stalinist, leftist tactics used against free speech - AGAIN

Discussion in 'Politics' started by whitster, Apr 15, 2006.

  1. no, i said arguing about it is absurd. your conclusion does not logically follow.

    and an UPDATE:

    apparently, solicitation to commit vandalism, criminal conspiracy, and vandalism itself (one of the pictures of her doing so was pretty damning) ARE enough to trump tenure.

    Statement by NKU President James C. Votruba

    April 17, 2006

    I am writing to comment on the recent destruction of an approved campus display created by the Northern Kentucky Right to Life student organization.

    One of the important roles that a university must play is to be a forum for debate and analysis concerning the important issues of the day. Often these issues are surrounded by strident rhetoric and strong emotions which makes it even more incumbent on the university to create and nurture an intellectual environment in which reason and evidence prevail and where all points of view can be heard.

    Northern Kentucky University has a distinguished record of addressing important public issues in a balanced way. We are proud that, as a campus, we are not the captive of one ideology or point of view. At their best, universities are not places of comfortable conformity. They are places where ideas collide as students and faculty search for deeper understandings and perspectives.

    While the University supports the right to free speech and vigorous debate on public issues, we cannot condone infringement of the rights of others to express themselves in an orderly manner. By leading her students in the destruction of an approved student organization display, Professor Sally Jacobsen's actions were inconsistent with Northern Kentucky University's commitment to free and open debate and the opportunity for all sides to be heard without threat of censorship or reprisal.

    It has been heartening that student and faculty groups that do not necessarily support the position of Northern Kentucky Right to Life have come out strongly in support of the organization's right to be heard through their display. This reflects a commitment to the importance of free speech and inquiry as a hallmark of our University.

    Professor Jacobsen has been removed from her remaining classes and placed on leave from the University. She will retire from the University at the end of this semester. The Faculty Senate, representing more than 1,000 NKU faculty members, has taken strong action today that affirms the importance of free expression as a defining quality of the University. Our campus has spoken with a strong and unified voice. Further action may occur once a full investigation has been completed.

    The action taken by the University should be considered in the context of Professor Jacobsen's entire 27 year career at NKU. Nevertheless, her recent lapse of judgment was severe and, for a period of time, has caused some in our community and beyond to question whether Northern Kentucky University upholds freedom of expression. My answer to this question is an unequivocal yes. NKU lives its commitment to free expression and responds when that commitment has been compromised.

    America is, today, debating a variety of polarizing issues around which people feel great passion. It is not surprising that these strong sentiments find their way onto college campuses. However, our role is to add light to these debates, not more heat. If we don't serve this role, who will?
     
    #11     Apr 18, 2006
  2. esuperbo

    esuperbo

    Look, I don't quite get the vitrolic american division of everyone into left/right, liberal/conservative, etc. I suppose if I went to the US I would be called a liberal.

    But this is just idiocy. Simply because you can string words together well enough to make your dumbass actions somehow seem justified doesn't make you a free speech hero. It makes you an idiot.

    If the crosses piss you off, good. Get mad, get upset, then realize that this is just as angry as many people get when walking by an abortion clinic. Yet the vast vast majority manage not to bomb it or harass the people using it. Grant people the same courtesy they grant you - the realization that it is a strength, not a weakness, for a society to hold two conflicting opinions on one subject.
     
    #12     Apr 18, 2006
  3. esuperbo, i agree

    it is detrimental. here's why

    those on the left tend to not see (cognitive dissonance) constitutional abuse and statism when it comes from the left

    those on the right tend not to see it when the right is in control

    that is exactly my point. the double standard and myopia

    for quite some time, the right controlled the academy (colleges, etc.) to a large extent. they were not good in regards to free speech, but now that the left controls it, they are WORSE.

    really. i've got about 3 dozen case law cites, that i have researched via findlaw

    BOTH groups are bad when they are overreaching statists, and BOTH tend to be.

    currently, the left controls the academy, and that is where we are NOW seeing the majority of rights infringement as the instant case exemplifies.

    but this is HARDLY just a leftwing problem

    it's a statism problem.

    i lean right of center, but have SERIOUS problems with the republican party. i just, over time, have seen less abuses of the 1st and 2nd amendment from them, than from the democratic party.

    neither is close to guilt free in this regard

    and sometimes, they come together in bipartisan suppression of speech/expression - McCain/Feingold bill being perfect example
     
    #13     Apr 18, 2006