Dr Bollinger -Mere words cannot express the shock, dismay and outrage that I experienced when the full extent of Nicholas De Genova’s recent remarks came to my attention. You have doubtless since received a great deal of email and commentary regarding this individual’s outrageous behavior, but I would be remiss in my responsibility as a citizen of the United States and as a rational human being if I did not register my sentiments and observations. For your review, I have attached a copy of the email I sent in response to Mr. De Genova’s vicious and hate-filled statements. Before you dismiss me as some naïve country redneck – or as Mr. De Genova would have it, a white supremacist – allow me to provide you with a little bit of my background.
I received what used to be regarded as a classical education in both Jesuit and secular institutions. I was fortunate enough to have been born with a ferocious curiosity about the world and a mind facile enough to facilitate a lifetime spent in the acquisition of comprehension. As a successful Microsoft alumnus, several years ago, I moved my family to a stunningly beautiful rural area where our 16 year old fraternal twins’ education could proceed in relatively non-politicized schools. We have successfully raised our kids to be philosophers, warriors and spiritually sovereign individuals. We have trained them to judge individuals as their parent do - by their character and their competence. We understand that concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong are not matters of mere opinion, nor are they subject to a majority vote. We’ve taught our children well concerning the bottomless abyss that is the destination of moral relativism. And yes, we are patriots. We love our country and we have a deep and abiding respect for the principles upon which it was founded. If this is what it takes to earn Mr. De Genova’s epithets and hatred, then we’ll wear them as a badge of honor.
The above brings me to the point of this letter: there is only one circumstance under which I and the rest of my family will ever set foot on the Columbia campus, your thin gruel of an apology for De Genova’s remarks notwithstanding. I’ll get to that circumstance in a minute. You see, it isn’t so much the fact that Mr. De Genova’s remarks were cruel, hateful and yes, seditious. It isn’t so much the fact that De Genova’s credentials extend to publication in the post-modernist journal Social Text. You do recall the recent case where Social Text published an article by a physicist who lampooned the entire post-modernist intellectual fraud by writing a meaningless article couched entirely in their dense, impenetrable jargon? It isn’t so much that you are apparently willing to tolerate Mr. De Genova’s continued presence on the Columbia faculty, and that you believe your tepid disavowal of his remarks to be sufficient.
No. None of the foregoing spoke so eloquently of the atmosphere of hatred for this country and its founding principles as the applause with which De Genova’s spew of hate was greeted. That’s the sort of applause heard at the torch lit Nuremburg rallies of the 1930s. That applause tells me that the rot and the corruption and the hate at Columbia are not confined merely to one individual. That applause tells me that not only will your institution never see a dime from my family, but that we will deny you access to the minds of our bright and accomplished children. That applause tells me that I will do all that I can to dry up your sources of funding.
Mr. De Genova’s remarks make it clear that he is unfit to live in a free society. Your tolerance of his presence and your responsibility for the creation of an academic atmosphere of Stalinist political correctness and hatred of this country renders you unfit to hold your position and to live in a free society.
In closing, here’s the one circumstance under which my family and I would ever set foot on the Columbia campus – and that’s with rifle in hand and a job to do. Realize that when it comes to that, you and Mr. De Genova will have earned it.
Ward Dorrity
Spirit Lake, Idaho
warddorrity@starband.net