She presented herself as a devoted teacher and mother who was obviously harmless. Then she accused me of being a McCarthyite menace. Disregarding the facts I had laid out in my talk -- that I have publicly defended the right of University of Colorado's radical professor Ward Churchill to hold reprehensible views and not be fired for them, and that I supported the leftist dean of the law school at UC Irvine when his appointment was withdrawn for political reasons -- she accused me of whipping up a "witch-hunting hysteria" that made her and her faculty comrades feel threatened.
When Ms. Cloud finished, I pointed out that organizing mobs to scream epithets at invited speakers fit the category of "McCarthyite" a lot more snugly than my support for a pluralism of views in university classrooms. I gestured toward the armed officers in the room -- the university had assigned six or seven to keep the peace -- and introduced my own bodyguard, who regularly accompanies other conservative speakers when they visit universities. In the past, I felt uncomfortable about taking protection to a college campus until a series of physical attacks at universities persuaded me that such precautions were necessary. (When I spoke at the University of Texas two years ago, Ms. Cloud and her disciples had to be removed by the police in order for the talk to proceed.)
I don't know of a single leftist speaker among the thousands who visit campuses every term who has been obstructed or attacked by conservative students, who are too decent and too tolerant to do that. The entire evening in Texas reminded me of the late Orianna Fallaci's observation that what we are facing in the post-9/11 world is not a "clash of civilizations," but a clash of civilization versus barbarism.
I concur completely with his assessments, especially about how tolerant conservatives are of liberals.
7 comments:
My assessment of these tactics is that the conservative speakers offer true opposition to some very weak arguments. That this has happened at Univ. of Texas is no surprise as it is markedly more liberal than most of the Texas population. But UT's administration continues to support those who rabble rouse and deny fair access to public forums to those that offer conservative views. This is also true of UT Arlington in the DFW area, where a professor that is a leader in the Reconquista movement frequently participates in activities that limit free speech by conservatives on college campuses. At what point do we realize that if speech is not free for some, it is not free for all? BTW, what do you think of the EPA announcement yesterday? i think it has serious economic implications. But they released it on a Friday so it would get little public attention.
Which EPA announcement? Is carbon dioxide now an official pollutant?
Yep, and while there will be no "new taxes" there will be countless surcharges, penalties and limitations which will all drive up cost of manufactured goods and services. Yep, I am sure that will help the economy.....*laughing hysterically*
Even David Horowitz is too conservative to speak at a university without triggering violent student protests? I'm not aware of him being in any way controversial, unlike Tancredo.
Won't they have to charge everyone a penalty as we all produce carbon dioxide every single day... when we breathe...
Neko: You betcha. Plus although the "no new Taxes" pledge will stick, they will pass along countless penalties, surcharges, fees and such to consumers, effectively lowering your income and mine. There's an address and email address where you can lodge complaints. Not that anyone is listening, but it would be nice if some of us filled those little email boxes with protests.
A few years ago, I drove back to my university in Indiana to hear Ann Coulter speak. The campus police promptly ejected hecklers and other disruptive students. Around the same time was the appearance of Jim Gilchrist and the Minutemen at Columbia, which got lots of press. The campus police there stood there and did nothing as the stage was rushed by student "activists."
All, or so nearly all that it makes no difference, universities are moonbat hatcheries. Not all university administrations tolerate barbaric behavior by students or faculty, however. Over the years, I was at loggerheads with my university many times, but they do at least provide security for speakers, no matter where they may fall on the political spectrum.
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