12/16/11
FD4
Freedom of speech awards us with the opportunity to express our opinions without being held back. However, one man who abused his privilege confronted the first amendment. Ward Churchill went from an ordinary professor to a man of false conduct. Becoming center of attention, Churchill said some things that upset other people, but took hold recognition from people who valued his judgment. In my opinion, to assess individuals and compare them to crude men like Adolf Eichmann is an unfavorable act I cannot stand by. [THESIS] Ward Churchill not only spoils his reputation, the man is heartless. [THESIS]
A decade ago, the faces of New York became appalled. Their beloved city fell in silence as the twin towers collapsed taking thousands of lives with it. Until today, many visitors visit the memorial site to give their respect. The respect Ward Churchill has become nonexistent to. I admire how he takes stand in using his freedom of speech because many others coward to the first amendment. However, Churchill was unfocused and just blabbered his actions through inconsiderate words. Words that are irreversible and words that Churchill doesn’t regret saying.
By his essay, I can conclude that Ward Churchill hasn’t favored the government for his own reasons I can agree with. What I cannot perceive is why he felt no sorrow for the victims of 9/11. Instead, he was glad it happened, glad that those who worked for the government had destruction coming back to them. “All they did that day was go to work. That’s all they did. You insulted them and their families. Why wouldn’t you want to defend your own statement?” (Hannity). In response, Ward Churchill seen it as “it is not the purpose here tonight.” I believe that freedom of speech involves being prepared to answer any questions, not pick and choose which one you want to answer. If he hasn’t noticed already, we all work under a government without choice, only to keep mankind in order. There are flaws of our government that we object to, but we simply cannot do anything about it. Our nation succumbs to rules and regulations. Without them, we are in chaos without direction. The only problem is not all the rules are agreeable, Churchill could have been wiser and think his thoughts through before acting them out. I believe he is marred with his personal belief, but shows no emotions except boldness in a direct manner. Too honest, that his words are tainted on the wrong subject. His focus is the government, not the victims. 9/11 has absolutely nothing to do with what his message is, he’s only targeting innocence.
“The families of 9/11 have already suffered enough, they do not need their memories to be drug through the mud by someone who is trying to make a name and get attention for himself” (Hanano). As simple as that, Churchill couldn’t leave them alone. These families are fragile at the subject and only are trying to move on with their own lives. But Churchill isn’t allowing that. He is causing discomfort and rebellion. “Does he know the individuals of the attack? Does he have any personal connection with them? I believe not, so how can he judge what kind of people they are.” (Paulino). It’s like me seeing two men hanging out together as gay because I feel like judging them. Where’s the reverence in that? Churchill failed to act in accordance with having the common decency to comfort the tragic event that struck.
Ward Churchill and politics are obviously a conflict towards our nation. I believe Churchill is taking a toll on our nation’s history, how unfair and unjustified it was and is in today’s generation. Our nation is still not perfect today, but it has improved. While most of us agree, Churchill is stubborn to let the subject go instead of moving forward. “The man is a small-potatoes guy trying to re-create himself as the poster child of the blame America crowd, using freedom of speech as a rallying cry” (Macdonald). Retired professor was outraged when the University sponsored Ward Churchill. I can agree with everything except how she states that he’s re-creating himself to become poster child of blame America crowd. I don’t think he is blaming America, instead he’s addressing points America has left behind. Issues normally don’t want to be brought up again, but the bravery of this man had courage, but in the wrong context.
Another quote “the malignancy of Eichmann is that anyone could be a Nazi, could do the same thing. That’s truly the horrifying aspect of it. If you embrace the system, you are not innocent. You may not be singularly responsible, but you are not innocent”, gives an impression that we are all not innocent because we embrace the system. Adolf Eichmann was horrible and worthy of his belief. We are lucky we don’t go through harsh conditions like the Jews did. They hid in horror in hoping they would survive another day. Its not their fault for being Jewish, as it is not our fault for being different races. With no doubt, there is racism that human beings relish, but we cannot make our nation not horrifying. It’s always been an unsafe environment with insane individuals that take up space. The world is always in danger, that’s horrifying itself. No group or individual can make a nation a better place, not even our government. Churchill is acting like the 9/11 event made the world a better place by getting rid of little Eichmann’s so to say. Faulty once again, Churchill ignores anything that’s not to his liking. No matter what, we are stuck with our paranoid conscience rather we like it or not.
Ward Churchill has every right to speak his thoughts whenever, thus the word freedom says it all. From personal observation, I have a friend whose bi-sexual and time to time I’d be with her while others stare or talk behind her back about her gender. There were times when we both walked in the girl’s bathroom and when we came back out, people sitting at a table literally would just stare in shock. Another time was when we went to the county fair with friends and she was playing one of the booth games while I waited off to the side. Next to me, about a foot away, two men were discussing amongst each other her gender. Some of the comments were “I’m usually really good at this at guessing if they’re a boy or girl” or “I’m going to have to say girl” while the other guy comments “well maybe a guy, you never know”, and so forth. Moments later, I couldn’t take it anymore and approached the two men and straight up told them “ my friend there is a girl, so don’t judge.” They looked at me blankly and walked away without a word. Its times like this that I don’t appreciate. If I stumbled upon a situation where a person whose gender I don’t know, I’d simply observe, but give them their space until their gender becomes obvious. Its rude to judge, me being one of them at times, so I have to always remind myself not to. Back to Ward Churchill’s obscenity, judging to quickly is inconsiderate to others. Look at the crowd that got his attention, they’re upset. If I were in his position in using the first amendment, I’d be careful of my words chosen, show respect, and be accurate towards who’s my focus.
“Churchill’s byline saying that the trade center victims in New York were ignorant of the evil they did every day because they were too busy braying, incessantly and self-importantly, into their cell phones”, a quote taken from one of the readings reflects Churchill’s behavior. Is working for the government evil? I think not. Even though the world trade center might be where the “engine profit” is, it doesn’t mean those victims deserved a tragic death. While Churchill is happy that evil was returned, there’s a whole other organization that’s still working the engine profit. There is no factual point of his when the little Eichmann’s still exist. In a way, it almost sounds like he’s defending the terrorists that sacrificed their life. It’s upsetting to know Churchill is running many public speeches here and there without being stopped. The stations and universities handing Churchill an opportunity to speak, is offensive and they’re feeding into his attention. The more feedback you give, the more Churchill is going to build on it. Obviously there are no results still, so stop letting him consume all of your attention when it can be elsewhere more important.
The allowance given to us citizens to express our opinions can be a privilege, but also a dangerous act. Ward Churchill took risks and now is honoring his words that are not admirable by all of us.
Works Cited
Hanano, Kelley. “Attack Ward Churchill.” Online posting. 23 Nov. 2011. Laulima discussion. 28 Nov. 2011 [http://laulima.hawaii.edu].
Lum, Curtis. "Controversial Professor to Speak at UH." HonoluluAdvertiser.com 18 Feb. 2005. 13 Nov. 2011 [http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2005/Feb/18/ln/ln34p.html].
Paulino, Mark. “Attack Ward Churchill.” Online posting. 23 Nov. 2011. Laulima discussion. 28 Nov. 2011 [http://laulima.hawaii.edu].
Reid, T. R. "Professor Under Fire for 9/11 Comments Free Speech Furor Roils Over Remarks." washingtonpost.com 5 Feb. 2005. 7 Feb. 2005
[“Ward Churchill vs. Hannity, Colmes & Horowitz.” FoxNews.com. 7 Apr. 2006. 14 Nov. 2006. [http;//www.foxnews.com/story/html].
Log of Completed Activities
_X_ Nov. 9- Intro to Paper #4. Read the Guidelines for Paper #4.
_X_ Nov. 14- Complete readings for paper #4.
_X_ Nov. 18- Laulima Discussion: Attack Ward Churchill
_X_ Nov. 23- Laulima Discussion: Defend Ward Churchill
_X_ Nov. 28- Submit RD4. [50 pts] Review the Review the guidelines.
_X_ Dec. 5- Submit three RD4 evaluations [50 pts] Review the guidelines.
_L_ Dec. 8-12- Submit FD4 [150 pts] Review the guidelines.
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