Comments on Under Attack -- Literally -- in Kansas

• Posted by Embarrassed Kansan on December 7, 2005 at 7:17am EST

• Unbelievable. Maybe those guys were trying to be the fittest.

• What's going on?
• Posted by R.A. Shaw on December 7, 2005 at 8:04am EST

• Academia, with no shortage of odd and strange happenings, including this --

  http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/12/15/state1511EST0091.DTL

  leaves many parents wondering -- what are we getting for our money and our children's indebtedness? A lot of "we know better than you" -- even though "we" went to an Ivy (B.A. and M.A.)?

  This is unworkable -- this is unsustainable.

• Blaming the Victim
• Posted by Brian on December 7, 2005 at 9:24am EST

• Yes, Shaw, there are strange and odd happenings in academia, like a professor being beat up for expressing an unpopular view.

  Your attempt to impugn academia by citing a year-old story about an adjunt behaving badly is weak, at best.

  I expect better arguments from someone with (allegedly) Ivy League cred.

• Can you say...
• Posted by Lucas at Wisconsin on December 7, 2005 at 9:32am EST

• Hate crime? The U.S. Congress defined in 1992 a hate crime as a crime in which "the defendant's conduct was motivated by hatred, bias, or prejudice, based on the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or gender identity of another individual or group of individuals" (HR 4797). The definition would have be expanded to include opinion, belief, or ideology, but it's a sad day when the level of some individuals' intolerance leads to such acts.

• Violence is wrong.
• Posted by Tom McCool on December 7, 2005 at 9:43am EST

• In no way should anyone even consider that this violence is justified. No true disciple of Jesus Christ would commit this act of hatred. While I may wonder why it is acceptable in today's culture to publicly belittle someone's religious beliefs, my Lord has taught me not to retaliate, certainly not with violence. My prayers are with all involved.

• Posted by Anthony on December 7, 2005 at 11:10am EST

• I agree that this "we know better than you" attitude has gotten out of hand, not just in academia but throughout our society. I go to get my car repaired and the mechanic acts like she knows more about cars than I do. I go to a restaurant and the hoity-toity chef acts like he's a better cook than I am. I call for technical help with a computer problem and, again, I run up against the "we know better than you" attitude. How dare these professors with their years of study act like they know more than the students they teach. The arrogance of it all!

• Posted by Jeff Riggenbach on December 7, 2005 at 6:14pm EST

• Interesting, is it not, that so many of the same folks who believe in "intelligent design" also believe that the best response to any idea with which one disagrees is to administer a good beating to those who express it?

  JR

• How Christian of them!
• Posted by Christian Anderson at Penn State on December 7, 2005 at 6:15pm EST

• I've been searching high and low in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John for the scripture that says, "If someone upsets your Christian sensibilities, beat the crap out of him." I just can't seem to locate it.

  I did, however, find this in Luke 6: 29: "And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also."

  But maybe that's not in these aggressors' copy of the Bible.

• Not followers of Christ
• Posted by Tom McCool on December 8, 2005 at 8:02am EST

• Let me restate - the people responsible for this act of anger are NOT disciples of Christ. Their actions speak to what is really in their hearts, and it is not a heart transformed by Christ.

• Mirecki beating
• Posted by feudi pandola on December 8, 2005 at 9:00am EST

• Obviously, Professor Mirecki does not deserve this type of treatment. I hope they find out who perpetrated this violence and punishes them to the fullest extent of the law...and that Dr. Mirecki prosecutes them if they are found.

  This is a sad case from the beginning to the end and speaks of the type of behavior that intolerance engenders. In this case, both sides exhibited intolerance and we now see how that works out.

• R.A. Shaw and intelligence
• Posted by Arthur Ide, PhD on December 8, 2005 at 9:06am EST

• You do not convert anyone by silencing the person, and by quoting irrelevant material negates any argument and casts doubt on the historicity, veracity, and sensibility of the writer. For R. A. Shaw to attempt to cast aspersions on a person because of a stand by equating academic pursuits with civil misdeeds does discredit to Shaw and to whatever institution (if any) he attended. The fact that Shaw's puerile attemp to denigrate an individual by random selection of initial degrees, suggests he either has none of his own, or that the degrees are suspect coming from a less-than-reputable school (Bob Jones University, for example).

  I support the chair of Religious Studies with unqualified enthusiasm. Not only did he initiate a provoking course, but after this nefarious assault, he returned to his classes to continue teaching. We need more individuals of his caliber!

• Paul Allan Mirecki
• Posted by Arthur Ide, PhD on December 8, 2005 at 9:17am EST

• For those who have spoken ill of Mirecki, primarily the fundamentalists in Kansas, it is worth noting that Professor Mirecki has most impressive credentials, including the publication of five stellar works (see: http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?Search%5FArg=Mirecki%2C%20Paul&Search%5FCode=NAME%5F&CNT=25&PID=29015&BROWSE=1&HC=5&SID=1) that make him well suited to teach a course on mythology and creation. These include an edition of the English and Coptic "Gospel of the Savior : a new ancient Gospel" (1999) and "Magic and ritual in the ancient world" (published by Leiden in 2002). Kansas, indeed, is most favored and fortunate to have a man of his stature.

• Mirecki
• Posted by Dan Minser on December 12, 2005 at 3:43am EST

• I am very saddened to hear the news about Paul Mirecki's beating and forced resignation. When I first read about Mirecki's course, I found his personal website and emailed him praise for his efforts. I never imagined that it would turn-out like this. Good luck to Paul Mirecki, I hope he finds a new place of employment soon so he can continue educating open minds.

• free speech
• Posted by Bill Frain at science teacher on December 12, 2005 at 12:45pm EST

• yes, we believe in free speech. but with this freedom comes responsibility. no one should expect zero consequences for expressing controversial opinions. the prof has just experienced this truth. i am saddened by his other derog comments...
  what did he expect? a free pass?

• a little perspective
• Posted by Larry on December 12, 2005 at 4:30pm EST

• Well, to some extent there is a “free pass” for free speech. First of all, expressing a political opinion does not entitle others to assault you. They cannot assert his views as a defense to any criminal charges. (I am setting aside the question of their insanity, and whatever the Supremes may make of it this term.) Second of all, while I don’t think that the chairpersonship of a department is protected by whatever concept of academic freedom is embodied in the first amendment (as incorporated by the 14th to the states), to say that a professor can be discriminated against for teaching something that is comfortably within the subject area that he is tenured to teach is, well, crazy.

  But, let's not lose perspective here. Nobody is asserting that his school organized his assault. Likewise, he still has his appointment, so he can continue his scholarship.