Over the pond this week, and a collection of recent stories which raise questions over freedom of speech and intellectual right to reply.
Hitting the headlines on Monday, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, who played guest at New York’s Columbia University SIPA-World Leaders Forum. The remarkable reception given to him by University President Lee Bollinger caused great stir among news networks. Mr Bollinger pre-empted his speaker, roundly criticising him with a long list of charges. The 2,136-word prelude cited Mr Ahemedinejad’s denial of the Holocaust and alleged sponsoring of terrorism, proxy war against US troops in Iraq and malevolent nuclear ambitions.
The New York Times provided a sample of the highlights:
“Let’s, then, be clear at the beginning, Mr. President you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator”
…and…
“I am only a professor, who is also a university president, and today I feel all the weight of the modern civilized world yearning to express the revulsion at what you stand for. I only wish I could do better.”
No punches having been pulled by the hosts, Mr Ahmedinejad hit back with an understandably nonplussed yet measured response:
“In Iran, tradition requires when you invite a person to be a speaker, we actually respect our students enough to allow them to make their own judgment, and don’t think it’s necessary before the speech is even given to come in with a series of complaints to provide vaccination to the students and faculty.”
Before, during and after the address, news networks showed students angrily demonstrating against the speaker’s presence at the top US university. US tabloids also reacted with predictable fury to the visit, coming up with some truly memorable headlines. The New York Daily News’ header was, “The Evil has Landed,” whereas the Daily Post stuck more conservatively to “Madman.”
Little thought seems to have gone into the handling of the Iranian president in New York. Seeking to emphasize the importance of freedom of speech, Columbia shot themselves in the foot. Reports focused overwhelmingly not on the content of the forum, but on the frosty reception given. Certain US academics must have felt regret. Not so Mr Ahmedinejad, who must have been rubbing his hands in glee.
On the receiving end at another US institution, University of Florida student Andrew Meyer. The unfortunate 21-year old was tasered at a recent question and answer session given by former presidential candidate John Kerry.* The Daily Telegraph reported that after questioning Kerry over the controversial 2004 presidential election result, Meyer refused to relinquish the microphone after his allotted question time. He was consequently dragged to the rear of the debating hall and pinned down by several officers, managing to scream, ‘Don’t tase me, bro!’ before being zapped and taken into custody.
News networks showed the incredible scene widely, and the BBC website reported subsequently that an inquiry would be conducted into whether campus police had used the weapon appropriately given the circumstances.
The taser scene itself scene revives memories of a similarly controversial incident filmed in Russia in August 2000. Cameras captured the moment Nadya Tylik, mother of one of the victims of the Kursk submarine disaster, was apparently restrained and subdued by way of an injection in the neck. At the time, she was publicly and vocally attacking the Russian deputy Prime Minister over the slack official response.
Michael Moore, another man never afraid to speak his mind, has been in the news of late with his latest cinematic effort, Sicko, soon to be released in the UK. The documentary aims to provide a critical look at the American healthcare system by comparing it with other countries. Having already run a piece looking at Moore’s treatment of the Cuban healthcare system, Monday’s edition of the Guardian featured interviews with 16 NHS professionals who had seen the film, in order to gauge some British reaction.
Striking in the 16 interviews conducted was the number of people who considered Moore’s depiction of the NHS as one-sided and somewhat “rosy.” This from Karim Ahmed, an Accident and Emergency Registrar:
“…in terms of the health service it is obviously showing just the very best side of our NHS and the very worst parts of the US system.”
And this from Zhaleh Khaleeli, an NHS researcher:
“Moore is bringing a lot of issues to the attention of the American public that they probably would not think about much otherwise. But it doesn't translate that well over here. We're used to a bit more sophistication, we want both sides of the picture. As far as the NHS goes, you can see he is glossing over all sorts of problems.”
Could it seriously be the case that Michael Moore makes biased documentaries in order to push his left wing views? Certainly Debbie Melnyk and Rick Caine would say so. Their own soon to be released documentary, Manufacturing Dissent, focuses on the tactics used by Moore, suggesting he misleads and badgers interviewees and manipulates opinion with unbalanced evidence.
*You can see the full article on Andrew Meyer and the video of the taser incident at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/09/18/wkerry118.xml
And you can get your “Don’t tase me, bro” T-shirts at:
http://threadpit.com/store/product.php?productid=236&item=236
