Boca Raton News Weighs In

Today, I found out that the Managing Editor of the Boca Raton News had offered his perspective on the controversy regarding Radical Islam.

Hasner criticizes University of Florida

Published December 11th, 2007

News Analysis And Commentary

By John Johnson
Managing Editor

Nothing is free, including free speech. Speech uttered without responsibility or accountability is not what the founders had in mind. Irresponsible speech in fact ends up ultimately hindering the very freedom it professes by example to symbolize.

In short – free speech permits a multitude of things to be written, said, portrayed, filmed, acted, etc, etc. What free speech doesn’t do is give someone the right to harm others in its name, i.e., free speech doesn’t give a person the right to yell “fire” in a crowded theater.

What it also doesn’t do, according to House Majority Leader Rep. Adam Hasner, (R-Delray Beach), is give University of Florida professors the right to shut up or shut down students there who want to promote a film that portrays radical Islam as what radical Islam in fact declares itself to be – murders of non-believers.

Some of the fliers used by the students to advertise the film read in part, “Radical Islam wants you dead.”

That prompted University of Florida’s Vice President of Student Affairs, Dr. Patricia Telles-Irvin, to distribute a campus-wide email condemning certain students and calling for them to apologize for posting an advertisement in advance of the showing of the film “Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West.”

“Offensive”

In a campus-wide email to approximately 50,000 students, Dr. Telles-Irvin condemned the posting of the flyers as “offensive behavior,” and demanded that the film organizers — which included the Law School Republicans, Jewish Student Union, College Republicans, Gators for Israel, and the Jewish Law Students Association — apologize.

In turn, Rep. Hasner called upon on University of Florida President Dr. James Bernard Machen to admonish the Florida’s Vice President of Student Affairs “and take steps to repair the University’s image after a troubling freedom of speech episode which has drawn criticism from conservative pundits, free speech advocates and Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum,” said Hasner.

“Tolerance”

In sum, Hasner said that the film’s organizer’s “rights to free speech were being unfairly targeted.”

Dr. Machen responded to Rep. Hasner in a letter that the email was meant to “promote tolerance and diversity” and that “as educators we must speak up when the debate is inaccurate or when students do not feel safe on campus.”

Putting it in corporate terms, Dr. Machen noted one Muslim student group had expressed safety concerns, and the email communication was to make students feel safe and to “help ensure accurate debate.”

There is absolutely nothing inaccurate about Radical Islam’s stated and oft demonstrated belief in death for all non-believers.

Feel safe? How about be safe.

“Dangerous”

Responding to Machen’s letter Hasner said, “I fully recognize the University’s obligation to preserve campus safety and its interest in encouraging accurate debate. But the dissemination of the poster in question and publicly addressing the dangers of Radical Islam are not inherent threats to campus safety. Moreover, the University’s call for “accurate” debate of this subject implies that the University’s official position is that the advertisement was inaccurate.

“According to the administration’s view of the world, elements of Radical Islam do not want to kill us,” Hasner said. “Not only is this view wrong, but it is itself dangerous.”

Hasner is plainly and simply correct. Radical Islam is intent on killing. Its extreme views sanction the death and destruction of those who are non-believers – including in fact Muslims – and whose non-radical members hold beliefs only culturally different than most Americans.

But Radical Islam’s mission is everyone’s death, except those who are equally as insane as its followers.

“That is a fact. It is documented. It is undeniable,” says Hasner.

“By failing to differentiate between the Muslim students on campus whom they sought to protect and the elements of Radical Islam who pose a real threat, the University has breached its responsibility to its students by creating its own atmosphere of inaccuracy,” Hasner continued, adding:

“Furthermore, true and accurate debate cannot commence at UF while its administration adopts a position that is one of appeasement and denial.”

McCollum Agrees

State Attorney General Bill McCollum agrees.

In a Dec. 3 letter to Dr. Machen, Attorney General Bill McCollum stated Dr. Telles-Irvin’s letter “may have violated the free speech rights of the students and organizations who posted this ad and sponsored the movie.” Added Attorney General McCollum, “At the very least it has created a chilling effect on the free speech rights of students enrolled at the University of Florida.” Attorney General McCollum asked Dr. Machen to review the incident with his staff, legal counsel and the Board of Trustees to “formulate and take some appropriate remedial action.”

In his follow-up letter to Dr. Machen’s reply, Hasner said, “In light of Dr. Telles-Irvin’s actions today and the University’s inadequate initial response, I believe the following actions are appropriate in order to restore confidence in the University of Florida’s commitment to free speech:

• A public apology by Dr. Telles-Irvin to the students who were attacked for promoting the film.
• A public reprimand by the University of Dr. Telles-Irvin.
• A substantive and enunciated policy expressing Florida’s commitment to free speech and an action plan for how incidents like this can be avoided in the future.”

“As a proud product of Florida’s public university system and an elected representative of the state, this is not something I take any joy in,” Hasner concluded. “However, I believe that remaining silent will only contribute to the erosion of confidence in the University’s ability to promote serious discussions about the important issues facing the students.”

Bottom line: there are two things you do with a howling beast bent on your destruction: You cage it, and if you run out of food to keep it alive, you kill it.

That’s humane thing to do; it’s also the sane thing to do.