Originally posted by cdtm
http://www.csun.edu/~vcmth00m/finkelstein.htmlVery long story, about a professor Norman Finkelstein, who is jewish and a has parents that survived the holocaust.. He was denied tenure at DePaul University, and his name was dragged through the mud for one reason only: He wrote a book criticising Israeli policy.
Apparently, he's considered a great writer and researcher by his colleagues, and by the very university that denied his tenure, as they claimed in the very same statement they denied him in.
This is.. incredible. Assuming this is true (And from what I can dig up, this seems to be), this is all the proof you need that politics are BIG in academia.
Just read it. See for yourself, and tell me this isn't like something out of an Orwellian nightmare..
Just want to add a little something:
At one point in the article, a group sent to heckle Finklestein repeatedly accused him of being a holocaust denier. They said this several times, during the show, to which Finklestein calmly replied how offensive it was to be accused of denying something your parents actually lived through.
Now here's the interesting part: After the lecture, some of the hecklers were taken aside and talked with one on one. They'd say "He's a holocaust denier", and get a patient reply "No, he is not."
This went on for several passes, until finally one of them said:
"He isn't?"
The obvious question: Why did they think he was? Where did they learn that he's a denier? Is it something they read? Is it something they heard from a pundit?
Or is it something an organizer of whatever advocacy group they're a part of drilled into their heads, before turning them loose. Knowingly.
Is that what some people do? Get other people that are passionate, ignorant, easily manipulated, and thus full of rightous indignation and likely to shut down an event they feel needs shutting down?
Because these kids were part of an advocacy group, and they clearly had no idea what his positions really are, judging by the dawning comprehension of the question "He isn't?