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| Morse in motion. (Philip Ng/DP) |
Voltaire once famously remarked, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” If that’s so, Stephen Morse, 34th Street Food and Drink Editor, might paraphrase Voltaire to say, “I disapprove of what you say. You’re a holocaust denier.”
I’m speaking of course of the now notorious visit to our campus by DePaul University assistant professor of political science Norman Finkelstein, author of several books including The Holocaust Industry and Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History.
During his speech Finkelstein essentially laid out his arguments: 1) The state of Israel egregiously abuses Palestinian rights and must end its occupation of the West Bank and 2) All criticism of Israel has been deflected by various organizations with blanket accusations of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial.
So, what was Stephen Morse thinking when during the question and answer session, according to sources at the event, he demonstrated Finkelstein’s point by yelling that the “Furer would be proud” of Finkelstein and calling him an anti-Semite as he marched toward the speaker with his arm outstretch in a “Heil Hitler” salute.
The questions of whether Finkelstein should be welcome on campus at all or whether the Political Science department should have sponsored his visit have been debated ad nauseum by everyone from Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz to our very own Spinstress Julie Siegel. Morse’s behavior raises the question of how to properly confront someone whose views you find not only disagreeable, but also vile and despicable.
I can understand the passion affecting Morse and the many readers who have commented on the DP’s web site. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict isn’t known for eliciting passive responses. Still, the accusations being hurled by both sides whether they be of Nazi-style atrocities on the part of Israeli soldiers or Holocaust denial by Israel’s detractors feed into a cycle of hopelessness that begins with simple rhetoric and ends with the dehumanization of one’s opponents.
If people are so disgusted by Finkelstein’s words, they should think carefully about their own before they speak out against his.
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March 22nd, 2007 at 3:05 pm
Bring Morse back to the Spin! Blogsbe can’t carry this ship all by himself.
March 22nd, 2007 at 3:47 pm
How do you spell “Salvation in verbal form”? I spell it like this: “a cycle of hopelessness that begins with simple rhetoric and ends with the dehumanization of one’s opponents.”
How do you spell “A Messiah for the new generation”? I spell it “Blogsbe.”
Kudos, dear leader.
March 22nd, 2007 at 3:54 pm
There’s gonna be a rumble in the big green house…
March 22nd, 2007 at 4:57 pm
It wasn’t the passion of the issue affecting Morse, it was his childish immaturity and his passion for the media spotlight. I can’t believe the DP still willingly associates themselves with this clown.
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:05 pm
Ruben Brosbe is the Black Jesus
March 22nd, 2007 at 9:10 pm
And Stephen Morse is the Black Lyndon LaRouche. Or perhaps the Black Lyndon LaDouche.
March 22nd, 2007 at 9:21 pm
Morse-Brosbe ‘08
or the other way around?
March 23rd, 2007 at 9:47 am
If the University is going to sponsor Finkelstein than it should sponsor the following people as well.
Walid Shoebat a former PLO terrorist who now supports Israel.
Brigitte Gabriel a Christian victim of the PLO in Lebanon who now supports Israel.
Debbie Schlussel an attorney and conservative talk show host whose political incorrectness has her receiving threats of rape and murder.
David Horowitz one of the founders of the New Left in the 1960s and editor of its largest magazine, Ramparts who saw the light and now is a conservative activist.
Dr. Rael Isaac, who has written politically incorrect classics such as Madness in the Streets, The Coercive Utopians and Israel Divided and whose recent speech “Why It Would be Catastrophic To Solve the Arab Israel Conflict” undermines the assumptions of every foreign policy maker in the United States government since the birth of the modern state of Israel.
Erik Rush a conservative black commentator who has been threatened by the Nation of Islam for his criticism of Barack Obama.
Jim Gilchrist founder of the Minutemen a man who has been vilified for trying to stop illegal immigration.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali whose criticism of the treatment of women in Islamic society, brought death threats against her and forced her into hiding.
I would be shocked if anyone of those who justified bringing Norman Finkelstein or for that matter James Baker to campus on the grounds of free speech would not protest if any of the above came to speak on campus. Fortunately for those of us who want an uncensored education some of these people can be heard on the internet. Speeches of Debbie Schlussel and that of Dr. Rael Isaac can be heard online at http://www.afsi.org/2006_national_conference.htm. Walid Shoebat’s story is online at http://www.walidshoebat.com, and Brigitte Gabriel’s story can be viewed online at http://www.americancongressfortruth.com/videos.asp. Erik Rush’s viewpoint can be perused at http://www.erikrush.com and videos of Jim Gilchrist can be seen at http://www.jimgilchrist.com/blog/.
March 23rd, 2007 at 10:11 am
To Ruben Brosbe:
“Nazi-style atrocities on the part of Israeli soldiers”?
Where do you refer to hundreds and thousands of Israelis who were killed ruthlessly by Arab terrorists? Is going into a coffee shop and blowing oneself up (and killing dozens of innocent people) not a Nazi-style atrocity to you? What about the current Palestinian government’s absolute rejection of the fact that Israel has the right to exist?
You tried to sound unbiased in your article. You tried to preach moderation by vilifying Morse’s actions. But your failure to mention the above facts show that you have failed miserably.
March 23rd, 2007 at 11:25 am
He didn’t call Israeli soldiers Nazi-style atrocity murderers, so now you’re yelling at him for not calling Palestinians sufficiently Nazi. If you think that refraining from condemning any who oppose Israel is a failure to be moderate, you need to look up “moderate” or admit that all you’re trying to do is stir up more hatred. Not everyone in the world is Israel’s lapdog and will vilify any who oppose it. That’s the vicious brainlessness that gets us nowhere and continues the cycle of violence.
March 23rd, 2007 at 11:43 am
“Penn Alum”- please check up on those reading skills. He didn’t call Israeli soldier Nazi. Blogsbe suggested that calling Israeli soldiers Nazis was as useless as Morse’s “march” in the hallowed, curvy walls of Stitler B6.