Posted on 02/11/2005 11:07:21 PM PST by 82Marine89
THE QUESTION: How someone like Churchill got hired, tenured, elevated.
Should a serious research university consider hiring a fascist?
This question doesn't have an easy answer. After all, prior to World War II, Europe produced several brilliant political theorists and philosophers who could be characterized as fascists, or proto-fascists, including Joseph de Maistre, Carl Schmitt and Martin Heidegger.
Whether, post-Auschwitz, it's possible even in theory to advocate similar views in intellectually plausible ways is an interesting question. It is not, however, a question that has any relevance to the case of University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill, despite the obvious fascistic streak in his writings and public performances.
As a political inclination and an aesthetic style, fascism is marked by, among other things, the following characteristics:
The worship of violence as a purifying social force. This often manifests itself as an aggressive and romanticized militarism that produces a kind of cult of the warrior and that advocates violent action as a mechanism for social change, and an appropriate way of crushing dissent.
A hyper-nationalistic ideology that casts history into a drama featuring an inevitably violent struggle between Good and Evil and that obsesses on questions of racial and ethnic identity.
The dehumanization and scapegoating of opponents, who are characterized by turns as demonically clever conspirators plotting to undermine the possibility of a virtuous society and soulless automatons mindlessly carrying out the orders of a vast and evil bureaucracy. This dehumanization often leads to demands that the evil in our midst be eradicated "by any means necessary," up to and including the mass extermination of entire nations and peoples.
The treatment of moral responsibility as a fundamentally collective matter. The supposed virtues and sins of a nation or people are ascribed to all of its individual members, so that, for example, one speaks of "the Jew" (meaning all Jews collectively and each Jewish person individually) being responsible for the decadence of modern culture.
Anyone who reads widely in the collected works of Churchill, and especially anyone who listens to his speeches, will, if they are not blinded by certain ideological commitments, recognize the essentially fascist tendency of his work.
If a white American were to speak of any foreign people or nation in anything like the way Churchill discusses America and Americans, the fascist character of his work would be obvious to everyone.
This point is only underlined by the behavior of Churchill's supporters, who, while not actually wearing brown shirts, did a quite convincing impersonation of fascist thugs at a recent meeting at the University of Colorado.
All this was merely par for the course for Churchill, who believes that a Columbus Day parade is an incitement to genocide, and therefore something that he and his followers have a legal right to disrupt.
But while the question of whether a brilliant scholar with a fascist streak ought to be considered for a place on a university faculty retains at least some academic interest, it has nothing to do with Churchill, whose writings and speeches feature an incoherent farrago of boundless paranoia, wildly implausible theories, obscene celebrations of murder and atrocious prose.
The question of whether a serious research university ought to hire someone like Churchill is laughable on its face.
What's not so funny is the question of exactly how someone like him got hired in the first place, and then tenured and named the head of a department.
That, in the end, is a more important question than what will or ought to happen to Churchill now. Churchill is a pathetic buffoon, but the University of Colorado is far from alone in having allowed itself to toss intellectual integrity and human decency overboard in the pursuit of worthy goals.
Speaking truth to power, giving a voice to those who have been silenced, pursuing controversial and unpopular ideas in an intellectually rigorous way are things that the university in general, and this university in particular, has done and continues to do.
That through whatever combination of negligence, cowardice and complicity we have allowed Ward Churchill to besmear those ideals by invoking them in the defense of his contemptible rantings is now our burden and our shame.
Paul Campos is a law professor at the University of Colorado.
Parade this Churchill freak around as much as possible. Let people sse the true face of the left. The man is a repugnant human being and will alienate even more voters then the democrats have already.
What are the Board of Regents doing there? They don't seem to care that CU has gone from one embarassment to another. Churchill's entire department should go. The football team should be fully investigated, and the Regents should be voted out and replaced.
That is a very good question! The people who hired him should go as well. That won't happen, but it should.
You simply can't fire the guy...the law suite against the state will cost millions...and its not worth it. They should hand him admistrative projects and take him totally out of the classroom. Or give him classes with only 6 students (the scheduler can quietly indicate no more classes are open). Proessors of this type can't stand small classes, they want a audience to play out their games. 6 students simply won't work for them.
From what I also understand, the student who 'outed' him for not being a Cherokee went from an 'A' to a 'C-' overnight.
He lied on his job application. That is grounds for termination.
I saw that too. Once you are a tenured professor, you are God
over the grades and that lady will have to live with that, but
rarely has a C- been received in a more worthy cause.
Another Howard Stern wannabe looking for some face time....but it would be much better if he'd at least BATHE first!
"Speaking truth to power, giving a voice to those who have been silenced, pursuing controversial and unpopular ideas in an intellectually rigorous way are things that the university in general, and this university in particular, has done and continues to do."
Wonderful. Now name one or two outspoken conservatives on the faculty of University of Colorado, that bastion of truth, evenhandedness, and intellectual rigor.
Campos is right to point out at the end of his article that Churchill gets what he wants by making people afraid.
People should be afraid; Churchill is very dangerous.
The University is in real danger when it goes after Churchill and so are the officials.
Churchill has people called Dog Soldiers who are his security/enforcers.
They need to show these Dog Soldiers and people need to tell how they have been threatened.
What's not so funny is the question of exactly how someone like him got hired in the first place, and then tenured and named the head of a department.
Yes, and how many more Ward Churchills are employed by other universities across the country? In Ethnic Studies and Womyn's Studies and Minorities Studies departments and journalism schools and history departments and so on....
On behalf of the Board of Regents and President Hoffman, I want to thank you for taking the time to comment on Professor Ward Churchill. While the issue is difficult, we can only be served by having an open and honest dialog as we move forward together.
Let me state unequivocally that Professor Churchill's views are his own and do not represent the views of University of Colorado faculty, staff, students, administration or Regents.
As you may suspect, we have received comments from concerned local and national citizens expressing viewpoints that range from urging for his dismissal from the CU-Boulder faculty and other disciplinary measures to supporting his right to express his opinions.
At the Feb. 3 Board of Regents meeting, I announced a course of action that provides due process. Over the next few weeks, I will oversee a thorough examination of Professor Churchill's writings, speeches, tape recordings and other works. The purpose of this internal review is to determine whether Professor Churchill overstepped his bounds as a faculty member, showing cause for dismissal as outlined in the Laws of the Regents.
At the conclusion of this examination, I will determine whether to issue a notice of intent to dismiss for cause, other action as appropriate, or no action. If a notice to dismiss for cause or some other action is issued then the subsequent process will be governed by the Laws of the Regents.
Before such a decision can be made, the University must observe due process as required by the U.S. Constitution and the Laws of the Regents. The University is obligated to carefully balance the protections afforded by the First Amendment, as well as follow very specific University rules and processes for faculty discipline. Our processes will guide our actions in the most thoughtful and equitable manner.
I am hopeful that you will consider the actions already taken to deal with this matter that strikes so deeply at both our national conscience and the core tenets of any institution of higher education.
President Hoffman has stated, "The rights afforded those of us in the academic community to pursue our scholarly work come with a heavy responsibility to behave with integrity and professionalism and to meet the highest ethical standards our disciplines demand. These standards create the boundaries within which academic freedom rests."
I encourage you to visit the CU-Boulder News Center Web site at for additional information and updates on this situation.
Again, we thank you for your interest in the University of Colorado and for expressing your opinion.
Sincerely,
Philip P. DiStefano
Interim Chancellor
In other word, F*** off.
He sounds like a narcissist, at the very least. Google "Sam Vaknin". There is some very good info.
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