Penn law professor Amy Wax makes more inflammatory comments on national TV

University of Pennsylvania law professor Amy Wax made more inflammatory comments on a national conservative talk show Friday, slamming immigrants who are critical of the United States.

“There is just a tremendous amount of resentment and shame of non-western peoples against western peoples for western peoples’ outsized achievements and contributions,” Wax told political commentator Tucker Carlson on Fox. “It’s really unbearable.”

Her comments came as Penn is amid a faculty senate review process that could lead to sanctions against the 69-year-old tenured professor who has worked at Penn for two decades. Penn declined comment on her latest remarks, and the law school reiterated that her “views do not reflect our values or practices.”

» READ MORE: Penn law dean starts process that could lead to sanctions on professor Amy Wax

Wax said on the show that Black Americans also feel resentment and shame.

“It’s this unholy brew of sentiments,” she said.

Wax criticized Asian and South Asian Indian doctors at Penn Medicine, who she said “are on the ramparts for the antiracism initiative for dump on America.” She singled out Brahmin women from India.

“Here’s the problem,” she said. “They are taught that they are better than everybody else because they are Brahmin elites and yet on some level, their country is a s—hole. ... They’ve realized that we’ve outgunned and outclassed them in every way. ... They feel anger. They feel envy. They feel shame. ... It creates ingratitude of the most monstrous kind.”

Her comments drew swift criticism.

» READ MORE: Penn law professor Amy Wax enraged people with her comments about Asians. Now, she may face sanction.

“It’s just kind of sad when you have someone so dumb on the faculty of one of the best law schools in the country,” said Neil Makhija, a Penn Law lecturer who also serves as executive director of Indian American Impact, a national South Asian civic and political organization.

But he said Wax was right about one thing — Indian Americans do care about racial equity.

“There are historical inequities that America living up to its best ideals needs to work on, and the fact that our community recognizes that is something I’m very much proud of,” he said.

It’s unclear how much longer the faculty review process — initiated by law school dean Ted Ruger in January — will take. Spelled out in Penn’s faculty handbook, the process covers the issuing of minor sanctions such as a letter of reprimand, or convening a faculty hearing board to review charges for major sanctions such as suspension or termination of employment.

» READ MORE: Black women now lead three of Penn’s prestigious law journals. They talk about what other change they’d like to see.

Wax has been enraging people for years with her comments. She has called into question the academic ability of Black students, and in December said the country would be better off with fewer Asians and less Asian immigration. Penn has condemned her statements in the past, and in 2018 removed her from teaching mandatory courses but has cited academic freedom in declining to fire her.

In starting the review process, Ruger said in January that her “racist speech is escalating in intensity and in its harmful nature” and that her comments’ effect on the university community have been cumulative.

Some have encouraged Penn not to sanction Wax, a lawyer and neurologist educated at Harvard, Yale, and Columbia Universities.

“Regardless of what one thinks about Professor Wax’s personal political views, the only appropriate action that the University of Pennsylvania should take in this situation is to publicly reaffirm the free speech rights of the members of its faculty,” Keith Whittington, chair of the Academic Freedom Alliance’s academic committee said in January.