250y Later: "Give Me Play-Doh"

WASHINGTON - March 24, 2025 - PRLog -- Sunday was the 250th anniversary of the very famous "Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death" speech by lawyer Patrick Henry

Today he would be shocked that law students have replaced that brave rallying cry with "Give Me Ploy-Doe to Help Me Cope with Minor Disappointments," says public interest law professor John Banzhaf, who has documented how law schools are increasingly turning out wimpy lawyers incapable of defending fundamental rights.

This increasing wussification of students came to a head when Donald Trump's win in 2016 upset many students so badly that they claimed they could no longer function.

Many universities, and even law schools, treated their apoplectic and disappointed students like little children by providing them with everything from on-campus grief counselors and psychologists to crying rooms filled with bean-bag chairs, Play-Doh, Lagos, cookies, and soap bubbles to help them cope.

The result was a wussification of many students.

It helped lead to many of today's "woke" accommodations, trigger warnings, bans on books and even on certain words, the whole cancellation culture, demands for protection against not only misinformation but also disinformation, and more.

It was especially serious at law schools where graduate students are supposed to be able to deal with real and serious trauma, wrote Banzhaf, who reported on the campus impact on law students of Trump's win in 2016.
Trump's Win Helping Prove Law Schools Are Wussifying Students to Become Wimpy Lawyers (https://lawandcrime.com/opinion/trumps-win-helping-prove-...)
Universities Creating Generation of 'Wuss' Lawyers, Says Professor (https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/universities-cr...)

What happened in 2016 - and it has gotten much worse since then - is just further evidence that law schools are raising a generation of wuss lawyers, unable to stand up to tough judges and often underhanded opposing counsel in order to protect the freedom, the financial welfare, and sometimes even the very lives of their clients.

What would attorney Patrick Henry, who famously said "Give me liberty, or give me death!"), say if he heard law students now saying "Give me Play-Doe so I can cope!"

In other situations, courses have been dumbed down and/or had vital topics which might be upsetting removed.

From our colonial beginnings we have counted on brave lawyers to protect fundamental rights and to fight against abuses.  Some claim we need them now more than even before.

But when even major law firms cower in fear and surrender, and law professors encourage their students to demand protection and comforting from hearing words like "violated" or learning about the law of rape, we have betrayed this vital heritage, argues Professor Banzhaf.

http://banzhaf.net/   jbanzhaf3ATgmail.com   @profbanzhaf