As One Who Stood Against Horowitz--Outside Group Stifles Horowitz Speech

As One Who Stood Against Horowitz

As a current Emory student who stood with my back turned during Horowitz's speech, I would like to respond to those who have called my actions 'disgraceful.' I made the choice to stand silently while he spoke; however, I do not condemn those who yelled out. While Horowitz claims he is willing to engage in free and open debate with those who disagree with his views, we arrived to the event Wednesday night to a few stacks of index cards with instructions to write our questions down. I believe that it was this situation that led many to shout out, feeling their voices would not be heard otherwise. Along these lines, I would point out that when disrupted by the audience Horowitz chose to actively agitate the crowd. Had he responded that he would be willing to engage in debate after the speech, there would have been a much better chance that the disruption would have calmed. Instead, he resorted to name-calling.

Leaving the building, a member of the Emory College Republicans told me that Horowitz's security detail made the decision to end the speech. Later, they wrote on his website that he had to leave under 'tight security.' Anyone in attendance knows that there was no time in which Horowitz was in any type of physical danger. At this point, as much as I hate toâ€¦and I really hate to, I have to give a bit of credit to Ann Coulter. Another speaker for "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week," she has encountered just as much, if not more, disruption at her events and she has yet to flee the stage.

Let me be clear: Horowitz chose to end this event. He was never under any physical threat and although there were many disruptions by people shouting out, it quickly quieted down each time. Crying on his blog that the 'fascists' broke up the event, he chose to run away rather than face a determined opposition. When did protest become a fascist activity?! Later in his blog entry just after the event Horowitz writes, "As I have said many times, there should be zero tolerance for disrupters at campus events, and that means a sufficient police presence to eject the barbarians when they enter the gates." This is the Horowitz brand of "academic freedom," pre-emptive police action against protestors. Is that what you want for our campus? It has been said that this is an embarrassing event for Emory. Apathy and complicity are embarrassing. I believe that it is much more dangerous letting hate and half truths go unchallenged. You can disagree with me on that, but let's realize the opportunity we have to debate. This can be a positive event if it sparks real dialogue and forces people to engage with issues of race, discrimination, and freedom.

During the confusion after Horowitz initially left the stage a man sitting beside me asked, "Who raised you people?" Two people who voted for Bush in the last election raised me. Two Christians raised me. Two well educated and well respected individuals raised me. Most importantly, my parents raised me to stand up when I see hate and wrong in the world. They raised me to protest injustice. So I stood. Call me a fascist; call me a barbarian; arrest me. I will continue to stand.

Report on David Horowitz Speaking Event at Emory University October 24th

David Horowitz stopped his own speech mid-way through his event at Emory University, and in typical fashion is claiming to be the victim of the â€œfascist left.â€ The headline on IncorrectU.com is already screaming "Leftists Force Horowitz from Stage "Shut Down Free Speech at Emory!!!" Let's be honest: he walked off the stage himself and decided not to return, due to the overwhelming opposition being expressed in the auditorium.

Tuesday's edition of the Emory Wheel published a half-page ad announcing Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week and inviting the public to attend David Horowitz's speech Wednesday night. In a previous edition of the Wheel, College Republicans stated that they hadn't invited Horowitz to speak at Emory, but he had actually invited himself.

When people arrived at the auditorium, there were flyers and orange armbands being passed out, but many people had already gotten flyers earlier in the week on campus and were already wearing orange. Some people also wore green based on the Facebook campaign to show solidarity with Muslims that day. The College Republicans had a table at the entrance and were informing people that if they wanted to ask questions, they were to write them down on index cards and turn them in - that people would not be allowed to directly pose questions after the speech.

The lecture hall was filled with at least 200 people, about 80% of whom were in opposition to Horowitz. Most were wearing orange armbands, creating a visible presence of opposition in the room. A member of Veterans for Peace had 2 large posters with pictures of Iraqi children killed by the U.S. war and occupation. A couple of other people had posters, one saying "Dissent Free Zone, Brought to You by David Horowitz," and another with pictures from Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo with the caption, "Islamo-Fascism??" The crowd was a mix of mostly undergraduate and graduate students from Emory with some from other colleges, faculty, political activists, Black Muslims from a local Mosque, and the general public. There was a large presence of Muslim students.

When Horowitz came onto the stage, he was met with a combination of applause and loud booing. As he started his speech, several people sequentially stood up and turned their backs to the speaker. Signs pinned on their backs had the international no symbol over the words IFAW. As he continued his speech, different people in the audience interjected questions and corrections. More people stood up and turned their backs, and this emboldened others in the audience to continue to challenge Horowitz as he spoke. Horowitz was visibly taken aback by the opposition and stopped his speech several times, having difficulty getting back on track. His retorts to the audience consisted of childish name calling, disparaging the IQ of the audience. Some people in the crowd vocally opposed the disruptions and called for silence.

This went on for about 20 minutes, at which point there were about 25 people standing with their backs turned. The campus security then stopped the program and announced that if people didnâ€™t sit down or move to the back of the auditorium, they would be escorted out. At that point, one person shouted â€œEveryone stand up â€“ they canâ€™t haul us all out!â€ Others echoed the same sentiment, and several people said, "Don't Taser Me, Bro." About 20 or 30 more people stood up and turned their backs. This created a lot of turmoil and heated discussion throughout the room. During this period, Horowitz walked off the stage. A chant broke out, "Racist, Sexist, Anti-Gay, David Horowitz Go Away." After a few minutes, a College Republican came on stage and announced that David Horowitz decided that he would not continue his speech, and they ended the event.

Horowitz could have continued despite the vocal opposition, as other speakers on the IFAW tour apparently have done this week under similar circumstances. It was clear that the majority of the audience was determined to continue interacting with him throughout his speech, since there was not going to be an open question and answer period at the end.

Many small group debates broke out at that point, with the main question being whether it was good or bad that people weren't able to hear Horowitz's entire speech. People with a deep understanding of who Horowitz is and his agenda of playing the victim while organizing attacks on dissent and critical thinking on campuses, creating a pogromist atmosphere against Muslims, and preparing the groundwork for war on Iran, argued that it was crucial to expose his lies and demand that he answer to what the United States is doing to people here and around the world. Others, while opposed to Horowitz's position, argued that they still had wanted to hear what he had to say in person, and were very upset that they were prevented from doing so. Some thought that his right to free speech had been violated, and that this would taint Emory's reputation. Others were overjoyed and inspired by the strength of the opposition.

In one group discussion, someone summed up that â€œI think what happened was fine, because if Horowitz continued his speech he would have told more lies, selectively chosen the questions to answer, and then instead of this controversy, people would have been outside in the hallway complaining about the fact that their voices weren't heard.'

David Horowitz's immediate blog on Frontpagemag.com concluded, "Universities like Emory are paying the price of not taking care of the important task of establishing a campus decorum appropriate to civilized discussion. As I have said many times, there should be zero tolerance for disrupters at campus events, and that means a sufficient police presence to eject the barbarians when they enter the gates."

Just as with everything David Horowitz puts out, this statement must be critically dissected. There are 3 things to say about this:

1. The required â€œcampus decorum for civilized discussion,â€ in the world according to Horowitz, includes free reign for his claims that Blacks owe a debt to white America for slavery and that the Muslim Student Association is a front for Islamo-Fascist Jihad; Ann Coulter's statements that in the 'œwar on terror' we should 'invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity;" and Rick Santorum's calls to eliminate birth control and keep women out of the workforce. And of course, "civilized discussion" cannot include critiques of the official history of this country and its current role in the world, or Israel's treatment of the Palestinians, as expressed by Ward Churchill and Norm Finkelstein or any of the other "dangerous" professors targeted for removal from their universities.
2. The policy of â€œzero tolerance for disrupters,â€ in the world according to Horowitz, does not extend to College Republicans who answer his call to sit in at Women's Studies departments during IFAW.
3. "Sufficient police presence to eject the barbarians when they enter the gates" amounts to nothing less than a call for pre-emptive police powers to clamp down on any potential dissent.

Copy of a letter i sent to the emory wheel editors. for your information.
I read your article covering the David Horowitz speaking event with both interest and dismay. The article left out some key facts about the event and "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week" in general. Why the headlines about "outsiders shutting it down" when the organizers admitted that many Emory students were clearly involved? Additionally, the advertisement Horowitz's crew put in the Emory Wheel promoting this event stated that it was a public event being hosted on campus.

The audience was not going to be allowed to field open questions (as was made clear by the 3x5 index cards outside the event that people were asked to write their questions on) and if the speech had not been disrupted, what this guy had to say would have been recorded as having occurred largely unopposed. The Emory Wheel refused to print a paid ad from a leftist group criticizing Bush\'s threats of war on Iran shortly before the speech (even though Horowitz has advertised in the Wheel both this week and in the past). Certainly not an atmosphere of free debate, still less a \"leftist dictatorship on campus\" as Horowitz might spin it.

The pinnacle of hypocrisy, however, is the fact that the "Student's Guide to Hosting Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week" itself calls for "sit-ins in Women's Studies Departments and campus Women\'s Centers to protest their silence about the oppression of women in Islam" ( http://media0.terrorismawareness.org/files/Islamo-Fascmism-Awareness-Week-Guide.html [sic]). I've heard that at Emory, the Women\'s Studies department sent emails around warning instructors about disruptions in their classes this week. In his summation of Wednesday night's event, Horowitz wrote on his website, "[T]here should be zero tolerance for disrupters at campus events" ( Frontpagemag.com).

It sounds like Horowitz got a taste of his own medicine - and didn''t like it.

-Jay Pasinelli, "Outsider"
Revolutionary Communist Youth Brigade, Atlanta

Organizing at Emory

Visit their Facebook page.

David Horowitz will be speaking as a part of this week at Emory University on October 24th. He is being brought to Emory by the College Republicans.
Based off of the original call some plans have been made to reach out to people at Emory University to raise awareness about the fascist offensive initiated by Horowitz. Come out to support and help spread the word on this campus, and if you go to another school you can also bring materials back and organize your classmates to come out and make our presence known at the Horowitz event on the 24th.

WEAR ORANGE, the color of torture victims in Guantanamo Bay and turn it into a color of MASS OPPOSITION!

Monday, October 15: Asbury Circle on Emory Campus @ 1pm, help take out flyers and ORANGE!!!

Tuesday, October 16: "State of Race" @ Emory at Glenn Memorial @ 7pm

Tuesday, October 16: Sonya Sanchez @ Woodruff Library 6pm

Wed., October 17: Jena 6 Townhall @ White Hall at 6:30 pm

Saturday, October 20: Meet up to finalize plans for Horowitz's appearance at Emory. 1pm @ Inman Perk Coffee (Across from Emory) 1593 N. Decatur Road, Atlanta, GA 30307

Former thread: Leftist Brown Shirts Shut Down Horowitz Speech at Emory

The organization: National Project to Defend Dissent & Critical Thinking in Academia--

Coverage from Emory

=======================

Outside Group Stifles Horowitz Speech

http://www.theemorywheel.com/detail.php?n=24510

By Salvador Rizzo Posted: 10/25/2007

Brett Weinstein/Asst. Photography Editor

Two protestors turn their back conservative speaker David Horowitz.

Conservative commentator David Horowitz was forced to cut short his speech on “Islamo-Fascism” in the face of repeated interruptions, heckling and catcalls from some audience members in a packed lecture room in White Hall on Wednesday.

The event played out like a tug-of-war between two groups: protestors who shouted questions or anti-conservative taglines after every few sentences Horowitz spoke and another faction in the audience who became increasingly vocal about their desire to hear him speak uninterrupted.

When the disruptions peaked about 20 minutes into Horowitz’s speech, Senior Vice Provost for Community and Diversity Ozzie Harris stood up at the back of the room and cautioned protesters to sit or risk being forcibly removed. Immediately, one man shouted: “Everyone stand up! They can’t take all of us!”

Horowitz and his bodyguard left the stage at this point and waited in a room adjacent to the lecture hall. Meanwhile, more and more dissenters stood and began chanting: “Racist, sexist, anti-gay. David Horowitz, go away!”

No attendants were forcibly removed, since Horowitz decided to stop his speech and depart altogether after a few minutes of conferring with Harris, his hosts the College Republicans and Senior Vice President for Campus Life John Ford. Many students and administrators — on all sides of the political spectrum — expressed their dismay that Horowitz could not finish his speech.

“They didn’t win, though,” College Republicans Chairman Ben Clark said of the protesters. “I don’t see how this is supportive of critical thinking, even for the most liberal.”

Making his Case

Horowitz himself at first seemed fazed but not deterred by the interruptions. As he paced the stage, he heard and ignored their complaints about his more conservative political stances or other, general complaints about the Iraq War, then moved along with his speech. But when the accusations became more frequent, he began engaging and challenging the dissenters.

“You don’t impress me with your great moral purity,” he said to them. “Please don’t shout your ignorance at me.”

Horowitz prefaced his speech by saying, “Anyone here to hear a diatribe or attacks about Muslims is in the wrong place.”

Then he explained the reasoning behind the term “Islamo-Fascism” by noting that fascism “enforces its principles onto every aspect of human life” and that many Muslim women, for instance, face such regulation. As an example, he cited 130 million Muslim women who have undergone genital mutilation to disable sexual pleasure.

Amid the ongoing catcalls from one group and the shushings from the other, Horowitz stressed the need for open intellectual debate and distinguished moderate Muslims from extremists.

“[Students] should be able to handle criticism, and you should be able to fight back,” he said, to applause. “Every Muslim in the world has a stake in stopping Al Qaeda and Hizbollah. If they are successful, there will be no need for this discussion.”

The Fallout

Most of the vocal protesters at the event were not affiliated with the University, according to the College Republicans, the Muslim Students Association, University administrators and some professors at the event. During the short-lived speech, a handful of them stood, their backs to Horowitz, sporting orange ribbons and signs taped on their backs to show opposition. When Horowitz first took the stage, they greeted him with the Nazi salute.

Clark said that he recognized some of these protesters as Emory students, and said problems would have probably still arisen if the event had been closed off from the public. But Clark could not identify any protesting students by name.

“I really liked that people were able to stop this fascist rally from going down tonight,” said Jay Pasinelli, a dissenter who is not affiliated with the University. “We cannot be a docile audience after what we read on his web page. He ran away like a coward.”

Justin, a student from Georgia State who declined to give his full name because he said he feared public retaliation from Horowitz, said the pre-scripted question-and-answer format frustrated some of the attendants who hoped to engage Horowitz after his speech. Failing that, he said they resorted to interrupting.

“People wanted to come here and say something to this guy,” he said. “[He’s] here to create an atmosphere where Muslim students are targeted.”

But Muslim Students Association President Sarah Zaim, speaking on behalf of the MSA, disagreed with the confrontational tactics that suffocated Horowitz’s speech.

“It’s such a shame,” Zaim said. “This is an academic environment. We’re supposed to listen, especially if we disagree.”

Zaim said none of the MSA members attending the event stood or voiced protest. They did submit questions before the lecture, she said, about why Horowitz has not been more vocal in supporting moderate Muslims and why he chose the word ‘fascism’ to define something as expansive as a religion.

While Horowitz waited in the adjoining room after Vice Provost Harris’ call to order, Zaim considered addressing the audience as MSA president to ask that they let Horowitz finish his speech. Afterward, she bumped into Horowitz at Starbucks and told him she regretted how the event transpired.

“That was a very generous thing to do,” Horowitz said. “It made me very interested in what she thinks.”

Views on Free Speech

Imam Nadim Ali and other members of Atlanta’s Muslim community gathered after the event for an impromptu discussion in White Hall’s lobby.

Ali, of the West End Masjid Community, accused Horowitz of promoting a “dyslexic view of history” when he approaches Islam.

“[But] I was silent,” he said. “He does have a right to be ignorant.”

Ali said all faiths have historically had problems with women’s issues and war, two reasons Horowitz gives in justification of the term “Islamo-Fascism.”

He said the vocal protesters probably saw Horowitz as “a figurehead for the right-wing leadership” running the country and aimed their criticism during the event accordingly. He said people weren't wrong to speak up during the speech.

“There was free discourse on both sides,” Ali said. “[Horowitz] could have ignored them, but he chose to engage people.”

It was not an opinion shared by other attendees, such as Emory English professor Mark Bauerlein, who decried what he saw as a suppression of an Emory event by outsiders. An event, he said, that could have prompted a valuable educational opportunity for students.

“This is a poor day for academic debate,” he said. “This is not simply something against David Horowitz, it’s something against Emory University.”

University President James W. Wagner did not attend the speech but said the outcome would have been different had it been limited to Emory students and faculty.

"I'm confident that our Emory community would have expressed its support or disdain in a method more consistent with academic discourse," he said. "It is a sad reminder that the sort of ideals that we hold as community at Emory are not universally appreciated and practiced."

Vice Provost Harris and Vice President Ford, the most senior administrators at the event, declined to comment.

Horowitz also said he thought the event had been overtaken by a group of outsiders he later identified on his blog as the United for Peace and Justice.

“All they wanted to do is say their slogan,” he said. “They just came to destroy [the event]. It’s going to, unfortunately, give Emory a black eye, which it doesn’t deserve.”

On Thursday, Horowitz spoke at George Washington University, where he said the audience had been "polite" during his speech. There, he fielded questions at the end, some of which challenged his views.

And one demonstrator there was arrested, he said, near the very end of the event.

"You have to admire his discipline," Horowitz said. "The guy waited two hours."

Had he been given the chance to finish his speech at Emory, Horowitz said he would have addressed the importance of understanding who the enemy is, how American blunders with terrorism date back to President Carter's administration and his take on Iraq.

— Read a transcript of the Wheel editors' interview with David Horowitz.
Contact Salvador Rizzo.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.