Today, I have learned via e-mail that the ten remaining defendants of the UC-Irvine Muslim Student Union have been convicted by a jury in Santa Ana for their actions in disrupting the speech of the Israeli ambassador to the US in February of 2010.
Since I was present at the event and witnessed the actions of the defendants and because I am an adjunct teacher at UCI, I decided that it would not be appropriate for me to comment while the case was in the judicial phase. Now that the trial has been completed, I feel free to comment.
First of all, I agree with the verdict. The disruption was not spontaneous; it was clearly planned and orchestrated. Subsequent investigation revealed that e-mails were sent back and forth before and after the event that made it clear that there was a cover-up to lie to the university about the plans of the MSU students in disrupting the event.
Over the years, I have attended many of the MSU's own events. None of their invited speakers, no matter how outrageous their words, were subjected to the treatment handed out to Ambassador Michael Oren. The intent was to disrupt and shut down, if possible, the event itself notwithstanding the presence of many community members who had come to hear the ambassador speak.
I also single out the older people who enabled and supported the defendants out of their own ideological agendas. Organizations like CAIR tried to make this into a case of selective prosecution because the defendants were Muslims. Nonsense.
In addition, dozens, if not hundreds of University of California professors and staff wrote letters and petitions urging that the prosecution be dropped in the name of free speech. They cared not a whit for the right of free speech of the Israeli ambassador or the fact that this incident was a diplomatic incident and yet another blot on UCI's already-tarnished reputation.
Even more absurd was the testimony of UCI professor Rei Terada, who told the court that the incident was within the bounds of appropriate academic protest, and that the university was wrong to enforce it's own behavioral code. (I am paraphrasing her testimony.)
This was a case that cried out for a negotiated plea that would have the defendants acknowledge their wrongful act, pay their punishment, and move on with their lives. Instead, what we saw was a defense that filed motions and turned it into something akin to a murder trial backed by the usual activists.
As to the punishment, I have no strong feelings either way. Should they go to prison for six
months (the maximum sentence)? In my view, no. What is important is that this act and judgement is now a permanent part of their record and will follow them the rest of their lives. Actions have consequences.
Ultimately, these young men will have to decide whether they were well-served by those who
advised them. I don't think they were.
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14 comments:
The people leading them such as the crew at CAIR will tell these young men that they should wear their conviction like a badge of honor. They will lie to them and tell them that they will go in the history books and what they did was brave and they akin Rosa Parks.
It is a joke but some will buy into it.
They already are talking about getting this case to the Supreme Court.
How long will we have to endure the wrongheaded view that the students' freedom of speech rights were been infringed upon because they were Muslim.
If they weren't Muslim they would be allowed to scream at a lecturer for the entire lecture without any repercusions.
uggh wake me up when its over....
I love when the Muslims presume to teach the First Amendment. They have no concept of the tolerant nature of this society so they seek to exploit our tolerant laws. Free speech does not mean you can drown out someone else's speech or deny others the right to hear it.
I was there that night too and there was no doubt it was a well orchestrated conspiracy to shut down the address. A conspiracy is a higher order offense than a simple individual crime because of the greater harm that can come from it.
This was a university sponsored event of a speaker. If they allowed the Muslims to shout down anyone they wanted any time they did not like the content, then it would extend to the classroom. You might as well shut down the university as the loudest people would do the teaching.
Gary is right. I have been to UCI many times to hear the Muslim speakers rant on about America, Israel and the Jews. Nobody ever interrupts them no matter how outrageous their remarks.
Good analysis.
Trying it out the other way, who could forget those historic videos of Rosa Parks screaming in the bus driver's ear as he drove through heavy traffic desperately trying to find space to pull over to the curb?
Oh, wait, that's the Amalgamated Transit Union's complaint about the hoodlums who punch drivers for not giving them a pad of transfers, and the management that responds by suspending the driver. Rosa Parks calmly took her seat and stayed there until the police came to arrest her.
The parallel between the Irvine Disrupters and Rosa Parks would be if they were told that no Muslims were allowed in the hall, they came in and sat down quietly, and the police arrested them for being there, silently. Did I miss something? That wasn't in the news reports.
Since you guys attended the event, you should create a little video and point out that your rights to peacably assemble and hear the speech was denied and send it to the OC Register.
They have rewarded the criminal acts of the students by producing a video where they say how proud they are for what they did on that night. It is pretty sickening.
It would be nice to have a counter and have faces that explain that their rights were denied by their antics.
Is it any surprise that the students say they are proud of what they did? That's in the nature of committing to and planning an action like this. If they do it again there should be some time behind bars, for the protection of the public and so as not to depreciate the seriousness of the offense. They have more in common with the Ku Klux Klan than with Malcolm X.
Here is a video, if you haven't seen it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7w96UR79TBw
Each guy sat in exactly in the middle of the row so it would take a long time for him to get taken out and for the others to disrupt.
It is obvious that ALL the Muslim students in the room shouted and caused a ruckus whenever there was a disruptor. They were seated in 4 separate sections to maximize the disruptions.
You can't say that they weren't warned over and over very specifically and they still ignored the warning. Obviously, they thought that they would be treated leniently as they always have been at UCI. Leniency doesn't work with them and they should not be admitted to the university or to the country as far as I am concerned. They just want their Sharia laws and don't want to accept our culture.
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Miggie.
Not only that but one member sat alone in the middle of the room and appeared to be texting and taking notes. (He was not arrested.)
Can you say, "quarterback"?
"they should not be admitted to the university or to the country as far as I am concerned."
Does that include all the hard working good Muslims who are just trying to get along that Gary talks about? Or should they be deported too?
Most if not all of the defendants are American citizens. I make that observation by the fact that most speak native English.
How many is "most"? Is it 6 or 7 or more? Unless it is 10 out of 11 we have far too many foreign students in our schools, causing trouble, and then wrapping themselves in the First Amendment flag.
I also think that the ones I have heard speak are so inarticulate that it is hard to tell if they are native Americans. It may not be unique to 20+ year old Muslims to say "you know" every other word but the point is that it easy to sound native born if you speak like that.
Yes Miggie, the quality of speech of native-born Americans of all races and creeds is truly deteriorating. That's why Gary and I could probably agree on the content of the curriculum if we sat down to plan a new college together. It doesn't say anything about "Muslims."
Siarlys,
See my post "welcome to fousesquawk university".
I think I may already have read and commented on it, but if you want me to look for it, please provide a link. You are quite prolific, and I couldn't possibly search through all your posts trying to find it again.
It was English, hard science, classsics, and foreign languages if I remember right.
http://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2009/02/welcome-to-fousesquawk-university.html
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