Thursday, March 30, 2006
Hey frog, how's the water?
Of all the irritation to cross my path today, the worst was two separate cases of western institutions bending over for muslim terrorism. The first and worst is NYU's effective shutdown of a forum hosted by Objectivist students to discuss (and obviously display) the Mohammed cartoons (background here) Why did they order the session closed to the public? Draw your own conclusions, but the decision came after a meeting with muslim activists. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) (hey, I eventually get the name right -Ed.) is involved.
The second--and lesser in the sense that it involves a private business with no legal duty to support Constitutional rights--case involves Borders decision not to stock an issue of Free Inquiry that features stories about (and reproductions of) the Mohammed cartoons. They explicitly cited fear of violence, or as they put it, concern for the safety of their patrons (and undoubtedly their profits, given the widespread muslim boycott of various Danish products)
So the merest implied threat of violence not only censors a publication from one of the world's largest bookstore chains, it also erases any semblance of free inquiry at one of the nation's foremost academic institutions. What are we supposed to do with this news? What are we supposed to do with the people making the threats?
The second--and lesser in the sense that it involves a private business with no legal duty to support Constitutional rights--case involves Borders decision not to stock an issue of Free Inquiry that features stories about (and reproductions of) the Mohammed cartoons. They explicitly cited fear of violence, or as they put it, concern for the safety of their patrons (and undoubtedly their profits, given the widespread muslim boycott of various Danish products)
So the merest implied threat of violence not only censors a publication from one of the world's largest bookstore chains, it also erases any semblance of free inquiry at one of the nation's foremost academic institutions. What are we supposed to do with this news? What are we supposed to do with the people making the threats?
# posted by Stacy McMahon @ 8:07 PM 
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We could try to threaten our own violence until we get *our* way.
"Stop being scared of violence--- or else.... we'll shoot you and your children!"
"Stop being scared of violence--- or else.... we'll shoot you and your children!"
# posted by 
: 1:03 PM
: 1:03 PM
Seriously Vick, I've had that thought. Like, why don't I just start calling in bomb threats to the Post if I don't like their editorials or whatever. Just to make the point.
Of course, I'd probably end up in jail and they still wouldn't get it. Oh well.
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Of course, I'd probably end up in jail and they still wouldn't get it. Oh well.
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