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February 10, 2005

How does such an evil man ...

not only operate for years unrevealed, but actually get promoted?

Of course I'm speaking of the ridiculous Ward Churchill [also see this comprehensive list - hattip LGF...] who has been revealed as of late when the rock of contemporary academia has been overturned and he is found squirming, pale and leprous, in the sunlight.

I haven't addressed the issue before because, frankly, Ward Churchill is not the only pseudo-professor who uses his position as a license to engage in the most blatant of agitprop as an apparatchik of the anti-Western/anti-American/anti-Israel Left. Forty years out from the radicalism of the 60's where anti-American chic reigned supreme, and major universities have operated as hermitically sealed environments that nurture a delusional ideology that would have its well-[taxpayer]paid acolytes flipping burgers or scrubbing toilets out in the real world. Everyone I know encounters these nutburgers in college on a regular basis if they take any class within the "liberal arts" category. In an algebra class any professor that would stop at the end of each class and spend 20 minutes talking along the lines of "GW Bush snorted coke until he was 40 and then his daddy bought him the presidency" and also listed on the board eleven reasons why Ronald Reagan was exactly like Hitler would probably get a visit from the administration. But have such a professor teach "California History" and no one bats an eye*.

*My co-worker just finished this class at a local university and these are a couple of the tales she related.

Churchill has used his postion in the "Ethnic Studies" department to engage in the worst sort of race-baiting. I suppose as long as this self-loathing faux Indian was directing his mendacity towards the melanin-challenged and Jews, few paid attention. Some that did pay admiring attention are the usual "Jews are Nazis" ilk.

There has also been a more recent major elaboration of the scope and meaning of genocide as it applies to the Palestinian and many other people, in a book by a Native American academic Ward Churchill. In his brilliant book on the genocide by European settlers and soldiers against the entire Western Hemisphere, Churchill, a professor at Colorado State University, in A Little Matter of Genocide: Holocaust and Denial in the Americas 1492 to the Present (San Franciso, City Lights Books, 1977) articulates Raphael Lemkin’s definition of genocide. In doing so, Churchill points out that Holocaust exclusivists--like Cornell’s Stephen Katz--have completely misrepresented Lemkin’s careful definition of genocide ...

[Ward writes] The factors motivating exclusivists to conduct themselves as they do have been analyzed elsewhere. They concern the agenda of establishing a ‘truth’ which serves to compel permanent maintenance of the privileged political statues of Israel, the Jewish state established on Arab land in 1947 as an act of international atonement for the Holocaust; to forge a secular reinforcement, based in the myth of unique suffering, of Judaism’s theological belief in itself as comprising a ‘special’ or ‘chosen’ people, entitled to all the prerogatives of such; and to construct a conceptual screen behind which to hide the realities of Israel’s ongoing genocide against the Palestinian population whose rights and property were usurped in its very creation.

This is not a matter of "free speech" regardless of what the "A"CLU says. Academic freedom is but a subset of freedom of speech for a reason. Free speech contends you can be as stupid as you want, academic freedom says you have the free opportunity to pursue truth, but you will be held accountable when you breach that mission.
In my view, there are plenty of reasons that the University of Colorado might wish to dismiss Churchill from his tenured position. The guy's record is a tapestry of fabrications. But I also believe that Ward Churchill is a red herring, a distraction from the real issue, or rather issues. There are two. One issue revolves around the distinction between free speech (the right to peaceful political dissent) and academic freedom (the more limited right to pursue, teach, and publish about the truth). This is a distinction that was often lost in the controversy over Ward Churchill. I have already said something about this here, where I quote Edward Shils on the point that academic freedom does not "extend to the conduct of political propaganda in teaching."
Why should professors in the liberal arts arena held to less rigorous standards than those in math and sciences? Would a university have to suffer a science teacher who preached the boon of crystal therapy to his/her pre-med students?

Not only should Churchill be summarily fired, but there should be severe consequences for those that ignored what was going on in his classroom and promoted him.

Posted by Darleen at February 10, 2005 06:00 AM

Comments

Without agreeing with Churchill, I know why he has Anti-American feelings. He is one of many indigenous people whose ancestors were subjected to genocide by the white Europeans who came to America after his people had lived here for milleniums. The red people were lied to, deceived with treaties that were later broken and in general, butchered like cattle.

If you do not believe this happened you have not studied the westward expansion of the Europeans in America.

He is not a faux indian, he is of the Keetoowah band Cherokee.
It is sad that he took this stance when one learns of the Navaho who willingly served in the military during WWII and provided a language the Japanese could not decipher.

A friend from work complained that in the 1970's his son came home from college spouting "communist" sounding theories so it is NOT news that such dialogue is being aired in Americas colleges. What better way to soften a country for the influx of communism then to implant its concepts in the minds of those going off into business and perhaps even the government itself?

Churchill has the right to his own opinion but using the College as a sounding board is not appropriate. I agree he should be muzzled or fired.

Let him spew his rhetoric from the streets or open his own school.

Posted by: hunter at February 12, 2005 07:41 AM

Darleen

EXCELLENT COVERAGE on this guy!!!

You really do your homework!

Thanks for getting this to us!

Posted by: Sherri Reese at February 12, 2005 08:58 AM

Hunter [not Big Bang Hunter]

You're wrong about Ward being an Indian. He's not. He's a "white" guy with obvious mental problms. He probably thought wrapping himself up in a "minority" blanket would forever make him immune to criticism, and he shows how far this fakery has taken him.

For that alone he should be fired.

Posted by: Darleen at February 12, 2005 10:20 AM

HMMM according to the site http://www.satyamag.com/apr04/churchill.html

MR Churchill claims to be enrolled in the Cherokee Keetoowah band and from research I have done on the part of a friend, I know that requires some genealogy proof. That gives a certain degree of credibility to his claim but does not excuse his hateful, violent rhetoric. If you have proof he has somehow faked his "Nativeness" I would dearly like to see it.
I will then inform the genealogy department in Tahlequah, OK of his deception.

Thanks for exposing those who would use hatred and violence to further their cause, which is to tear down democracy.

We ain't perfect, but we're better than any other government I have read about.

You have to admit that our government abused the Native American people in the rush to expand to the Pacific. That is a sad chapter in our history and it is not totally unlike the treatment of the Jewish population under Nazi rule.

Posted by: Morgan Painter at February 12, 2005 01:07 PM

Morgan

I hope your reference to the Holocaust was mere innocent hyperbole, because its really really wrong on so many levels.

Please don't buy into the "noble savage" myth. For a long view this poster is spot on.

Refutation of his "Nativeness" can be found here and here.

Posted by: Darleen at February 12, 2005 01:43 PM

Thanks for the info.

I also found a good one at

http://www.insidedenver.com/drmn/news_columnists/article/0,1299,DRMN_86_3541947,00.html

relating that churchill lost the right to sell Native art by a law passed in 1990 for failing to prove his Native American authenticity.

I did not mean to trivialize the Holocaust, I merely meant to imply that a deliberate plan to reduce and confine a different race had been implimented in this country by members of our government.

We have to believe that such an incident would not be allowed by todays public, but when hard times come, hatred rears an ugly head and surprises even the most naive. God forbid it should happen here again in the event of a serious economic collapse or military attack.

There is really no way to make restitution for the wrongs of previous administrations whose actions WE had no control over. But there are still Native Americans living in harsh conditions and that is a present day problem.

People like Ward Churchill do not help to improve things. Hatred begets hatred begets hatred and the cycle continues with no one the winner.

It is only through fair and objective dialogue that any situation is improved.

I am certain that few in the Native American community believe that WC is helping their cause.

Posted by: Morgan Painter at February 12, 2005 02:19 PM

WELL, Ward Churchill is now on the front page of IWON.COM!!!!!

He can't hide now, the bloggers have helped to drag him out into the sunlight as Darleen had alluded to.

Posted by: Morgan Painter at February 12, 2005 03:48 PM

Ward Churchill is an Indian.

In fact he is the son of Chief Bowels, the one who moved constantly, because his Tepee was always full of S*it!

Posted by: Bzzz at February 12, 2005 10:46 PM

I'm still trying to figure out how this clown got tenure. No PhD -- all he's got is a Masters from a university I've never heard of. It could just be that UCB's department was in really bad shape back when Ethnic Studies was getting hot, and huge demand bought bad supply. Still, it's hard to imagine.

Let me assure you that I've never actually met a professor with political views this ridiculous. (This week I met a metaphysician who didn't believe that George Bush actually existed. But since he didn't believe that tables and chairs actually exist either, his problem isn't really a political one.)

Posted by: Ethical Werewolf at February 13, 2005 03:23 AM

According to research I did last night, Ward Churchill cannot have enough Native in him to qualify even if his gggrandfather was full blood and there is no proof even of that.

When I look at the pollution and abuse to the land that has been caused by my "white" race I am not proud of that. The "indians" had tribal wars and made slaves of each other, but they had more respect for the land than to pollute it.

They never killed animals just for sport and left them to rot in the sun. They made use of almost every part of the ones they took for food.

They had a code of honor when it came to promises and telling the truth.

These are characteristics I would like to see more of in the "white" race.

Characteristics that Ward Churchill does not possess.

Posted by: Morgan Painter at February 13, 2005 07:53 AM

In regards to punishing or silencing those like Ward Churchill who spew hatred and condone or suggest violence, you might find this interesting.

http://www.islamreview.com/articles/pastorscourt.shtml

According to this article, Australia has enacted a law that would give people the right to drag Ward Churchill into court for violating a law that is intended to create a friendly atmosphere between races and religions. He could be sentenced for hateful rhetoric.

The downside is that the Islamic community is now sueing two Christian ministers for "vilifying" the Islamic faith.

This is a classic example of what can happen when Government attempts to regulate conscience.

Posted by: Morgan Painter at February 13, 2005 09:02 AM

Here's a follow up site.

http://jmm.aaa.net.au/articles/14138.htm

Posted by: Morgan Painter at February 13, 2005 09:04 AM

Morgan

I don't think the government should get involved in Ward's speech at all. I loath such "hate" laws with a passion.

On the other hand, his fake resume and his spurious "research" should have his employers pink-slipping him.

Why should an "academic" have more rights than any other job holder?

Posted by: Darleen at February 13, 2005 09:31 AM

Aren't there already some laws regarding inciting people to overthrow the government that could be used agains this disgutingly hateful excuse for a human being?

Posted by: Morgan Painter at February 13, 2005 09:54 AM


When I came across "How does such an evil man..." while doing a Google search I thought I'd be reading about the Bush administration and the tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi men, women and children it has murdered since the illegal invasion. Instead I find a lot of right-wing raving about a professor from Colorado. How many innocent people did the guy kill?

Posted by: luther kromme at March 9, 2005 10:57 PM