Firestarter 0 Report post Posted February 16, 2004 Fascism at Berkeley Excerpt: The tension in the air was thick, tempers were rising, and yet amidst it all, Pipes kept his cool. He managed to deliver his lecture, which covered the War on Terrorism, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and Iraq, but he was forced to stop many times. Pipes spoke directly to the protesters on several occasions, pointing out the irony of their undemocratic behavior, as well as mentioning casually that it is only when he speaks at college campuses that he requires such heavy security. He even brought up the fact that members of the MSA are currently under investigation for possible ties to terrorism. Their reaction to his speech was telling. When Pipes brought up the need to support moderate Muslims over those who subscribe to militant Islam, they booed. When he brought up the need to improve the status of women in Islamic countries, they booed. When he warned that peace in the Middle East would never be achieved as long as the Palestinians continued to subscribe to a ''cult of death,'' they booed. When he mentioned Middle East Studies professors who have been arrested under terrorism charges, they booed. When he discussed the need to combat Islamic terrorism, they booed. When he referred to the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks as subscribers to militant Islam, they booed and shouted ''Zionism''--no doubt a reference to the myth that Jews were behind the attacks. When Pipes brought up CampusWatch.org, the website he founded to provide a voice for students feeling oppressed by their leftist professors, they shouted out ''McCarthyism'' and, of course, ''racist'' yet again. And when he mentioned Iraqis’ ''liberation'' from Saddam Hussein’s tyranny, they booed even louder. ''I’m sure the Iraqis were much better off under Saddam Hussein,'' Pipes responded sarcastically. When it came time for the question and answer period, the group of MSA students all got up together and left, chanting ''racist'' and ''Zionist'' over and over again. Link to Dr Daniel Pipes' website Link to Dr Pipes' own comments on the speech Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Firestarter 0 Report post Posted February 16, 2004 Blog entry elaborating on some details unreported in the press Corroborating entry My friend accurately points out the "Seig Heil" incident, which really wins my vote for the low point of the evening. I found it interesting that until that point the pro-Pipes attendees were quite vocal in answering the interruptions. During the Nazi salute, however, delivered by the protestors, most of whom were dressed in middle eastern garb, with the knowledge that a large Jewish contingent filled the hall, there was relative stunned silence. It was as if the attendees understood that this vulgar gesture was best left to speak for itself in evincing the moral emptiness of its speakers. Another description of the event, plus some post-speech details What no one has really pointed out here yet is that after the lecture, the Students for Justice in Palestine crowd had created a "hate tunnel" at the exit, so that everyone who came out afterwards had to run the gauntlet and face a line of screaming Israel-haters. Generally, they howled "Racist! Racist!" incessantly at every doddering old lady, every nerdy student, every grumpy old hippie who left the lecture. Sounds like the extreme anti-abortion criminal nutjobs... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EricMM 0 Report post Posted February 16, 2004 The last line of that article is pretty shocking As in the whole article really. Messed up shit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Cerebus Report post Posted February 16, 2004 "Justice for Palestine" what a bunch of shithead hypocrites. Where are they for "justice" in the Gulf states where Palestinians are imported like animals for cheap labor and treated like second class citizens? Where are they in Egypt, Syria, or Jordan were they're kept in a citizenless state and in slums just so the leaders can have an international bargaining chip? Where are they in Lebanon where they are as worse off, maybe more, than in the OTs since they aren't allowed to get any job beyond digging ditches (never mind skilled or even semi-skilled jobs)? A bunch of fucking shit, these people don't give a damn about Palestine, they're just using it as an excuse to jerk off their bloody egos. Pathetic. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted February 16, 2004 Can we declare Berkeley a terrorist nation?... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Styles 0 Report post Posted February 16, 2004 Sadly, none of that suprised me... Oh, and how about this (from the post on his website): And this observation: The same Muslim Student Association which is under federal investigation for financing terrorism and perpetuating violence and had a direct role in disrupting my talk (as outlined in an e-mail dated Feb. 10 from "sajidah the berkeley girl") is sponsoring at Berkeley on February 13-15, 2004 a conference titled "Liberation Through Islam." Two items here are worthy of note: the session on "Preparing to Die" and the "special live talk from prison by Imam Jamil Al-Amin." Al-Amin, for those unfamiliar with the name, is a convicted cop-killer; but at Berkeley he is fêted as a distinguished speaker. Well, isn't that special? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jobber of the Week 0 Report post Posted February 16, 2004 I'm trying to corroborate this stuff through some sort of site or agency that isn't blatantly on the right, but can't find anything for now. I'm going to believe we aren't getting the full story for now, though some of this stuff has to be true as it doesn't suprise me as much as the other stuff did. And for that, I simply have to say: Eh... The phrase "Baghdad By The Bay" didn't exactly come out of nowhere, you know? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MikeSC Report post Posted February 16, 2004 Blog entry elaborating on some details unreported in the press Corroborating entry My friend accurately points out the "Seig Heil" incident, which really wins my vote for the low point of the evening. I found it interesting that until that point the pro-Pipes attendees were quite vocal in answering the interruptions. During the Nazi salute, however, delivered by the protestors, most of whom were dressed in middle eastern garb, with the knowledge that a large Jewish contingent filled the hall, there was relative stunned silence. It was as if the attendees understood that this vulgar gesture was best left to speak for itself in evincing the moral emptiness of its speakers. Another description of the event, plus some post-speech details What no one has really pointed out here yet is that after the lecture, the Students for Justice in Palestine crowd had created a "hate tunnel" at the exit, so that everyone who came out afterwards had to run the gauntlet and face a line of screaming Israel-haters. Generally, they howled "Racist! Racist!" incessantly at every doddering old lady, every nerdy student, every grumpy old hippie who left the lecture. Sounds like the extreme anti-abortion criminal nutjobs... You know what's REAL ironic, Marney? They won't get ANYTHING done to them. Not a bloody thing. It's also sad that this news isn't shocking at all. HOWEVER, if they had used slurs against, say, Muslims --- they'd have been tossed out of school. And let's not compare them to the radical, pro-life nutjobs. Those people aren't THIS absurd. Berkeley --- beating intellect up and stealing its lunch money since 1963. -=Mike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
