In the move The Hunt for Red October, captain Ramius has a conversation with and then kills the political officer. The purpose of this political officer was to make sure that no one on ship has "bad thoughts" or acts in a manner not acceptable by the Russian state. Such officers were discussed in the great book The Gulag Archipelago. A hall mark of these communist regimes are officers of the state who enforce political correctness among the people. Don't want any reactionaries out there. In America such a thing was the subject of ridicule as free people under this thing called "democracy" don't do such things.
Remember Salmon Rushdie and his Satanic Verses? Oh how he got supported for being "so brave."
Ya'll remember the art exhibit in Brooklyn NY which featured among other things, a crucifix in a jar of urine? I do. I went and saw for myself. A lot of people were upset about that, yet the entire concept of freedom of expression won out.
"Erika López Prater, an adjunct professor at Hamline University, said she knew many Muslims have deeply held religious beliefs that prohibit depictions of the Prophet Muhammad. So last semester for a global art history class, she took many precautions before showing a 14th-century painting of Islam’s founder."
The prohibition against showing Mohammed only applies to Muslims. Period. When a Muslim tries to impose his strictures on you when you are not in a Muslim country is to tell them to flip off.
"In the syllabus, she warned that images of holy figures, including the Prophet Muhammad and the Buddha, would be shown in the course. She asked students to contact her with any concerns, and she said no one did."
Personally, I think she went above and beyond.
In class, she prepped students, telling them that in a few minutes, the painting would be displayed, in case anyone wanted to leave.
Again, above and beyond. Secondly, the 'about to be offended" students had the opportunity to leave. They did not. You should know what that means.
"After Dr. López Prater showed the image, a senior in the class complained to the administration. Other Muslim students, not in the course, supported the student, saying the class was an attack on their religion. They demanded that officials take action."
So after being told it would happen, told it was OK to vacate the premises, they waited to be offended and then got their gang together.
This is not about an image.
Hamline’s president, Fayneese S. Miller, co-signed an email that said respect for the Muslim students “should have superseded academic freedom.”
Say what?
"“To look upon an image of the Prophet Muhammad, for many Muslims, is against their faith,” Dr. Miller’s statement said, adding, “It was important that our Muslim students, as well as all other students, feel safe, supported and respected both in and out of our classrooms.”"
This is that DEI talk. "sage supported and respected".Those students were in no danger. No person has an obligation to support any and everything some other person does or says, nor do all religious feelings (which this wasn't really about) have to be respected.
"“As a Muslim and a Black person, I don’t feel like I belong, and I don’t think I’ll ever belong in a community where they don’t value me as a member, and they don’t show the same respect that I show them.”"
The above quite is from a Sudanese student. My first response to her is that I KNOW the shit you left behind to come to the US, I can nearlhy guarantee that she is receiving more welcome at that school than at home (where being in the wrong area while being the wrong ethnic group could be a death sentence.)
Secondly she has NOT shown respect to the community she NOW finds herself in. If she understood that she wouldn't be speaking that nonsense. What she does know is that the magic words "Black" and "Muslim" create instant fear among the white woke.
As Dr. López Prater predicted, Ms. Wedatalla reached out to administrators. Dr. López Prater, with Ms. Baker’s help, wrote an apology, explaining that sometimes “diversity involves bringing contradicting, uncomfortable and coexisting truths into conversation with each other.”
Stop with the apologizing
"Dr. López Prater said she was ready to move on. She had teaching jobs at other schools. But on Nov. 7, David Everett, the vice president for inclusive excellence, sent an email to all university employees, saying that certain actions taken in an online class were “undeniably inconsiderate, disrespectful and Islamophobic.”".And there we have it folks, the political officer (DEI employee) spoke up to make sure the masses understood the official narrative.
"In interviews, several Islamic art scholars took issue with the idea that Dr. López Prater’s intent was to disrespect the prophet, and said that it was nothing like the cartoons in Charlie Hebdo, the French satirical magazine that had reprinted mocking cartoons of Prophet Muhammad. That led to the deadly 2015 attack at the magazine’s offices, which the scholars also denounced."
I agree that it was not the intent of the instructor to disrespect her students or "The Prophet". Indeed, I would say that as a professional doing her job it should be fireable to do so while teaching. However; I do not draw such a line for the Charlie Hebdo cartoons which I posted here to the blog at the time. Muslim strictures apply to Muslims only. If there are a set of people who want to mock The Prophet, they have a right, in a liberal democracy to do so. I don't have to like it. You cannot make me look at it or make me draw such things, but you cannot stop others from doing so and definitely cannot murder them for it.
The adminstration should have handled the situation this way:
Why didn't you leave when the instructor told you the image was going to be shown?
Well this is how a liberal democracy works: You don't get to impose your restrictions on other people. If you have a problem with this, you are welcome to not return next semester. If you continue to harass the instructor you will be removed from the university without a refund. I guarantee an entire different attitude would emerge.
Secondly, get these political officers out of these universities.
