During the height of the cartoon controversy I had this to say about academic-pundit Stanley Fish, who seemed to celebrate the moral, um, clarity of the anti-cartoon protestors. Here is Fish on his NYT “Think Again” blog disapproving of Nova Southeastern University’s decision to invite Salman Rushdie to give a commencement address. Mustn’t offend those few Muslim students who revile Rushdie, one of the greatest literary talents of our day.
What [the offended students] are likely to hear when the mantra of free speech is preached at them is another statement by the university they attend that their beliefs—especially those that would lead to labeling some expressions blasphemous—are wrong.
Heaven forbid that a university should challenge the beliefs of its students.
I’m glad that the NYT is giving Fish a platform, but I’m also glad that his argument is being ruthlessly dismantled by the commenters. I liked this one:
Important figures in one of the world’s major religions didn’t just take issue at what [Rushdie] wrote; they called for him to be murdered for it. Surely Prof. Fish isn’t saying that our institutions of higher learning are somehow compelled to assist those who would make such threats in marginalizing their victims (those who are not actually killed) by placing them into an untouchable caste of “controversial” figures who are permanently excluded from places of ceremonial honor.
Alas, I think that’s exactly what Prof. Fish is saying.
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