Harvey Silvergate starts an important discussion on the Wall Street Journal opinion page with this lede: On campuses across the country, hostility toward unpopular ideas has become so irrational that many students, and some faculty members, now openly oppose freedom of speech. The hypersensitive consider the mere discussion of the topic of censorship to be potentially traumatic. Those who try to protect academic freedom and the ability of the academy to discuss the world as it is are swimming against the current. In such an atmosphere, liberal-arts education can’t survive. His chief example to drive home his point involves author Wendy Kaminer, whom he identifies as an author, lawyer, social critic, feminist, First Amendment near-absolutist and former board member of the American Civil Liberties Union. Kaminer, a Smith alumnus, was on campus for a panel discussion to address the intolerance of diverse opinions that prevails on many campuses. At one point, she offered the example of Mark Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and uttered the n-word to, as Silvergate writes, to point out the difference between hurling an epithet and uttering a forbidden word during an academic discussion of our attitudes toward language and law. The backlash was fast and furious, with many calling her a racist. The response from the Smith president was to offer an apology to students and faculty who were hurt or felt unsafe because of Kaminers use of the word. Ive known Wendy Kaminer for a number of years, and have always admired her intellect and her willingness to make others, including me, uncomfortable, for the sake of a fierce and open discussion about issues. She cares about language, always. I am stunned by this condemnation of her. If the WSJ lets you read the piece, I hope you will. Lets talk about the larger issue here: Is the culture of trigger warning going too far to protect the feelings of others, or is it a positive development? Im thinking this question falls short of all we could discuss here, but I trust Facebook friends and followers to build on it, as always.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 15:21:07 +0000
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