In bygone days of God’s absolute truth, we used to burn heretics at the stake, to keep their heresies from infecting fragile minds with ideas against the prevailing wisdom. Today we recoil in horror at the torturing of scientists who would suggest that the earth revolves around the sun. How medieval! In UN-lightened times, heretics might have advocated for peasant rights or regional autonomy. In modern times, could you recognize a heretic if one bit you in the ego?
It might be appropriate to note that the judges and pontiffs who fended off heresies weren’t erratic or irrational in their pronouncements. Heretics were condemned in harmony with the ardent wrath of the people. As full-fledged cogs in today’s hierarchies, could you or I be able to differentiate a heresy from a damnable lie?!
What does it take to be a heretic these days? The same as always. In the Department of History, heretics reveal themselves as aspiring revisionists to the official account of how events have come to be, the version to which the majority have invested the foundation of our relative perspectives. Revisions which need to happen more often.
History, we all know, is written by the victor. If I ruled the world, I’d want historians to record that I acquired it friendly-like. It wouldn’t be a history that would inform and instruct, but the tale would make me feel good, and reinforce public acquiescence to my pre-eminence.
Later when I am too dead to take offense, and my heirs have fallen enough out of favor, historians can creep forward to revise the glowing tribute to reflect something closer to what happened. That account can record how I really came to power and how mankind might aspire to learn to keep tyrants from screwing the world over like I did.
We all would probably prefer for fact to catch up with fiction sooner than it does, instead of subjecting generations of people to historic transitional untruths. However, when truth-loving scholars rush in before the powers that be are still at their deeds, the scholars are reviled as revisionists. In academic terms that’s heresy.
At my graduation I remember noting the faculty assembled in their various colored robes, with assorted stripes and sashes denoting rank or whatever. I would not have been able to tell them from high priests or Grand Poobahs.
So what’s Ward Churchill done to get himself fired from the University of Colorado? To quote the Dean, retired senator Chuck Brown:
He was caught creating academic fraud, literally making up history and fraudulently planting stories and misrepresenting sources to change the history of this country.
Churchill is content to rest his case on the truth he has spoken to power.
I can’t believe CU is going to dismiss Churchill for plagarism and other trumped up subjective crimes – instead of admitting that they did not have concern for his statements until an out of state college and members of the National Inquirer (the paparazzi) did.
What about the Fair Use Act for educators?
What about the subjective nature of history that encompasses more than a singular perspective (as meticulously detailed in Clint Eastwood’s recent two films on Iwo Jima).
What about admitting that free speech is no longer welcome on the campus?
What about admitting that research grants to fuel the economy have taken priority over educating the young?
What about CU dismissing nine public allegations of rape and sexual harrassment against members of their football ball team and program while retaining the football coach, despite knowing that these charges were dropped only because the victims did not want to be treated like whores in a public trial?
Plagarism?!? That’s the creative excuse taught to teenagers so they learn to call Mickey Mouse and friends by a different name.
What rats.
Ward Churchill has needed and deserved ACTIVE support from the Colorado Springs peace community, but has not received it. Showing solidarity for those under the gun certainly is not the strong point of the Colorado Springs Justice and Peace Commission.
My support for him might not have been very constructive. Mostly getting in the faces of Redneck Wannabees who were dancing on the grave of his career.
Historic Revisionism, what horrors!!
I posted something about Christmastime about the Alamo myth and how it’s supposed to Supporting Terrorism to DARE suggest that Davy Crockett actually surrendered before being killed.
I suppose that made the Fright Wing really really angry, as well, but eh..
Ward now has more fans than I do, so I guess I could get envious if I want.
He did a good deal of lifting this little backwater of non-History up out of the dirt just a little bit. (meaning Colorado Springs)
Sometimes it gets better.
This comment is a Ms. File. I couldn’t find any unique blogs about the CU rape scandal here at NMT, so I’ll follow my own comments above with this update…
I’m pleased to see that Colorado Confidential is reporting that the The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has reinstated a lawsuit against the University of Colorado brought by women who allege that they were raped at a party there, in early December, 2001. The case was obviously never finished and the women involved were blasted in the news with stereotypes, from calling them cheerleading whores to beyond.
Unfortunately, the wheels of justice are square. The case is so old no one cares. And as for those probably responsible, they have moved on, safely tenured, to better days. Also please note – that while the current suit is by only 3 women, back in 2001 many others came forward to claim similar.
Lick it up Colorado. The sexism here is atrocious as well as the marketing choices of justice blogging to “aim higher”. At least NMT allows some comments! (Thanks Editor!)
For those interested in the case OR repulsed by rape and sexual prejudice, please give the Colo. Confid. story a read. I did find some additional information…
The Feminist Majority Foundation in LA managed to note the request for reinstatement.
http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=10299
And this blog from Seattle managed to at least write a column in 2006 thanking the sexy ACLU for protecting Boulder’s student paper “The Yeti” in their right to satirize male brute force.
http://yodellingllama.com/?p=641
Here’s wishing good luck (and compensation!) to Lisa Simpson and her friends.