Give her a taste of her own medicine, and see how she likes it.
Hogwash , honey....It is the lefty loonies that want (no demand) that all critical commentary cease!
It's pretty fun to sit around in a right wing chat room and bash people you don't know, isn't it? That's good civilized politics. Since you're all up in here assuming what I think and do, I thought I'd share my response to my conservative critics on the Horowitz incident. To be clear, I don't think public confrontation is the same thing as censorship. It's a good thing the activists at the Boston Tea Party didn't either.
Another key point: real censorship is calling the cops--which I have never done to silence anyone, and would not unless physically threatened.
Here's my response to people who've been sending me hate mail.
Greetings,
Thank you for writing. I have begun to get a lot of mail and have developed a standard answer to questions about my defense of protesters at Horowitz's speech. I think it is completely appropriate for people to talk back to me and I appreciate your engagement with me.
Some people have asked if they can visit my classes. You are welcome to visit my classes. However, unlike a public forum or other space where social movements break out, the classroom is a protected civil space where I would not heckle anyone; nor would I think it fair to students for someone to disrupt their learning. I have read Mr. Horowitz's statement on academic freedom, and find I meet all of his criteria for an ethical educator, by the way.
I had nothing to do with the various noisemakers of other activists, though I support their right to use them. No one approached the podium to threaten Mr. Horowitz. It is my recollection and understanding that noisemakers were employed only after the hosts of the meeting threated to arrest those who spoke. Also, many of Horowitz's supporters made noises--clapping and cheering, for example--interrupting the flow of his oration. I do understand and sympathize with verbal and other outburts (although again, I didn't make any of those myself) when a speaker says absurd things like "the proof that racism doesn't exist is that Oprah Winfrey, a black woman with a weight problem, makes a lot of money." Or "I can argue circles around any leftist in the room."
Some critics of our actions think rude behavior is inappropriate. Perhaps the mainstream today would find the Boston Tea Party innappropriate if it happened now. Perhaps you believe the British parliament is full of barbarians, since they interrupt speakers with "huzzahs" and "bahs" and boos and so on all the time.
He had the right to speak; we had the right to talk back. Democracy has always involved protest in the U.S. from the Boston Tea Party, through the ending of slavery, through civil rights and other progressive change. Being unruly is part of the tumble of democratic life, when it occurs in the open, in public. The classroom is not an ethical space for that kind of struggle. I would hope you would respect my students (you don't have to respect me) and save the heckling for a public lecture or rally. I am speaking at a rally on April 21 on the West Mall. That would be an appropriate place to heckle me.
I've been heckled many times. I've had death threats and other kinds of threats. I've had people asking for my job on a platter (oh, wait, that was Horowitz). I have NEVER called the police on anyone and would never have a heckler arrested in a public setting.
Horowitz has been confronted everywhere he goes because many faculty, students, and activists know what he's about, and it's not freedom of expression. He's on a tear to get rid of people like me. Think about this logically: the Right has most of the economic and political power in our country. The United States is the dominant power in the world. Horowitz argues that left academics with our cultural studies and powerpoint presentations are taking over. It doesn't make sense. Conservatives are not oppressed, even at the University. In U.T.'s government department, business school, advertising, aerospace engineering, geology, and many other departments, conservative thought outweighs the liberal or progressive. If Horowitz really wants "balance" at the University, perhaps he will encourage the business school to hire a socialist so they get both sides over there. My liberal and progressive colleagues go to pains to ensure freedom of student expression. The odd examples Horowitz cites are truly few and far between; not to mention many of his stories about professorial conduct are made up.
Thus, there must be some other motive for what Horowitz is up to. If you say something often enough, even if it is patently absurd, you can get a charge to stick. What we have in front of us is an attempt to build fear of left academics and others in order to monitor and discipline them. Eventually, given that Horowitz lumps progressive scholars and anti-war activists with terrorists, he might succeed in getting Homeland Security to pay us a visit. At that point, who would be the most powerful censor of all?
It's how McCarthyism started: the keeping of blacklists of suspicious persons in the name of freedom. When McCarthyists come for me, I'll be out there with signs and I'll use my voice.
You are certainly free to do the same. Again, for me the classroom is different. Politics is rowdy. I think you all who are used to throwing insults around instead of arguments can see that.
Sincerely,
Dana Cloud