I saw the DK story on my Facebook feed. They asked DK and Facebook users to send an e-mail to the president of Georgetown, post on their FB page, and send out a tweet.
I did all three.
This story was in response to an adjunct faculty member, Michael Scheuer, basically calling for the assassination of President Obama.
There is academic freedom, and there is incitement to violence.
I got a blip on my FB feed that Georgetown U. has responded.
Many have commented on our wall over the past few days regarding comments made by Michael Scheuer, who has served as an adjunct faculty member at Georgetown. As a university we are committed to the free exchange of ideas. This is the essence of academic freedom. The views of members of our community, including our faculty, are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of the University. The answer to speech that one finds disagreeable or controversial is not censorship, but more speech and more dialogue. As such, we welcome everyone's right to disagree and to express their opinions openly.
I am at work on lunch, but I wanted to post this to see what the DK community thinks about this response.
I would quote the words of one Graham Howard, who said in reply -
Incitement to violence and assassination is not free speech. Scheuer is entitled to free speech, but he is not entitled to use his privileged position to incite violence and assassination on mass media.
I am fairly certain that the Secret Service may now have another "blip" on their radar to monitor, but also that it is likely that no direct action will be taken.
I am not sure that I would agree with this honoring of freedom of speech.
Given the amount of guns and attendant crazies with guns - (not all gun owners are crazy - but there has to be a certain percentage within this group) - coupled with he right-wing echo chamber, I think this message borders on a crime for its' potential to tip some person to the point of dangerous action.
Just my two cents. Back to work. Will reply to all comments when I get home - about 7 PM tonight.
Peace.