Polish scholar Ryszard Legutko was banned from a previously scheduled talk at Middlebury College. Students felt he was too right wing to be allowed on campus. Legutko wrote about the ban in an article in First Things.
Quotes from the article:
"Both communism and liberal democracy aim to politicize the whole of society, interpreting every aspect of social life—culture, art, intellectual pursuits, religion, family (and in liberal democracy, even sex and toilets)—in light of a power struggle, and insisting that the struggle be resolved in accordance with one political ideology. In the communist system, everything had to be communist; in a liberal democracy, everything has to be liberal and democratic."
"The communist system generated thoughtcrimes, but liberal democracy has generated far more, and it generates still more every year. The result is that the space in which the human mind may safely roam gets smaller and smaller. One is constantly in danger of crossing the red line. More and more topics are dangerous territory. A reflection, an insight, a clarification, or an argument may be taken for a criticism—which is not allowed."
"the aim of this language is to reverse the meanings of words. “Marginalized people” are not people who are marginalized, but people who set the college’s agenda and can get away with just about anything, including physically assaulting their professors. “Respectful and non-disruptive counter-space” means subjecting a lecturer to insults and humiliations. “Inclusivity” is the systemic censuring of people and ideas."
You can, and should, read the entire article here
Here comes the left-wing thought police--yet again!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recommendation to read the entire article. It was well worth it.
ReplyDeleteThe essence of academic inquiry is an open, robust, and critical environment that supports the quest for truth. It is a sad reality that so many of our colleges and universities suppress the open exchange of ideas, diversity of thought, and free speech. Many have established “free speech zones”, which are the only places on campus where students are permitted to freely express their ideas. Virtually all have speech codes as well as safe spaces for students who wish meet without being exposed to ideas and speech that make them feel uncomfortable.
Students at my doctoral alma mater, George Mason University, protested the hiring of Supreme Court justice Kavanaugh as a visiting professor for a summer English course on the U.S. Constitution. One student was recorded as saying “the hiring of Kavanaugh threatens the mental well-being of all survivors on this campus”. A petition urging the school to fire Kavanaugh and issue “a formal apology from administration to survivors” garnered about three thousand signatures. The George Mason Democrats wrote in a Facebook post “We urge the University to immediately revoke this decision.” Like Legutko, Kavanaugh was pilloried with vile names. In Kavanaugh’s case, the protesting students apparently believed the testimony of Blasey Ford.