PoliticalChic
Diamond Member
So, there was a thread about censorship, and arrests over anti-Semitic comments in Enland
.and I pointed out that there exists a kind of censorship in this country with respect to certain protected groups
.
and it seems that I discomforted one of our pretend-law experts who said:
No, no reason for you to further exhibit your ignorance.
There are no statutes in the United States prohibiting the use of any word or term. Youre free to demonstrate your hatred of other races and religions with impunity.
Interesting obfuscation,....
So I thought it was worth examining....
...and found this:
1. Earlier this week, the Chronicle of Higher Education, the trade paper for faculty members and administrators in universities, fired Naomi Schaefer Riley, a paid blogger for its website. Her crime? She had the courage to respond to a Chronicle story called Black Studies: Swaggering Into the Future, which stated that young black-studies scholars . . . are less consumed than their predecessors with the need to validate the field or explain why they are pursuing doctorates in their discipline.
2. The article used five Ph.D. candidates as examples of those rewriting the history of race. Riley looked at the subject areas of the five proposed dissertations and concluded that they were obscure at best . . . a collection of left-wing victimization claptrap at worst.
a. It seems that her crime was that she dared argue that black studies departments should be eliminated, citing the silliness of a number of the dissertations by some of the disciplines most lauded students.
b. Riley tore apart another essay that blamed the subprime housing crash on a conspirascy by white politicians, noting that those millions of white people who went into foreclosure were just collateral damage, I guess.
3. Many academics I know agree that black-studies programs are often slipshod, academically non-rigorous, and repositories for grievance politics. But they wont say so publicly, for fear of being branded as racists. Naomi Riley had the courage to state the obvious.
4. When 6,500 politically correct academics signed a petition demanding that she be fired, the editor of the Chronicle caved.
5. A couple of speakers noted how surprising it is that political correctness in academia is now shutting off debate in the U.S., the country where academics supposedly prize vigorous discussion and vigilantly guard against any sign of McCarthyism.
6. Nick Cohen is an atheist and former leftist who writes for the Observer and Guardiannewspapers in Britain examines the new forms of censorship that are emerging in the 21st century .surrounding taboo subjects with a bodyguard of politically correct humbug has a profound effect on liberalism. He noted that censorship is at its most effective when no one admits that it exists.
7. While Cohens warning was directed at those who stifle debate on Muslim radicalism in Europe and refuse to recognize the failure of officially imposed multiculturalism, he lost no time in telling me how appalled he was at the news of Rileys firing. These people calling for her head are the same ones who would scream McCarthyism if someone demanded that academics who defend Iran, excuse terrorism, or accept support from dubious Middle East regimes be called to account,
a. James Kirchick, a contributing editor to The New Republic :This is precisely why I am no longer on the left. It is disturbing to see such bullying.
b. academics have demanded tenure, ostensibly not to secure the effectively lifetime employment it creates but to give them the freedom to voice unpopular opinions and conduct research that challenges conventional thinking.
8. Few, if any, of her critics actually tried to refute her criticisms of black-studies dissertations. Instead, they sought to shut her up, and in so doing, they sent yet another message that some liberals today have become at least as intolerant of debate as any of the fundamentalists and traditionalists they abhor.
9. After Rileys firing, I have no doubt there will be fewer people brave enough to challenge that censorship.
Censoring Naomi Riley - John Fund - National Review Online
It seems that John Fund made my point for me .
and it seems that I discomforted one of our pretend-law experts who said:
No, no reason for you to further exhibit your ignorance.
There are no statutes in the United States prohibiting the use of any word or term. Youre free to demonstrate your hatred of other races and religions with impunity.
Interesting obfuscation,....
So I thought it was worth examining....
...and found this:
1. Earlier this week, the Chronicle of Higher Education, the trade paper for faculty members and administrators in universities, fired Naomi Schaefer Riley, a paid blogger for its website. Her crime? She had the courage to respond to a Chronicle story called Black Studies: Swaggering Into the Future, which stated that young black-studies scholars . . . are less consumed than their predecessors with the need to validate the field or explain why they are pursuing doctorates in their discipline.
2. The article used five Ph.D. candidates as examples of those rewriting the history of race. Riley looked at the subject areas of the five proposed dissertations and concluded that they were obscure at best . . . a collection of left-wing victimization claptrap at worst.
a. It seems that her crime was that she dared argue that black studies departments should be eliminated, citing the silliness of a number of the dissertations by some of the disciplines most lauded students.
b. Riley tore apart another essay that blamed the subprime housing crash on a conspirascy by white politicians, noting that those millions of white people who went into foreclosure were just collateral damage, I guess.
3. Many academics I know agree that black-studies programs are often slipshod, academically non-rigorous, and repositories for grievance politics. But they wont say so publicly, for fear of being branded as racists. Naomi Riley had the courage to state the obvious.
4. When 6,500 politically correct academics signed a petition demanding that she be fired, the editor of the Chronicle caved.
5. A couple of speakers noted how surprising it is that political correctness in academia is now shutting off debate in the U.S., the country where academics supposedly prize vigorous discussion and vigilantly guard against any sign of McCarthyism.
6. Nick Cohen is an atheist and former leftist who writes for the Observer and Guardiannewspapers in Britain examines the new forms of censorship that are emerging in the 21st century .surrounding taboo subjects with a bodyguard of politically correct humbug has a profound effect on liberalism. He noted that censorship is at its most effective when no one admits that it exists.
7. While Cohens warning was directed at those who stifle debate on Muslim radicalism in Europe and refuse to recognize the failure of officially imposed multiculturalism, he lost no time in telling me how appalled he was at the news of Rileys firing. These people calling for her head are the same ones who would scream McCarthyism if someone demanded that academics who defend Iran, excuse terrorism, or accept support from dubious Middle East regimes be called to account,
a. James Kirchick, a contributing editor to The New Republic :This is precisely why I am no longer on the left. It is disturbing to see such bullying.
b. academics have demanded tenure, ostensibly not to secure the effectively lifetime employment it creates but to give them the freedom to voice unpopular opinions and conduct research that challenges conventional thinking.
8. Few, if any, of her critics actually tried to refute her criticisms of black-studies dissertations. Instead, they sought to shut her up, and in so doing, they sent yet another message that some liberals today have become at least as intolerant of debate as any of the fundamentalists and traditionalists they abhor.
9. After Rileys firing, I have no doubt there will be fewer people brave enough to challenge that censorship.
Censoring Naomi Riley - John Fund - National Review Online
It seems that John Fund made my point for me .