Last Wednesday, I gave a lecture on the law of assault and battery. As an example of simple battery, I used my old middle school friend Darrin’s violent reaction to being called an “English fag” by our classmate, James. Fortunately, no one was silly enough to believe that my simple battery example was meant to endorse the widespread use of the term “fag” – in fact, I prefer the term “queer” and only use it when talking about John Edwards. (Sorry, Ann, I couldn’t resist).
I also consider it fortunate that I don’t teach at Brandeis University. If I did, I might already have had someone placed in my classroom to monitor my use of the term “fag.” If you think I’m joking, consider the case of political science professor Donald Hindley.
Professor Hindley did a good thing the other day in his Latin American Politics course. He criticized the use of the term “wetbacks” as an inappropriate racial slur against Mexican immigrants. Of course, in the process, he actually uttered the term “wetback.” As a result, some students were offended – actually, in my view, they claimed to be offended in order to get attention.
And the “offended” students certainly did get attention.
As a result of the students’ feigned offense at the criticism of the term “wetbacks,” Professor Hindley has now been found guilty of “harassment” by administrators at Brandeis University. It is certainly funny that a university named after a Supreme Court Justice (and staunch supporter of free expression) should be guilty of such heavy-handed tactics, which are certain to chill the free expression of ideas.
But, make no mistake about it; what has happened to Professor Hindley is not funny in a “ha-ha” sense. It is funny in a “strange” sense. Although he has never been given a written explanation of the charges against him, he has been found guilty of “harassment” and has had a “monitor” placed in his class to make sure he does not “offend” again. All this is punishment for a professor who has been teaching for five decades and has never before had a student complaint.
Fortunately, the ACLU – like the blind squirrel that occasionally finds a nut – has taken a break from causes like suppressing individual prayer in order to weigh in on this truly important case. And they have proffered a correct, though incomplete, analysis of the Hindley case.
According to the Massachusetts ACLU, universities must be vigilant in protecting their students from harassment but, in this case, no such harassment occurred. In fact, according to the correct logic of the ACLU, it is possible for the over-policing of harassment to have deleterious effects on academic freedom and free speech generally. In the Brandeis case, free expression was harmed but there was no real harm to racial minorities.
What the ACLU missed in their response was that minorities may, in fact, have been hurt by the incident at Brandeis. A decent man has just been punished for standing up against racism and is, therefore, less likely to do it again in the future. And those who are following the case are learning vicariously that defending minorities is often a thankless and risky undertaking.
The ultimate irony of the Hindley case is that none of the persons claiming to be offended by the term “wetback” were even eligible to be offended. The term “wetback” – as I recall from my upbringing in Texas – is reserved exclusively for illegal aliens. By claiming to be harassed by the term “wetback,” one must simultaneously admit to one’s status as an illegal alien. And, certainly, such an admission would create greater problems (e.g., deportation) for the “offended” than simply being offended.
It is hard to believe that one could entertain seriously the notion that there is some constitutional right to be “un-offended,” which trumps the First Amendment. It is even harder to imagine that illegal aliens have such a right over and above the rights of citizens who are in this country lawfully. But just wait a few years and this will all seem mundane to the average American.
Lately, I’ve been getting so tired of political correctness that I’ve even considered leaving the country. Maybe I’ll make my escape by swimming south across the Rio Grande. And if my shirt doesn’t dry quickly, I’ll just cover my ears and hope for the best.
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Mike S. Adams was born in Columbus, Mississippi on October 30, 1964. While a student at Clear Lake High School in Houston, TX, his team won the state 5A soccer championship. Mike Adams graduated from C.L.H.S. in 1983 with a 1.8 GPA. Mike Adams was ranked 734 among a class of 740, largely as a result of flunking English all four years of high school. After obtaining an Associate's degree in psychology from San Jacinto College, Mike Adams moved on to Mississippi State University where he joined the Sigma Chi Fraternity. While living in the fraternity house, his GPA rose to 3.4, allowing him to finish his B.A., and then to pursue a Master's in Psychology. In 1990, Mike Adams turned down a chance to pursue a PhD in psychology from the University of Georgia, opting instead to remain at Mississippi State to study Sociology/Criminology. This decision was made entirely on the basis of his reluctance to quit his night job as member of a musical duo. Playing music in bars and at fraternity parties and weddings financed his education. Mike Adams also played for free beer.
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Upon getting his doctorate in 1993, Adams, then an atheist and a Democrat, was hired by UNC-Wilmington to teach in the criminal justice program. A few years later, Adams abandoned his atheism and also became a Republican. He also nearly abandoned teaching when he took a one-year leave of absence to study law at UNC-Chapel Hill in 1998. After returning to teach at UNC-Wilmington, Adams won the Faculty Member of the Year award (issued by the Office of the Dean of Students) for the second time in 2000.
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After his involvement in a well publicized free speech controversy in the wake of the 911 terror attacks, Adams became a vocal critic of the diversity movement in academia. After making appearances on shows like Hannity and Colmes, the O'Reilly Factor, and Scarborough Country, Adams was asked to write a column for Townhall.com.
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Today Mike Adams enjoys the privilege of expressing himself both as a teacher and a writer. Mike Adams is also an avid hunter and reader of classic literature. Mike Adams published his first book, Welcome to the Ivory Tower of Babel, in 2004. His second book, Feminists Say the Darndest Things: A Politically Incorrect Professor Confronts "Womyn" On Campus, was published in 2008.
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