I took the title of this post from one of the speakers in the video embedded below. I’ve followed this IUPUI case for some time, mostly via Dispatches from the Culture Wars, but also through the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE).
This case is particularly egregious, but political correctness, or the idea that people have the right not to be offended often manifests itself in much less obvious ways. Frequently the label “politically correct” is used as a weapon against simple courtesy, but at the other end, it’s used to suppress freedom of expression, or in this case, simple reading.
I think this deserves the maximum publicity, and the university officials who either carried it out or turned a blind eye to it deserve the maximum ridicule.
Dang it, it’s hard enough to deflect the criticisms of the David Horowitzes of the world when they’re tilting at windmills, but this kind of lunacy by actually repressive liberals only gives them firm footing, not least in the important arena of public relations.
Wow. I had heard of this, but did not know it went so far.
How ridiculous. A ban on reading a book.
[...] Neufield on the case of Keith John Sampson, a student and janitor at IUPUI found guilty of racial harassment for reading Todd Tucker’s [...]