Ward Churchill and Death of Academic Freedom (part II)

Also, corporate fascism requires a labor pool of fearful, unquestioning, subservient cogs who believe that conspicuous consumption is freedom. Colleges and universities, where some of this labor will come from, have traditionally been places where students learned things the public schools were too reluctant to teach, and where questioning, analysis, and the willingness to challenge conventional beliefs were considered virtues, not vices. But the preferential treatment given to people like Gonzales and Yoo, and the intimidation and silencing of professors like Churchill are rapidly bringing neo-fascist indoctrination policies into college and university classrooms.

Several years ago televangelist Jerry Falwell sued a publisher of adult magazines named Larry Flynt for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress after an unflattering parody of Falwell appeared in one of Flynt’s publications. Although the jury denied Falwell’s defamation claim, it awarded him $150,000 for emotional distress.

In the wake of this verdict, Flynt tried to warn the public, particularly the media, about the dangerous precedent this verdict had set: If public figures could run to court and claim their feelings were hurt whenever they became the subject of criticism or satire, the right to freedom of speech would soon be nonexistent. But, because Flynt was viewed as an “undesirable person,” few were willing to listen.

Let’s not make the same mistake again. It may be easy to dislike Ward Churchill for what he wrote. But whether you agree with Churchill or not, the frightening reality is that Larry J. Naves and the regents at CU, in their desperation to demonstrate their contempt, have destroyed academic freedom as well.

And what takes seconds to destroy often takes decades to rebuild.

David R. Hoffman, Legal Editor of Pravda.Ru