Rudy Giuliani was recently selected to be commencement speaker at Middlebury College. You might therefore be surprised at the criticism unleashed at him by a student in the college newspaper. "In the school’s press release they trumpet Giuliani’s “achievements” as mayor of New York City. He reduced crime rates dramatically. He 'rejuvenated' neighborhoods. He cut taxes. Bravo. This press release, understandably, represents the white New York elite’s view of things–understandably because many of the people that call the shots here, the Trustees, are white billionaire New Yorkers. "This view of Giuliani’s tenure is racist. Why? Because the crime reduction that he achieved–and much of it was due to the overall drop in the use of crack cocaine during the 1990s and not his policies–was based on a campaign of brutality and intimidation against the poor and non-white inhabitants of the city. Even while police murdered an unarmed Haitian immigrant and sodomized a prisoner with a plunger, the mayor disbanded the New York City committee investigating police brutality." http://www.middleburycampus.com/news/895684.html?mkey=503123 Accompanying the article is a thumbnail photo of Giuliani as Hitler.
Surprised? I guess you never went to college. I know no one, except yourself, that is a college graduate that would be surprised in the least. Not much of a story. Tom Nixon
Vermont. Typical. Stupid. 60's forever. After all, as I was told over and over again during the original 60's, southern and eastern (sic) Europeans are all "hardhats" and bigots. When I asked why (we) weren't mentioned in textbooks, more than one prof [not at Middlebury, although I almost went there] indicated that we were brought over as menial laborers and had contributed nothing to America except polka music and the mafia. Glad to see that time stands still somewhere.
I'm curious what the point of this thread is. There's kind of a portentuous tone to it, like it illustrates something important. But I don't know what. That students sometimes say things that Orson disagrees with? So what? There's this thing called 'free speech'. That Middlebury College sucks? If that's the intended conclusion, then it's a non-sequitur. Middlebury is the place that invited Giuliani to be a speaker, after all. That Vermont sucks? That's even more of a stretch. I'm very fond of Vermont, myself. It's one of my favorite states.
I don't like Giuliani at all, as it happens. Equating him with that Austrian is evil, but not serious. It's just a morality play--but not really about Giulani. See, there are the evil white zillionaire New Yorker trustees, and (I betcha) some noble Ward Churchill wannabe profs securely tenured who like to pose as rebels, and servile students writing what their rebel (ha!) profs would approve. All of it very Manichaean. Now the very devil himself (Giuliani) turns up. La lutte finale! Conformity under pretense of brave rebellion is still conformity.
Uncle Janko, Uncle Janko! If you were here, I'd buy you a drink! Two drinks! Maybe three! You are SOOOOO right about Eastern Establishment academics, "securely tenured" and posing as radicals! It makes me want to vomit. It is PRECISELY what is wrong with the Critical Legal Studies movement (at Harvard, can you believe it?) Oh, it makes me want to puke!
The words "Vermont" and "sucks" are usually (and understandably) preceded by the phrase "The weather in." The people are pretty much like the people everywhere else, mostly nice; the scenery is beautiful for several weeks in the fall. That some college student equates Giuliani with Hitler isn't a big shock. The student gets his name in the school paper and beyond and enjoys some notoriety among the school's progressive elite for a while. He'll also probably cringe when he rereads this article in 10 or 15 years when he is a lawyer or businessman. It is this type of freedom of expression that allows youth to vent their perceived frustrations and get it out of their system. Elsewhere in the world, in places that don't allow such freedom of expression, we see far more political violence. (As for crime and violence, well, that's another story ...)
Leftists And I love free speech, but not if I have to pay for THEIR speech. Anyway, fight them wherever, but every time they open their stupid mouths, CONSERVATIVES WIN ELECTIONS! YEAHHHHHHH
I don't find it odd that in a state that has as its Congressman a socialist (Bernie Sanders) there would be those who imply Rudy is a Nazi.
