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After the disgraceful performance in Congress by the presidents of Harvard, MIT and Penn, the media is trying to spin why they were unable to answer plainly whether calls for the genocide of the Jews would violate their university’s code of conduct.
The media has settled on variations of “the question was confusing”, “universities believe in free speech” and “it’s a trap”.
At a Hearing on Israel, University Presidents Walked Into a Trap – New York Times
That comes from the execrable Michelle Goldberg, the paper’s go-to columnist for rationalizing attacks on Jews.
No, being asked whether your institution is okay with Jewish genocide is not a trap. It’s the least difficult question in the world. If this were the 1970s or even the 2000s when universities still believed to some degree in free speech, maybe you could seriously argue that the university presidents were torn between their commitment to free speech and going Nazi. But it’s 2023.
Students and faculty have as much free speech on contemporary college campuses as they did in the Soviet Union.
We’ve gone from the free speech movement to students being punished for wearing a sombrero or misgendering someone. Professors have been purged for everything from stating that there are two sexes to supporting Israel.
The old Soviet anecdote was of a Russian telling an American that just like him he too can walk up to the Kremlin and denounce President Reagan. That’s the farce that free speech consists of on American campuses today. For leftists, free speech and even violence are nearly unlimited. Want to disrupt a class, assault other students or professors, or call for the deaths of your political opponents, if you’re a leftist, the odds are good that you will get a pass.
Want to express a conservative opinion in even the most timid fashion? Better watch out. Even posting copies of the Bill of Rights or support for the election of President Trump have been treated like hate crimes at some universities.
So the “trap” here was not that university presidents had to decide if their commitment to absolute free speech extended to the call for the mass murder of Jews.
If right-wing students were chanting slogans that could be interpreted as being against black or gay students or immigrants, there would have been a massive crackdown.
The “trap” here was that university presidents had to choose between offending the Left and remaining loyal to the Left.
They predictably chose the latter even if it meant shrugging at Jewish genocide.
Classic Soviet joke: A Russian tells an American that just like him he too can walk up to the Kremlin and denounce President Reagan.
“That’s the farce that free speech consists of on American campuses today.”
Perfect analogy, thanks Daniel!
Yes, the American tells the Soviet He can walk up to the White House and denounce President Reagan and the Soviet answers with the line above. All the old Soviet jokes I’ve heard ridiculed communism and their oppressive government. They had good senses of humor for people who were so downtrodden.
Cue the star wars fish person meme, “It’s a trap!” When your basic beliefs are a trap…
Thank You Daniel, most of all for being so prolific. I know when you take a day or two off.
Fish person? I thought that was Lori Lightfoot.
The good news is that no one cares what a NYT’s writer opines other than another NYT’s writer.
The better news is that, at least in the short-term, people got to see these university presidents for who they really are. UPenn had an emergency meeting of their board of trustees Thursday, resolving to seek Liz Magill’s (pictured above) resignation. It probably didn’t help Ms Magill’s case that a wealthy philanthropist, Ross Stevens, announced his withdrawal of a $100 million donation to the university after hearing her testimony.
A classic woke case of open mouth and insert the entire leg. Maybe a nice Jewish boy can help her with her resume.
This is of course the point, that universities that suspend a student for wearing a sombrero because it is violence cannot now turn around and say supporting calls for genocide cannot be halted because free speech. You get one standard and apply it to everyone. Colleges don’t do that.
Also, let’s not permit these colleges to condemn anti-Semitism and then tell us “We did that, can we now go back to disallowing conservative speakers and supporting students who physically attacked Riley Gaines.”
Lez Magill was just forced to resign, Bwah Ha Ha!
So what? The university hired her because her beliefs were a good fit for their own. National Socialists hired a Nazi. Her replacement will be cut from the same cloth. Maybe not quite as much as a dumbass, better at saying the “Right Things” at the right time, but still down with the struggle.