Lee C. Bollinger
Office of the President
Columbia University
202 Low Library
Mail Code: 4309
New York, NY 10027
September 25, 2007
Prof. Bollinger:
As an alumnus of Columbia University, and in the interest of repairing the reputation of my alma mater, I urge you to reconsider your role in yesterday's infamous episode in the University's otherwise proud history as a renowned institution of higher learning in the civilized world. I submit to you that your action, in providing to an avowed enemy of Western civilization, the United States and its allies in particular, and by extension our great University itself, a platform from which to broadcast to the world his obscene uncivilized views, was a serious lapse in good judgment, at best, and an instance of abetting genocidal propaganda, at worst.
Norman Geras, Professor Emeritus of Government at the University of Manchester, in response to your disclaimer that, "It should never be thought that merely to listen to ideas we deplore in any way implies our endorsement of those ideas" wrote as follows (his complete post may be found at this URL):
My own personal view goes beyond Prof. Geras' thoughtful articulation of the obvious. I believe that your action constitutes depraved indifference to obscene intentions against humanity, arguably the worst possible action I would expect from the President of Columbia University.
If there is something to be learned by all Americans, if not the civilized world at large, from this sorry mess, I can not think of any more pertinent to the very survival of our way of life than the importance of recognizing self-destructive behavior and the willingness to do something about it. In the hope that you have not yet pressed your keyboard's [DELETE] key, I suggest you publicly acknowledge your error in judgment. Better yet, submit your resignation and encourage the rest of the self-destructive habitués at Columbia to do likewise.
--
TheBigHenry
hl98.blogspot.com
3122834351@grandcentral.com
Office of the President
Columbia University
202 Low Library
Mail Code: 4309
New York, NY 10027
September 25, 2007
Prof. Bollinger:
As an alumnus of Columbia University, and in the interest of repairing the reputation of my alma mater, I urge you to reconsider your role in yesterday's infamous episode in the University's otherwise proud history as a renowned institution of higher learning in the civilized world. I submit to you that your action, in providing to an avowed enemy of Western civilization, the United States and its allies in particular, and by extension our great University itself, a platform from which to broadcast to the world his obscene uncivilized views, was a serious lapse in good judgment, at best, and an instance of abetting genocidal propaganda, at worst.
Norman Geras, Professor Emeritus of Government at the University of Manchester, in response to your disclaimer that, "It should never be thought that merely to listen to ideas we deplore in any way implies our endorsement of those ideas" wrote as follows (his complete post may be found at this URL):
He's clearly right about this: listening doesn't imply endorsement. On the other hand, there's nothing in the principle of freedom of speech that requires you to help to promote or publicize views that you find deeply objectionable. Ahmadinejad is a Holocaust-denier and Holocaust-denial is one of the most poisonous forms of anti-Semitism, apart from being a brazen historical lie. Must Columbia, in the interests of 'the development of free speech', host avowed racists of every stripe, other genocide-deniers, men who think that women are, by their nature, born to be subservient, and people who think that homosexuality is a sin and should be punishable? Of course not. Would they host such people? I don't know.
My own personal view goes beyond Prof. Geras' thoughtful articulation of the obvious. I believe that your action constitutes depraved indifference to obscene intentions against humanity, arguably the worst possible action I would expect from the President of Columbia University.
If there is something to be learned by all Americans, if not the civilized world at large, from this sorry mess, I can not think of any more pertinent to the very survival of our way of life than the importance of recognizing self-destructive behavior and the willingness to do something about it. In the hope that you have not yet pressed your keyboard's [DELETE] key, I suggest you publicly acknowledge your error in judgment. Better yet, submit your resignation and encourage the rest of the self-destructive habitués at Columbia to do likewise.
--
TheBigHenry
hl98.blogspot.com
3122834351@grandcentral.com
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