Sunday, February 06, 2005

The Ward Churchill Irony

It's certain to be the most famous panel discussion ever and it never happened. Last week, Hamilton College in Clinton, New York cancelled its panel discussion featuring Ward Churchill citing security concerns. The bubbub began when the legacy media, and especailly Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly, encited folks by bringing to light comments made by Churchill in his essay "Some People Push Back: On the Justice of Roosting Chickens". O'Reilly waged a massive campaign against Churchill and urged viewers to email Hamilton officials and aired an email address.

The irony the media is missing has to do with the cancelled panel discussion. It was titled "Limits on Dissent?" The events of the past week are proof that there certainly are limits on dissent and freedom of speech is not absolute. Ward Churchill might not have believed it before, but he must believe it now.

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