Last night, I woke up troubled about what to do at the upcoming Saturday Social Studies celebration at Harvard. I anguished for two hours, from about 1 am to 3 am, and finally decided that rather than go to the lunch and then, in a showboat fashion, get up and walk out, the mature and reasonable course of action was to write a simple, sober explanation for my inability to participate in a celebration of Peretz, and just not go to the lunch, asking the Head of Social Studies to read my letter at that event. Having decided this, I went back to sleep for an hour and a half or so. Then, this morning, I discovered that Peretz had disappeared from the "final" program, and I had been promoted to "principal speaker." So, that means I can go after all and tell the stories I had planned to tell about the old days.
Sigh. This is not exactly the most important thing happening in the world today, but you play the cards life deals you. I will be sure to report on this blog afterwards what happens. Does anybody but me actually care about this?
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Yes, I care. I was appalled by the appointment of Martin Peretz to Bard College's board of trustees in 1987, just a month after a colleague Ben Linder was murdered in Nicaragua. Things went downhill from there even though the school grew apace. My comments on Peretz and Bard are here:
http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2010/09/11/bard-college-martin-peretz-and-the-hasbara-counter-offensive/
I am personally very interested in this. And believe me, many people on the center-left find Peretz odious, and hate that The New Republic website posts his hateful rambling.
I care.
While I may not have any personal connections to Harvard--I haven't even been to Cambridge--I'm happy to see the most prestigious university in the world not make a fool of itself. At least, not again.
I totally care, and shared it with many who think it was absolutely brilliant!!
Though I must admit, I was kind of hoping for a showdown.
Thank you all. This whole cyberspace thing is new to me, and it really is like living in a global village. I suppose someone at the lunch will be recording the entire thing on her phone! And then it will end up on YouTube and I will get my own reality show. Right? :) I might even become as famous as Bristol Palin.
I want to chime in that I care too. I've been publicly fuming over Peretz's remarks since I first learned of them, and am so glad that he won't be given the microphone at this event.
We have to speak up someone undertakes to dehumanize one quarter of humanity. We have to speak up, even if it makes little or no real difference to the person doing the dehumanizing, because we as a society are damaged (and in this case, Muslim lives endangered) if we don't.
And if you get a reality show, I promise to watch.
Good luck at the podium!
www.emilylhauserinmyhead.wordpress.com
Bob, You damn well know many people care. Kant himself is cocking his ears. The whole world is listening.
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