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October 23, 2007
Calm Breaks Out as IFAW Hits Princeton
Islamo-Fascist Awareness Week (IFAW) got an early start last week when David Horowitz spoke at Princeton, my alma mater. While other campuses saw the usual rage and hand-wringing, the event came and went at Princeton in a rather civil tone, as far as can be discerned from the Daily Princetonian. It reported,
"I don't think there has been another religion that has made saints out of murderers, had children of age two thinking they should blow up carloads of Jews," Horowitz said."If you have a system of belief that controls how you live your daily life and a government that has the power to execute these things, that is a combination that will result in a totalitarian state. That is Islamo-fascism."
While listeners maintained a tense silence during Horowitz's forceful speech, the question-and-answer period that followed revealed audience members' equally powerful antagonism to his remarks.
"He was a pretty poorly chosen speaker, he wasn't even supporting the ideas of the right, and every two minutes he would change topic," said Anton Khabbaz, an associate research scholar in the molecular biology department. "He had no coherence, and he said many racist things."
A follow-up column in the Princetonian amused me with its boilerplate reference to "hate speech" and visions of diverse students reacting in a unified way (I sense a contradiction there):
It is heartening that during the question-and-answer session, a diverse group of students stood up and combated Horowitz' claims with thoughtful and intelligent questions. And though his responses often resembled a temper tantrum, the audience remained calm and respectful for the most part. . .Nevertheless, in light of events like these, it is crucial that Princetonians react in a unified way, denouncing any act, whether verbal or physical, that alienates and antagonizes another group of students on our campus. Only through this unity will we truly uphold the ideals of tolerance and cooperation crucial to an institution as diverse as Princeton.
But I didn't read of screaming, brick throwing, denunciations, riot police being called in. This reflects my impression of Princeton as a fishbowl, separate from a larger community wherein dwell anarchist wackos who like nothing more than acting out their jackboot inclinations of violence. Unlike Morningside Heights or Cambridge, the greater Princeton area lacks a hard core of disruptive types.
Have you seen the housing prices there lately?
Van | 10/23/07 at 06:45 AM | Categories: WWIV
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Comments
Just to ask an impolite question:
If it is wrong to say "Islamofascism" because that:
a) portrays a direct link between the religion, and fascism.
and b) implies all muslims are fascists...
then isn't it equally wrong to use the phrase "Islamic Art"? After all, there is no clear link between Islam and Art, and not all Muslims are artists.
Henceforth, just to make sure no Muslims are insulted by an implication that they are all Artists, I shall make no references, ever, to Islamic Art. At best, I will admit that at times, in societies that manifested one or more aspects of Muslim culture, incidents that may be characterized by some as art occurred.
But that's in no way Islamic Art.
Ben
Ben | October 25, 2007 11:26 AM
