Professor Refuses to Apologize Over 9/11 Controversy
He called white-collar workers at World Trade Center 'little Eichmanns'
[Excerpt]
BOULDER, Colo. - An embattled University of Colorado professor who likened Sept. 11 victims to Nazis got a standing ovation when he told a campus audience of more than 1,000 people that “I’m not backing up an inch.”
Churchill has resigned as chairman of the university’s ethnic studies department. Gov. Bill Owens has called for Churchill to be fired, and the university’s Board of Regents is investigating whether the tenured professor can be removed.
“I don’t answer to Bill Owens. I do not answer to the Board of Regents in the way they think I do. The regents should do their job and let me do mine,” Churchill said to thunderous clapping. “I’m not backing up an inch. I owe no one an apology.”
In an essay, Churchill wrote that white-collar workers in the World Trade Center were the equivalent of “little Eichmanns,” a reference to Adolf Eichmann, who ensured the smooth running of the Nazi system. Churchill also spoke of the “gallant sacrifices” of the “combat teams” that struck America.
A longtime American Indian Movement activist, he said he is also culpable because his efforts to change the system haven’t succeeded. “I could do more. I’m complicit. I’m not innocent,” he said.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6937239/
Re: Professor Refuses to Apologize Over 9/11 Controversy
He's an asshole/lunatic of the first magnitude. He doesn't work for the government? Oh, good, we can stop issuing him checks. American Indian Movement activist? The reports that I've heard is that he can't back up his claim of being one-quarter native.
A nice example of "academic freedom" run amok. He can't be fired from CU for "freedom of speech." I bet if he'd used a racial or ethnic slur (instead of calling murder victims Nazis), he'd have been out the door and on his ass in 2.4 seconds.
Re: Professor Refuses to Apologize Over 9/11 Controversy
Really, folks, what did you expect him to do? His marketability has gone through the roof. If he's got sense in his head he'll write a book and cash in.
Re: Professor Refuses to Apologize Over 9/11 Controversy
The really scarey part is,he is teaching the next generation.
Quote:
Churchill also spoke of the “gallant sacrifices” of the “combat teams” that struck America.
wow is this part offensive.
I cant belive he had 1000 people there supporting him.
Yea he has the freedom of speach,but what he says sucks.
I wonder if they support what he says or the fact he can say it.I just find it hard to belive he could find 1000 people to go along with that line of thinking.
If they agree with what he said,who the hell are these people and what nutcase group are they following??
Americans for the Talibans?
Re: Professor Refuses to Apologize Over 9/11 Controversy
What's even worse is that there is a lot of support for him from faculty members at CU. I've heard of pulling for colleagues but considering how inflammatory his remarks were, you would think that they would have more sense. Sure we have freedom of speech, but if you yelled "Fire!" in a crowded theater, they would haul you off in handcuffs.
Re: Professor Refuses to Apologize Over 9/11 Controversy
Tenure is an outdated institution; academic contracts should be the norm.
Re: Professor Refuses to Apologize Over 9/11 Controversy
I agree. Academics says it's necessary for academic freedom, but you don't see the same phenomenon institutionalized elsewhere.
Re: Professor Refuses to Apologize Over 9/11 Controversy
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Originally Posted by RedZ28
What's even worse is that there is a lot of support for him from faculty members at CU. I've heard of pulling for colleagues but considering how inflammatory his remarks were, you would think that they would have more sense. Sure we have freedom of speech, but if you yelled "Fire!" in a crowded theater, they would haul you off in handcuffs.
But that's not what he did. What he did - which was take a political view that you don't like to the point that you find it offensive - IS in fact covered by free expression. And he's also right, in that the role of the university is not to play thought-police. I hope. Last year I did read "Reading Lolita in Tehran" in which the role of the university WAS to play thought police. The irony of that would just really make you wonder about the whole point.
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Tenure is an outdated institution; academic contracts should be the norm.
Sure maybe. But is it such a good idea to change these institutions specifically in order to pry out those whose viewpoints are deemed unpalatable? I mean, I would like to change institutions to pry out those whose viewpoints I find unpalatable - but I'm uncomfortable with someone else doing it.
Re: Professor Refuses to Apologize Over 9/11 Controversy
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He's an asshole/lunatic of the first magnitude. He doesn't work for the government? Oh, good, we can stop issuing him checks
Well YES he works for the gov't ... he earns $90,000+ per year and is paid by the state of Colorado state university system, but NO we can't stop issuing him checks because as a unionized tenured teacher he cannot be fired for anything as trivial as teaching thousands of students extreme liberalism, or publicly stating an extreme liberal opinion that the 9/11 terrorists were justified in making their 'retalitatory' attack and that 9/11 victims in Manhattan deserved to be killed (latest revision the fat cat 9/11 victims only deserved to die - police, firemen and janitors are now excluded from the professor's list of 'guilty parties').
I find it curious that a number of conservative pundits are actually taking the position of letting this guy keep espousing his extreme liberal position as loudly as he wants in as many different forums as he wants. The conservative talk shows were pointing out that the more the good professor elaborates on his extreme liberal position publically, the more likely it will be that 'undecided' voters will start to associate the professor's openly expressed radical liberal beliefs with the subtly stated but fundamentally similar liberal beliefs of politicians like Teddy Kennedy, Diane Fienstein, Hilary Clinton etc.
Re: Professor Refuses to Apologize Over 9/11 Controversy
I don't care for what he expressed in the least-- but I do defend his right to say it because I understand that freedom of speech is something we all are supposed to have-- despite our political, religous or culture differences.
I defend others right to free speech because I value my own.
Re: Professor Refuses to Apologize Over 9/11 Controversy
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I defend others right to free speech because I value my own
We're in complete agreement on this issue !!! However, I suspect that we differ in our views on the necessity of paying out $90,000+ per year in tax money until the professor reaches retirement age to subsidize the professor's ability to express his extreme opinion.
I also suspect that we differ in our views of the professor being maintained in a position of power where his students are de-facto forced to regurgitate the professor's extreme opinion in order to receive passing grades in classes he teaches, versus taking a risk of being flunked out for espousing a less radical less liberal viewpoint.
Re: Professor Refuses to Apologize Over 9/11 Controversy
No surprise to me but .....wrong- I think that contracts are more suitable than tenure
Re: Professor Refuses to Apologize Over 9/11 Controversy
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Originally Posted by Melonie
We're in complete agreement on this issue !!! However, I suspect that we differ in our views on the necessity of paying out $90,000+ per year in tax money until the professor reaches retirement age to subsidize the professor's ability to express his extreme opinion.
I also suspect that we differ in our views of the professor being maintained in a position of power where his students are de-facto forced to regurgitate the professor's extreme opinion in order to receive passing grades in classes he teaches, versus taking a risk of being flunked out for espousing a less radical less liberal viewpoint.
At my university one had the option to take a class amongst a number of professers. In fact there were "underground" guidebooks about this teacher or that teacher. One has a choice of universities too.
I too have been hearing conservative talk shows saying "Let him speak on! Keep Polosi front and center! They are my favorite liberals!"
They are right, some of those people certainly are not helping their cause a bit.
Re: Professor Refuses to Apologize Over 9/11 Controversy
Free expression. I thought hate speech was a bad thing.
Tell me, if it had been a white supremacist who had been hired and who used racial slurs, should that professor be kept on? I would want that guy fired, myself.
I don't see any difference here. This is stupid, this is antithetical to educating our young, this is hate speech, and we should not be spending tax money to support and promulate it.
Re: Professor Refuses to Apologize Over 9/11 Controversy
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Originally Posted by Melonie
the professor being maintained in a position of power where his students are de-facto forced to regurgitate the professor's extreme opinion in order to receive passing grades in classes he teaches, versus taking a risk of being flunked out for espousing a less radical less liberal viewpoint.
If he demonstably does that, he could legitimately lose his tenured position, even by the standards of the AAUP (http://www.aaup.org/). Of course, he might punish his students for disagreeing with him, but do you have any actual, specific reason to think that he does...beyond the cliched characterature? There are actually quite a lot of university instructors who reward students (in terms of grades) for intelligently defending positions with which he/she (the instructor) disagrees.
-Ww
Re: Professor Refuses to Apologize Over 9/11 Controversy
Oh, I learned early on to read teachers and know who wanted their own opinions reflected and the ones who were looking for honest thought. Most of them preferred their own opinions proselytized. You have your theory about college, and you have your realities.
My macroeconomics teacher only gave an A to the students who successfully defended his own favoring of Marxist economics, so that's what I did in all the tests, not believing a word. The first priority in college is to get good grades. Actually learning and thinking falls somewhere under that.
I have observed a number of tenure termination proceedings, and the union always makes a fight of it, no matter what the reason for termination.
Re: Professor Refuses to Apologize Over 9/11 Controversy
Tenure is a system which resembles the legal standard for criminal cases: "innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt". In other words, it may more often do harm than good...may very often protect those (people or ideas) which do not deserve the shelter it provides, but that price is worth paying because it is considered so important and valuable to shield those rare but precious few (people or ideas) that do.
Very many of the ideas that we now hold to be mainstream bedrock of our politics and culture, including such notions as the rights of individuals, were once thought to be extremely radical and dangerous. Abolishing tenure to rid ourselves of reprehensible guys like this CU prof will also remove its protection from those whose views are unpopular but later turn out to be correct and/or important.
-Ww
Re: Professor Refuses to Apologize Over 9/11 Controversy
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Originally Posted by Jay Zeno
The first priority in college is to get good grades. Actually learning and thinking falls somewhere under that.
With all due respect, figuring out that the above statement (of conventional undergraduate wisdom) is false is one of life's little intelligence tests. As long as one's grades are good enough to graduate with that degree, what you learn and the ability to think will be invaluable throughout your life and will serve you well long long after anyone cares or remembers what grades you got in college.
-Ww
Re: Professor Refuses to Apologize Over 9/11 Controversy
I think (not know) that the article takes parts of his speech out of context. This was discussed on an email list that I'm on and the concencus (after a couple people did a lot of digging) was that he's very liberal, but not at all in the way that the media is presenting.