Revealing statement

Submitted by Stuart Fagin (United States), May 29, 2007 at 09:00

Robert Naples ended his dialogue with Dr. Pipes with the statement; "May I also say that we take pride in the fact that on our campus, you were able to speak without any significant interruption".

Surely such a statement has the opposite effect than the one Mr. Naples intends. For analogy, imagine the statement by the sheriff of Pleasantville stating, "May I also say that we take pride in the fact that in our town, Mr. Jones was able to go to the supermarket without being mugged." It would be reasonable to infer from such a statement, not that crime was under control in Pleasantville, but that it wasn't. Similarly, I infer from Mr. Naples' statement that something which ought to be routine at his university campus, the unimpeded speech of an invited lecturer, is not routine, and is therefore a source of pride for Mr. Naples when it is achieved, or in this case, nearly achieved.

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