The Despicable William Ayres

Distinguished Professor William Ayres


Now that the American voters have decided that Barack Obama's ties to former Weather Underground bomber William Ayres was no big deal, I think it is time to put Professor Ayres himself in perspective especially since he has decided to go public after the election with an interview on "Good Morning America".

By now, the American public pretty much knows who Bill Ayres is. Had it not been for Fox News and talk radio, this guy might have sailed completely under the radar with assistance from the mainstream media, who chose to ignore him until they no longer could.

During the turbulent days of the 1960s-70s, Ayres was a main figure in the Weather Underground. During the 1970s, he was a fugitive, along with the woman who is now his wife, Bernadine Dohrn. During their fugitive years, Ayres was involved in bombs that went off in the Pentagon, the US Capitol and New York City Police Hqs. Though no one was killed, there were injuries. There was also a 1970 bombing in New York at the home of a prosecutor who was involved in the trial of some Black Panthers. Not only was the prosecutor home, but his wife and 9-year-old son were as well. In the early morning hours, three bombs went off, two under the front porch and one under the prosecutor's car, which was parked in the driveway. Fortunately, no one was injured. This bombing was found to be the work of the Weather Underground as well. In addition, three of Ayres' co-conspirators were killed in 1970 when a bomb accidentally went off in a Greenwich Village neighborhood damaging several other residences in the process. One of those killed was Ayres' girlfriend at the time. It was then that Ayres and Dohrn went into hiding.

Eventually, in 1980, Ayres and Dohrn came in and surrendered themselves after several years on the run. Because of the suppression of evidence due to illegal eavesdropping by the FBI, Ayres walked a way a free man, saying, "Guilty as Hell, free as a bird. What a great country."

Indeed.

Dohrn for her part, made a plea deal and was given probation.

So what became of Ayres as he walked away from his legal difficulties? Well, as you might guess, Academia welcomed him with open arms. Ayres and Dohrn went on to get their advanced degrees and became professors in the Chicago area (Ayres is presently a "Distinguished Professor of Education" at the University of Illinois at Chicago while Dohrn teaches law at Northwestern and is director of the Children and Family Justice Center in Chicago.

Since leaving the life of terrorists and bombers in favor of working within the system, neither has shown any remorse for their past acts. On the eve of 9-11, Ayres told a New York Times interviewer that he did not regret his past-only that they "didn't do more". A few years ago, Ayres was photographed by Chicago Magazine standing in an alley, an American flag underfoot.

As for his activities in the field of education, Professor Ayres reportedly has been active in trying to indoctrinate young inner-city youth with the spirit of leftist activism. It was in connection with this goal that he served together with Obama on the Woods Foundation, funneling money to leftist activist groups in the Chicago inner-city. (Both Ayres and Dohrn admit they are still radicals.)

And finally, in the "Good Morning America" interview with Chris Cuomo, Ayres refused to express remorse for his past acts-only saying that they may have crossed the line of "common sense". For Ayres, the real terrorists were the forces of the US Government that was waging the war in Viet Nam. Was he a terrorist? Not at all insists the good professor. The targets of the bombings were always government targets-not innocent civilians.

There is a man named John Murtagh who would disagree. He was the 9-year-old son of that New York prosecutor who was awakened early one morning when 3 bombs went off in front of his residence. He has spoken out lately about how he feels about Ayres and the Weather Underground. What words would Professors William Ayres and Bernadine Dohrn have for John Murtagh? To date-none.

William Ayres and his wife may live the rest of their lives embraced by the academic community. Already there is a petition going around the academic world asking for people to lay off Ayres. I simply hope that everyday Americans remember the names William Ayres and Bernadine Dohrn as they do Jane Fonda. Until they come forth with a sincere public apology to their country and to their victims, they should be shunned by decent society.