Fox News commentator Juan Williams is one liberal that I respect simply because he is intellectually honest and has learned the hard way how liberals treat blacks who wander away from the politically-correct line. In this latest article he has written, however, I think he is dead wrong. He has come out in defense of Florida Atlantic University and its professor, Deandre Poole in the case of the student who defied Poole's classroom directive to stomp on a piece of paper with the name of Jesus written on it. Here is his article.
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/03/26/in-defense-florida-university-jesus-stomping-exercise/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxnews%2Fopinion+(Internal+-+Opinion+-+Mixed)
First of all, universities in the US today are hardly in the business of challenging political correctness. On the contrary, they toe the politically-correct line.
Secondly, Poole's lesson plan stunt hardly qualifies as an intellectual or scholarly exercise in any way, shape or form. It was merely a form of indoctrination designed to strip young people of the values taught to them by their parents. He never would have done that with the name of Mohammed.
No doubt Juan would defend the free speech right of a professor to use the name, "Mohammed", instead of Jesus, but few universities would because they are intimidated by the reaction of their Muslim Student Unions and organizations like CAIR. Juan also knows that Christians and Jews react much more passively to offenses to their religions than do Muslims. Consider the reaction to this incident as opposed to the reactions to that infamous video about Mohammed or the actions of Pastor Terry Jones.
As for Professor Poole, I would not call for his firing. Were I his supervisor, however, I would call him in for an off the record chat as to why his exercise was inappropriate.
Everybody is entitled to the same respect.
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There is a long line of constitutional jurisprudence which bars the use of government authority to put words in someone's mouth, that is, to manipulate and coerce their own speech. It is on the basis of this line of reasoning that I agree with Gary more than with Juan Williams.
During World War II, the Supreme Court reconsidered its own previous precedent, and ruled that a state may not require students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, although the schools may open their day with such a recitation. Punishing students who decline, e.g. for religious reasons, or suspending them, then threatening parents with arrest over truancy, violates the freedom of speech of the individuals coerced.
Similarly, Justice David Souter wrote an excellent opinion upholding the right of the organizers of the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Boston to exclude the Irish Gay and Lesbian contingent. Notwithstanding Massachusetts public accommodation laws, barring discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, the parade organizers were engaged in speech, and the government may not impose its own preferred speech upon them, making an unwelcome advocacy part of their own speech.
Of course there is nothing to stop those excluded from organizing their own St. Patrick's Day parade on some other route. I have always thought the gays and lesbians should have reorganized as the Sir Roger Casement battalion, and marched to the music of "Banna Strand." Casement was in Irish patriot, so what Irish patriot could turn that down? But everyone knows that the British authority used his well known homosexuality against him.
At any rate, the professor was imposing symbolic speech on the student. At a private college, the constitution is no protection, but at a public university, all constitutional restrictions on state action apply. There was a similar case that went to court several years ago, over drama professors insisting that a student use the f*** word in a class exercise, and she refused. The courts ruled in her favor.
I wouldn't fire the professor either. But his contract doesn't have to be renewed at the end of the year.
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