative, he elaborates on your point that Singapore is more likely to shape Yale than vice versa:

    “There are disturbing parallels between the NYU-Abu Dhabi venture and the planned Yale-NUS College, which is set to open in fall 2013. Yale-NUS too was conceived by university presidents, negotiated surreptitiously, denied the process of a faculty vote, and then presented as a fait accompli, much to the chagrin of many students and faculty.[31] Although the deal with the Singaporean government seems to guarantee free expression on Yale-NUS’ campus, this guarantee is still subject to Singapore’s draconian laws on defamation and sedition.[32]

    Most worryingly, Yale-NUS seems to have led to increasing authoritarianism on the part of the Yale administration. Faculty members have voiced fears of appearing to oppose University Professor Richard Levin on this project, according to Victor Bers, Professor of Classics at Yale.[33]

    The administration has also displayed an eerie moral relativism on Singapore. In reference to Singapore’s restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly, Charles Bailyn, the designated Dean of Yale-NUS, said simply: “They take demonstrations in a kind of different way. What we think of as freedom, they think of as an affront to public order, and I think the two societies differ in that respect.”[34]

    When asked whether the Singapore government’s close surveillance of political blogs was antithetical to Yale’s values, President Levin declined to comment.[35] ’When debating a resolution urging the Yale-NUS College to respect civil liberties on campus, Levin opposed a clause expressing concern at Singapore’s “lack of respect for civil and political rights”, objecting that it “carried a sense of moral superiority.”[36] His sentiments were echoed by some other faculty members, who, according to Economics Department Chair Benjamin Polak, worried that such language would be “offensive” or “arrogant.”’[37] As the project comes to fruition, the Yale administration has grown increasingly reluctant to make any kind of value judgment with regard to Singapore.

    A similar attitude was expressed when Chinese Premier Hu Jintao came to speak at Yale’s Woodbridge Hall. After his speech, Hu was not subject to questions from the audience like a normal speaker at Yale. Instead, he was given two softball questions pre-selected by the Yale administration.[38] Students who wanted to protest Hu’s visit were restricted to the enclosed area of Old Campus, where they could not upset Hu and cause him to rethink his recent decision to allow Yale to be the first foreign university to trade on China’s heavily regulated stock market.”

    Reply

  24. Nori
    09 · 6 · 12 @ 9:25 am

    Sometimes its nice to watch a Dick get fucked. Kudos, on giving a sloppy tongue lashing to this deserving yale Dick, Dr. Block.

    Reply

  25. David Rossini
    09 · 6 · 12 @ 3:17 am

    Dr. Block…there should not be censorship in our institutions of learning, they are places of investigation into life and our own souls. The silencing of Sex Week at Yale is a major new case of censorship at YALE that is not making for a BETTER Yale. The other case that I recall was the Muhammad cartoons which were censored in a book ABOUT the cartoons…. and who knows what other forms of censorship exist in those hallowed halls. Carry on in the good name of YALE.
    D.R.

    Reply

    • Michael '81JD
      09 · 6 · 12 @ 5:47 pm

      Yes there are other forms of censorship at work at YALE…as in many corporations, fear of speaking out against the boss (Levin) and his harebrained scheme to create another Yale in basically a fascist country…fear of having your funds cut off like a terrorist group which Sex Week at Yale is not (though maybe Levin thinks it is), fear of not getting tenure unless one follows the party line…all of these are a part of censorship in it’s most insidious form.

      Reply

  26. Jeremy Cochran
    09 · 5 · 12 @ 8:16 pm

    The more I know about this world, the more it sickens me. Much like racism still strongly exists in the south, misogyny still exists within the university setting simply because “it’s always been like that”. Unfortunately if you want to change something in this world, you must be the one to finance that change and you must also outbid the people who would pay more to keep things the way they are. I do find it interesting that SWAY was all about education and yet the president of a university would deny the students a chance to learn everything they can. An educational institution that fears knowledge and supports primitive barbaric behavior? I was under the assumption that a university was there to provide and promote higher learning…apparently I was misinformed.

    To wrap this up, please never lose hope in yourself or the people who love and support you. Keep your head up high and your libido even higher. See you on twitter Dr Suzy, take care.

    Reply

  27. Allan E.
    09 · 5 · 12 @ 2:11 pm

    Great letter. Hope they read it. Interesting that a recent piece in Commentary makes some of the same points about Levin’s horrendous intellectual legacy that you do, especially as it is written by the very conservative Michael Rubin of the American Enterprise Institute:

    “Levin has presided over a contraction in the embrace of free speech. In 2012, the university came in fifth on a list of the top 12 university violators of free speech. Compromises inherent in Yale’s overseas branch in Singapore…Levin also presided over unprecedented editorial interference in the Yale University Press to prevent publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in an academic work about the controversial cartoons….Infantilizing students has been an even greater and more deleterious Levin legacy….Universities have become a big business. If Levin is judged just by the financial balance sheet, then perhaps he succeeded. If he is judged, however, by the inculcation of liberty, individual responsibility, and a willingness to stand up for intellectual principle, than, alas, he has failed.”

    When you on the left and Rubin on the far right can agree that the guy is a spineless censor, there must be some very significant truth there. Hopefully, the Fellows will contemplate this truth in choosing a better successor.

    Reply

  28. John Martin
    09 · 5 · 12 @ 1:37 pm

    Dear Dr. Block — I was appalled to learn about your treatment at the hands of Rick Levin, whom I always thought of as a pompous ass, of the kind who can so often rise to the top in academia.
    I hope that you will be able to pick up where you left off with future SWAY events. Such a much-needed and useful program. (From someone who could very easily have been kicked out of Yale in my senior year for the heinous crime of having a young woman overnight in my room. Only the failure of the room inspector to appear when he had announced he would saved me. That was in ’58, the Dark Ages.) — John Martin

    Reply

  29. Mitch
    09 · 5 · 12 @ 1:11 pm

    What a story! It’s got it all: great characters, sex, drama, humor, conflict, money, power, international political intrigue, a cause worth fighting for, and hope for a better, freer future. So who’s writing the screenplay?

    Mitchell P. Levin (no relation)

    Reply

  30. Michael Donnelly
    09 · 5 · 12 @ 10:11 am

    Dr. Suzy,

    Good for you for standing up to such bullying. Free Speech and actual education can’t be allowed…someone might learn something and reject the raw-power-and-greed-based prudishness used to prop up their dying hierarchy (patriarchy, some would note).

    Yale has no problem inviting war-mongers, hedge funders, Imperial factotums et al. to speak on campus. But, sex, love, peace?…can’t have that.

    Of course, they go after you and Sex Week rather than face down the REAL bad actors around the planet and right on campus. Of course, they ally with the rabid, mindless religious hypocrites…not that they really believe any of it. (just as Clint Eastwood’s highly “alternative” sex life didn’t matter at all to the morally-righteous GOP last week.)

    I say take it to them and show up next year, invitation or not. I’m sure a protest by the entire crew would get their attention.

    Best,

    Michael

    Reply

  31. Mariela Maneros
    09 · 5 · 12 @ 4:41 am

    A few years ago, I attended your presentation of Whim ‘n’ Rhythm and your opening for Jerry Zorthian who was an art student at Yale in the 1920s. Both were fantastic events. You do a lot for Yale. You letter is very funny, and very sad. I hope President Levin apologizes to you, but I won’t hold my breath.

    Reply

  32. Anabel Winsome
    09 · 5 · 12 @ 12:44 am

    I’m sorry you were banned from your own event, what a shame! So many sexual hypocrites in our society and the worst tend to rise to the top.

    Reply

  33. Christina Hart
    09 · 4 · 12 @ 10:27 pm

    You know I’m a webcam kinda girlie but it sounds to me like this guy has no respect for sex educators like us, healers that go deep into hinterlands of the world and help people escape the sexual oppression that has been the mark of religiosity, the imposition and inquisition for those of us that have different answers and different ways.

    The discrimination runs deep against those of who who practice what we teach….Thank you for your very real words….hey I guess this Dick just doesn’t understand.

    Thanks Dr. Suzy for defending all of us sex workers and educators.

    Reply

  34. Franco Bellavilla, Rome Italy
    09 · 4 · 12 @ 9:31 pm

    I’m sorry Dr. Block I’m confused….are they moving Yale to Singapore?

    I love your stuff….all of it….

    Franco

    Reply

  35. Jerry Heilman
    09 · 4 · 12 @ 9:08 pm

    Let me just say that your letter to Dick is very funny but most of all right on the mark. Mr. Levin isn’t going to change Singapore or South East Asia unless of course he would like to send some armed frat boys to occupy the islands. I’ve lived there for three years….it’s very clean, really clean. They execute more people per capita than the United States and it is by far a highly advanced form of fascism. There is no freedom of speech or protest and there is no chewing gum on the side walks.

    So I believe that Mr. Levin’s ego has gotten the best of him. He has made a horrible tactical move by associating with this repressive government. “Fools rush in, where wise men never go, and wise men never fall in love with themselves”, or something like that.

    Cheers to you Dr. Suzy for a truth well told, you have stepped up to the plate.

    Jerry

    Reply

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