Professor Ward Churchill, a tenured professor of Ethnic Studies, at the University of Colorado, according to CNN "touched off a firestorm with an essay likening some victims in the World Trade Center to Adolf Eichmann, who helped carry out the Holocaust". What I am interested in is why have we as Americans can't say the truth? We do have the Bill of Rights protected by the US Constitution's First Amendment where "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press or the right of the people to peacefully assemble, and to petition the government for redress of grievances".
Why are we so afraid of free speech?
2007-05-31 02:45:17 · 15 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Not, at least not for his comments on 911 victims...
AMERICA IS FREE!!!
2007-05-31 03:19:35 · answer #1 · answered by louisamaria2003 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It's not so much a free speech issue as it is a matter of a nutcase spouting his opinions as fact. He is a propagandist using the University as a soapbox from which to broadcast his personal views. This is hardly the kind of thing on which those seeking a real education should be spending money. If you want to read the rantings of lunatics you can get that in almost any newspaper or any number of publications readily available on newsstands, but it is inappropriate to include this in any curriculum under the guise of "education", which it is not.
2007-05-31 02:51:11 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
When an idividuals right to free speech is laced with the hate and disdain that Mr. Churchill's comments were it is difficult to fathom - 1. How one could fomulate such an opionion, 2. How people would pay tuition to listen to it 3. How anyone could be so morally bankrupt.
No, He should not be fired. The Constitution and what it stands for is immensly bigger then Churchill's essay, or any other rant bordering on hate speech.
I wouldn't send my kid to his class
I wouldn't hire him for a lecture
I might not save the peice of garbage from drowning, but...
That is My right
2007-05-31 03:03:39 · answer #3 · answered by clawdaddy314 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
No I'm not afraid of free speech, you should never be afraid of speaking the truth. The truth however has nothing to do with this. This professor is in a position of authority and his word is taken as gospel albeit ignorant gospel. Yes he should be fired, and should have been a long time ago.
2007-05-31 02:49:41 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Suppose he started lecturing on the virtues of falling in love with and having sex with 6 year old boys instead? And let's say he never actually COMMITTED this crime, but merely only talked about it and said how wonderful it would be... Don't you think he would be fired for that, and rightly so?
The man is a total nutjob, and belongs in a mental institution, not a teaching institution.
2007-05-31 02:48:59 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
First of all you need to understand the purpose of the bill of rights in the constitution. All of those rights are listed as our protection against the Federal government. Secondly, while I wouldn't recommend he be fired I would say it is up to the university. They should certainly have the right to employ instructors that they feel will represent them best.
2007-05-31 02:51:35 · answer #6 · answered by toff 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Isn't he the same clown who falsely represent himself as an American Indian? Message to all you who are currently attending college. Most of your professors are as defective as this monstrosity. Many are admitted socialists and most have never done any honest work in their lives.
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2007-05-31 02:52:39 · answer #7 · answered by Jacob W 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Its not that what he did was legally wrong but the school didn't want those opinions to surface because it chips away the credibility of the school. He can say them, but not at the school because the school is a private institution.
2007-05-31 02:48:17 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes and not for his 9/11 comments ether.
You have the right to free speech. Not to lie about your personal writing. You need to do more research into what he is getting fired for.
2007-05-31 02:47:33 · answer #9 · answered by ColoradoBrew 2 · 3⤊ 2⤋
Why do people support such outright phonies like Churchill. He's not even an Indian, yet he cultivated the look of an Indian and claimed to be one until recently outed. You're free to say what you please, but that doesn't mean people have to like it or accept it.
2007-05-31 02:48:00 · answer #10 · answered by Bombadil 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Yes, he violated rules by plagiarism and falsifying research data. This does not even mention his lack of qualifications in the first place,
2007-05-31 02:48:38 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 1⤋