The Columbia University professor who wished for “a million Mogadishus” doesn’t know when to shut up. In an article in the university newspaper, Nicholas DeGenova, Professor of anthropology, is quoted as saying he was taken out of context.
“I am quoted as wishing for a million Mogadishus, but with no indication whatsoever of the perspective that framed that remark,” De Genova wrote. “... My rejection of U.S. nationalism is an appeal to liberate our own political imaginations such that we might usher in a radically different world in which we will not remain the prisoners of U.S. global domination.”
How is that any different from what he said earlier? I don’t care what the context is, what he said is completely unacceptable and unworthy of a university professor.
To their credit, the anti-war event’s organizers and the University’s president have denounced DeGenova’s remarks.
In a statement released Saturday morning, President Lee Bollinger decried the content of De Genova’s speech.
“I am shocked that someone would make such statements,” Bollinger said. “Because of the University’s tradition of academic freedom, I normally don’t comment about statements made by faculty members. However, this one crosses the line and I really feel the need to say something. I am especially saddened for the families of those whose lives are at risk.”
Of course, you’ll always find someone willing to defend anything. Apparently nothing is beyond the pale when it is critical of traditional, conservative, or patriotic values.
“If the president is using the home page of Columbia University to condemn a particular perspective of a faculty member—and to condemn it in very harsh terms—then that counts as the University taking a position, and it creates a chilling effect,” said Nate Treadwell, CC ‘05 and e-mail list administrator for the Columbia Student Solidarity Network.
Would this kid be so defensive of DeGenova if he had wished for a million James Kopp’s or a million lynchings of blacks? Of course not (no one should), but it’s a double standard. He’s well along in his academic training as a hypocritical liberal.
