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Delegitimize?

Reader comment on item: Report on Hanan Ashrawi and Colorado College

Submitted by Jack Caughran (United States), Sep 23, 2002 at 12:07

Dr. Pipes says that we should "delegitimize voices such as hers" (i. e. Ashrawi's). "They have a perfect right to speak but they should not be awarded prestigious and highly-paid fora in which to promote those views."

That is undemocratic. America is strong precisely because it does not "delegitimize" speakers or viewpoints. That way all views get aired and a kind of Darwinian selection can winnow the good from the bad. American culture , from Madonna to MacDonald's, rules because we let everything compete. Delegitimizing only weakens. For example, outlawing certain kinds of stem cell research will only make other countries relatively stronger in certain fields of medical research.

Ashrawi may be wrong, but she is not illegitimate.
Submitting....

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Reader comments (11) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
Islamo-"Christian" anti-Jewish "Palestinian" Hannan Ashrawi ... [1980 words]MaliaJul 10, 2012 00:13197106
Those talk where transcribed [19 words]AronSep 19, 2003 23:1011357
The Stupidity & Arrogance of the universities [48 words]Sara SteinJan 15, 2003 20:455797
Background on Ashrawi-Please help [76 words]Eliot GarsonOct 7, 2002 09:112949
Paying for speech [79 words]Jack CaughranSep 30, 2002 13:462733
Yes. Delegitimize [90 words]Susan SalisburySep 30, 2002 13:112731
There are absolutes - Good & Evil - Right & Wrong! [685 words]John ReindersSep 24, 2002 13:572603
Delegitimize? [117 words]Jack CaughranSep 23, 2002 12:072595
Richard Celste: Part of The Bigger Problem [97 words]RobinSep 20, 2002 16:452576
Tolerance or Ignorance? [182 words]D ConnellSep 20, 2002 10:072572
Some ethical issues about free speech [398 words]Irfan KhawajaSep 19, 2002 22:392566

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