David Brooks-I Am Not Charlie Hebdo

[brooklynite]

New York Times:

The journalists at Charlie Hebdo are now rightly being celebrated as martyrs on behalf of freedom of expression, but let’s face it: If they had tried to publish their satirical newspaper on any American university campus over the last two decades it wouldn’t have lasted 30 seconds. Student and faculty groups would have accused them of hate speech. The administration would have cut financing and shut them down.

Public reaction to the attack in Paris has revealed that there are a lot of people who are quick to lionize those who offend the views of Islamist terrorists in France but who are a lot less tolerant toward those who offend their own views at home.

Just look at all the people who have overreacted to campus micro-aggressions. The University of Illinois fired a professor who taught the Roman Catholic view on homosexuality. The University of Kansas suspended a professor for writing a harsh tweet against the N.R.A. Vanderbilt University derecognized a Christian group that insisted that it be led by Christians.

Americans may laud Charlie Hebdo for being brave enough to publish cartoons ridiculing the Prophet Muhammad, but, if Ayaan Hirsi Ali is invited to campus, there are often calls to deny her a podium.

Je ne suis David Brooks

[pkdu]

1. Nice straw man David....but they are NOT on a University Campus...twat. nt

[Nuclear Unicorn]

3. I'm not sure who, "they" refers to in your post (I think it's the Hebdo artists) but what does

being on an American university campus have to do with anything?

The point is: Speech is being suppressed and that is bad. When speech is being suppressed by those decrying suppression elsewhere it betrays a startling lack of self-awareness coupled with a profound degree of hypocrisy.

[longship]

2. Hate speech prohibitions are just as bad as blasphemy ones.

Je suis Charlie!

[Donald Ian Rankin]

4. I wouldn't go that far, but they are a bad idea. N.T.

[vanlassie]

5. Ooooh!! David Brooks tried to have an original thought!

[Octafish]

6. No, but David Brooks is a Moonie.

http://www.apj.us/20060508Scoobie.html

Other than that, he's a hack.