Remember this incident?
This occurred at Columbia University last October when members of the Minutemen were asked to address a forum on immigration policy. As Jim Gilchrist began speaking angry students rushed the stage, knocked over chairs and tables and generally wreaking havoc.
Today one of the worst tyrants left on this planet was allowed to address that same university and imagine my shock when nothing similar happened. No rushing of the stage, no unfurling of banners or knocking over chairs (yes, a bit sarcastic here).
No, instead of wreaking havoc the students applauded when HitlerJr, or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad if you like, got a bit angry with the university dean for having “insulted” him (You can see the first part of the dean’s (Lee Bollinger) speech here: Part 1 and Part 2.) and said:
I think the text read by the dear gentleman here, more than addressing me, was an insult to information and the knowledge of the audience here, present here. In a university environment we must allow people to speak their mind, to allow everyone to talk so that the truth is eventually revealed by all.
Certainly he took more than all the time I was allocated to speak, and that’s fine with me. We’ll just leave that to add up with the claims of respect for freedom and the freedom of speech that’s given to us in this country.
Many parts of his speech, there were many insults and claims that were incorrect, regretfully.
Here that applause?
Meanwhile many are keying in on HitlerJr’s assertion that there are no gays in his land:
In Iran we don’t have homosexuals like in your country. We don’t have that like in your country. In Iran we do not have this phenomenon. I don’t know who’s told you that we have this.
Of course we know why this is. He executed them all.; Examples of this tactic can be found here, here, and here. A little video on two of those executed recently: (turn the volume down so you don’t have to listen to the terrible soundtrack)
All in all just another day in the wacky world of our university system where no one is too liberal, too leftist, or too evil to get a round of applause.
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President Lee Bollinger surprised us all by his strong speech. Something tells me that the firestorm of criticism gave him a spine in the nick of time.
While I would have preferred the madman not be permitted to speak, the fact that the Columbia President, an arch liberal, stated the case against Iran so well gives credibility to the efforts to DO SOMETHING about Iran.
The lefties who have denied over and over that Iran was killing Americans in Iraq, or committing human rights abuses will have to face up to the fact that even fellow lefties like Bollinger won’t support their delusions.
So, in that sense, this was good.
Curt,
I made the same exact observation earlier today regarding the comparison of behaviour of the Columbia students at the Minute Man speech to that of the Iranian speech…in short I am completely disgusted.
If anyone would like to voice their opinions to the heads of the school for allowing Hilter Jr. to speak, here are their email addresses:
President: John Bollinger, bollinger@columbia.edu
Provost: Alan Brinkley, ab65@columbia.edu
Vice prez: Robert Kasdin, rkasdin@columbia.edu
Dean: John Coatsworth (most involved in organizing the event), jhc2125@columbia.edu
I wrote them all letters myself and shamed them for allowing him to speak, but also kept it civilized and refrained from profanity.
I encourage people to do the same.
I prefer calling the pompous tin pot from Tehran Almandine-Jihad instead of using his real name, the way Brits used to refer to “nazzies†instead of “Nazis.†Consider it a kinda hooked-on-phonics attack on fanatics.
All that really matters is that “mainstream” Americans (as polled by Daily Kos) would prefer to live under Ahmadinejad…than President Bush.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/ken-shepherd/2007/09/24/dopey-diarist-polls-daily-kos-readers-rather-live-under-bush-or-ahmadi
The results have since been kicked back over to GWB since it was first reported on conservative sites, but one wonders….
WHY EVEN ASK?
[to be filed as yet another example of BDS]
[rolleyes]
Yesterday was a sad and pathetic day — can you imagine giving a Holocaust denier a forum? The university system has stooped to a new low…the left knows only to align itself with anyone who hates President Bush; it matters little what they believe, as long as they both have the same goal: a liberal left administration that will cater to the interests of murderous regimes.
Bunch of cowards, the whole lot of them! Thank God we still have faith in our men and women in uniform, as a matter of fact, semper fidelis!
Great Site, guys, keep up the good work!
Dan- Thanks for the tip!
As a staunch fence-sitting moderate, I felt a non-partisan (albiet slightly sarcastic) letter should be included in your e-bombs:
Mr. John Coatsworth:
While I applaud your standing up for free speech this week, I find it even more disturbing that past controversial speakers FROM THIS COUNTRY were prevented from speaking due to violent protests. Your student protesters appear to want to choose what free speech is allowable. This smacks of the kind of selective “freedom†that Venezuela (or Iran) touts. I was raised to question authority morally and objectively, and that selectively informing our citizens is nothing short of propaganda.
Still, I hope that this new trend continues, and we can ask ALL those we disagree with the tough questions.
Sincerely,
L Thornton
Waterford, Michigan