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| Is Ward Churchill like Marines in Haditha? |
| 2006-05-29 |
| Pasnau on Churchill ...One might laugh, that is, if the whole affair were not so depressing. Perhaps its most unfortunate aspect, beyond the immediate and very serious damage to CU, is the impression it seems to have left in some quarters that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Here my own experience is relevant. In the course of my duties evaluating the work of my colleagues, I have never encountered a single instance of fraud or misconduct, or even the bare allegation of such. Will Academic defenders apply this 'tip of the iceberg' defense to the US military forces in light of the (as yet just alleged) Marine war crime in Haditha? |
| Posted by:Glenmore |
| #5 i read the Pasnau letter, and I didn't see him making any such comparison. Hit the link and go read the whole thing. He rather nicely napalms Ward Churchill: A careful reading of the original report, next to his response, shows him to have misstated and ignored the committee's findings at every stage. Indeed, one might almost laugh at the way his slipshod responses reenact the very sorts of intellectual failings that the report originally highlighted. . . . were such misconduct discovered among my own faculty, or in my own field at large, I would be the first to seek that person's dismissal. |
| Posted by: Mike 2006-05-29 15:46 |
| #4 "Is Ward Churchill like Marines in Haditha?" Um, no. This faux-syllogism reminds me of the old joke: Q: What's the difference between a lawyer and a catfish? A: One's a bottom-dwelling scum sucker. The other's a fish. |
| Posted by: Glaiter Ulorong5552 2006-05-29 12:02 |
| #3 I thought Churchill was the head of his own department? Pasnau is the head of the philosophy department. In the full letter, Pasnau is less concerned with Churchill's actions than the punishment that the review committee recommended. Pasnau says Churchill's violations clearly warrant firing, but most of the panel members shied away from that outcome. A better analogy would be to the Moussaoui case (though I believe death would be a lesser punishment to Moussaoui than rotting, forgotten, in prison). |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2006-05-29 11:55 |
| #2 Pasnau, head of Churchill's department, is concerned that Churchill's behavior will be regarded as but 'the tip of the iceberg' and thus stain all of academia. I, a nobody, am concerned that the Marines' (alleged) behavior will be regarded as but 'the tip of the iceberg' and thus stain all of the US military. I think that to claim the Marines are the tip of the iceberg but Churchill is an isolated instance is absurd, but I fear that will be the prevailing viewpoint in the media. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2006-05-29 08:46 |
| #1 The comparison is absurd. |
| Posted by: badanov 2006-05-29 08:17 |