Columbia University today announced it has invited Osama bin Laden, esteemed leader of the international alliance of Sunni groups known as al-Qaeda, to speak to a group of ancient culture students.
“Doubtless he is an influential figure, and we can learn much from giving him an intellectual forum in which to express himself,” Dr. Igdupbenefa, professor of international affairs, said. “Moreover, this a marvelous affirmation of the First Amendment. No matter how distasteful we may find Mr. bin Laden’s views and alleged actions, it is important that he—and the world—understand that on a university campus in the United States, all views are worthy of an audience.”
Mr. bin Laden is expected to speak at the university’s fall conference. His speech will follow a psychology department-sponsored speech from some guy who lives down by the railroad tracks and likes to suffocate kidnapped children in an old refrigerator.
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Oh, COME ON! I thought it was great that Columbia gave Ahmajinedad a forum – and did you see the school president’s intro for the guy? Gorgeous.
What would be really cool, though, is for someone to actually INVITE Bin Laden to speak, and then have the campus police take him out. How would the Bushies look then?!
I hear he turned down an invite from Jay Leno in favor of coming and speaking at the college!
Mrs. Chili: I did see the intro the president gave him, and oddly enough, I found it inappropriate. Clearly I don’t think he should have been invited in the first place, but after he is, you berate the guy when you’re introducing him? What we had there was Columbia trying to walk a line unsuccessfully. They extended the invitation, caught way more shit over it than they expected, and then instead of withdrawing it, they did that. I think from start to finish, the whole thing was ill-advised, clumsy, ineffective, and a total clusterfuck in general. But hey, I don’t mean that in a bad way. Heh.
I presume that you believe there are views repellent enough to be undeserving of such a platform. Does the fact that Ahmadinejad is a head of state somehow legitimize “exchanging ideas” on Holocaust denial; militant anti-Semitism; execution of dissidents, homosexuals, women who dare to think, etc.? What do we gain hearing from him? What is there to understand now that we didn’t understand before his speech? Whose interests were served, other than Ahmadinejad’s?