Speaker disrupts RC graduation [NY Times Reporter Chris Hedges & his anti-war diatribe]

The Rockford Register Star ^ | May 20,2003 | Carrie Watters

[SlickWillard]

A New York Times reporter delivers an antiwar speech that offended many.

ROCKFORD

[Freedom2specul8]

"“This is a ceremony. ... The day belongs to the students. It doesn’t belong to a political view,” he said.

Thanks for all of your pings..

[rvoitier]

Phil Donahue, Jessica Lange, NYT Hedges are Communists, imo.

This puts their speeches in perspective and in this light doesnt' rile me. What I think upsets most is they haven't made the distinction and believe they are U.S. citizens and are confounded as to why an American can think like they do.

Well, they're not Capitalists. They're Communists and They Are Among Us.

[dead]

Mr. Hedges proudly displays his condescending concern for those poor ignorant souls south of the Mason Dixon, who grew up with neither the intellectual capacity nor the old line money that he and his brethren at Harvard had in spades.

But don't be cross with his compassion. He loves those sad little people as much as he truly loves the poor brown children who will surely whither and die if not for his championing of their sorry lot in life.

[ArcLight]

What the heck did Rockford College expect? Chris Hedges has spent over a decade covering wars in every corner of the world, nearly getting killed any number of times. He hates war, and has spoken eloquently of its curious attraction as well as its horror. I haven't read his book but saw him on C-Span and found him a fascinating and compelling speaker.

If you don't want that kind of thing--if you just want rah-rah nationalism, pick a different commencement speaker. To be sure, one can make the case that that's exactly what RC should have done. Hedges would be a superb choice for some other context, perhaps, but maybe not what they had in mind for commencement. In which case, the knuckleheads who invited him should have done their homework instead of unplugging the guy's mike. How contemptible. How stupid.

[Billthedrill]

It was a commencement speech, f'Petessake, not open mike night at the Improv. There is a monumental arrogance among the politically committed that is ultimately more of an expression of self than of politics, and that is the assumption that what is important to me should be important to everyone.

I like beer, making it and drinking it, I really do. But were I invited to give a commencement address at the local diploma mill with the proviso that I could talk about anything I wanted, I'd think it an imposition and a breach of propriety to spend the entire address on the virtues of dry-hopping. The focus is, and ought to be, on the students and their future and this rite of passage toward that end, not the speaker's own private obsessions, even if he (gasp!) writes for the NY Times. (We are not worthy.) This is a matter of such basic common courtesy that I really have to wonder what Mr. Hedges was thinking of here, aside from himself.

[MJemison]

So an anti-war diatribe by an outsider at a graduation ceremony is "freedom of speech", but a graduate who doesn't like it and shows that by throwing his cap on gown on stage is "inappropriate behavior". Riiiiight.

[bourbon]

But don't be cross with his compassion. He loves those sad little people as much as he truly loves the poor brown children who will surely whither and die if not for his championing of their sorry lot in life.

Man, you really have the condescending liberal compassion thing nailed! I would swear that you were channeling Howard Metzenbaum or something. :-)

[justshutupandtakeit]

Anti-American bilge is having a down market. This jerk is lucky he didn't have one of the unenlightened kick his sorry @$$ all the way back to NYC.

Does the Times hire anyone who is not a certifiable liar?

[ohioman]

Sticking up for a traitor like Hedges really shows what a dumbass you really are.

[ozzymandus]

Invite a commie rat from the nyt to give a graduation speech, and you have to expect he'll give a typical commie rant. It's really too bad the grads didn't lynch him.

[RonDog]

And College President Paul Pribbenow is rethinking the wisdom of such controversial topics at future commencements...

Here is a book from Amazon.com that President Pribbenow ought to add to his summer reading list:

Onward! : 25 Years of Advice, Exhortation, and Inspiration from America's Best Commencement Speeches
by Peter Smith

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
"...The last, and potentially most meaningful, bit of education your college throws your way comes at the very moment you're least likely to hear and comprehend it, let alone contemplate and cogitate on it. No, it's not in that 8 a.m. lecture class or evening seminar, but out among your fellow graduates on commencement day. There you are, resplendent in your cap and gown, ostensibly listening to someone famous and wise, but more likely awash in the exhilarations, fears, and hangovers of graduation. When you stride proudly into the sunset with your diploma, it's unlikely that you'll carry with you any of that carefully honed commencement address.

And that's a shame. Commencement speeches, historically, contain more nuggets of wisdom and insight than most spoken words you're likely to have heard or likely to hear. So we owe Peter J. Smith a considerable amount of gratitude for culling the best of the myriad observations and admonitions that have been aired at graduations over the last 25 years. The result is a remarkable anthology, replete with perspicacious bits that transcend the years, and imbued with historical markers that reflect the social and political changes of the past quarter century..."

Or, he can get ANOTHER "anti-war" loser NEXT year...

[VaBthang4]

LOL.

"“They were not behaving as people in an academic setting, where you’re supposed to be open to a great many ideas,” Radlund said."

WTF!!!

Where in the hell did this nitwit get that idea...that people go to school to listen to other peoples ideas [not facts]. You go to school to learn facts. A philosophy class can be a forum for tolerating such nonsense but just because it is an academic setting doesnt mean there is an inherent milktoast unopinionated audience for you to vent towards without reaction. What if the audience had applauded loudly....would that have been the appropriate response in an academic setting? People are aloud to agree with everything in an academic setting but they must not disagree with anything?

Apparently freedom of speech only extends to the opening statement of a dialogue not the rebuttal/response. Individuals spouting a supremely minor viewpoint have the right to free speech but the masses who respond do not?

Liberls have got it twisted.

...and deep down, you know I love it. ;o)

[RonDog]

See also:

Speaker disrupts RC graduation [NYT reporter Chris Hedges booed off the stage]
			Posted by TomGuy On 05/20/2003 10:01 AM PDT with 11 comments Rockford Register Star ^ | May 20, 2003 | CARRIE WATTERS
Speaker disrupts RC graduation [NY Times Reporter Chris Hedges & his anti-war diatribe]
			Posted by SlickWillard On 05/20/2003 7:09 AM PDT with 31 comments The Rockford Register Star ^ | May 20,2003 | Carrie Watters

[Howlin]

Liberals are SHOCKED that people are NOT required to listen to their drivel.

I don't know about you, but the more articles I read about people getting up and fighting back at these addresses, the more hopeful I am.

This must be about the fifth one I've read since Sunday!

We ARE making progress -- and at the college level even!

[hellinahandcart]

If you don't want that kind of thing--if you just want rah-rah nationalism, pick a different commencement speaker

Why would either one be appropriate for a commencement ceremony?

Commencement speeches should be confined to the honor achieved, "the path ahead" < /trite >, and advice and anecdotes relating to each. And they should also be BRIEF.

They are not the place for an ideologue (of any stripe) to berate the people in the audience who believe differently. And that's what he did. The graduates were there for a diploma, not a goddamn lecture. The parents in the audience had spent a huge wad of money getting their kids through school and it was an insult from the school--the people who TOOK their money--to expect them to sit politely through the harangue.

Chris Hedges is lucky they only unplugged his microphone, and didn't beat him senseless with it.

I'm not kidding either.

[Pagey]

Well done!That's who came to my mind when I read that.

[pierrem15]

“War in the end is always about betrayal. Betrayal of the young by the old, of soldiers by politicians and idealists by cynics,”

Will we ever stop hearing these 60's cliches? Sounds like some of our college students also know it's about duty, honor, and country.

[TheMole]

Chris Hedges is a standard-issue NYT leftist who hates not only America, but Israel too. See here for a description of his journalistic mendacity. However, regarding your point that whoever invited him should have expected what they got, I agree. Hedges is a known quantity. One would expect him to assume that, commissioned for a performance, the patrons would expect him to perform the material that made him a star. If you hired Rodney Dangerfield for a commencement address, you would expect him to tell some jokes. If you hire Chris Hedges, you should expect a blast of Manhattan leftism. Your argument is quite sound.

[Bigg Red]

Pribbenow said Rockford College takes no political stance, but the job is to challenge students. He reminded audience members of the liberal arts college’s commitment to listening to other viewpoints.

Commencement speeches before a captive audience with no chance for rebuttal do not fall into this category, clymer.

[jagrmeister]

Make your voice heard. Send an e-mail to the Rockford Alumni contact (the only contact available online): jill_huron@rockford.edu

Here is what I sent:

--
The pretense used as justification by the college for its recent commencement speaker is a hollow excuse to permit a partisan speaker to politicize an event that should have offered a universal message for all students. This is not a "freedom of speech" issue. Everyone has the right to speak. You must Earn the right to be listened to. Not only was the speaker a failure at his line of work- injecting bias into reporting that ought to be impartial- but you don't earn the right to speak before students by mouthing liberal platitudes and spreading hateful anti-Americanism that gives rise to violence. To justify such a poor choice by "freedom of speech" would mean that the David Dukes of the world should address college students because, after all, we should be open to "new and different ideas". No, the choice of a commencement speaker must be made judiciously- a biased speaker with a partisan message does not meet the minimum standards required.
--