McCain Heckled
John McCain was heckled when he tried to give an address at commencement for "The New School" in New York. Heckled!
Look, I am no John McCain guy. To me he is a bit of a phony, a guy who appears permanently enamored with his own wonderfulness. I hated McCain-Feingold -- which I continue to view as unconstitutional -- and I hated his "Gang of 14" position on confirming judges. On the other hand, he's reliable on Iraq and reliably pro-life, so that's in his favor. So he's a guy who's on my team, but not somebody I'd pick to be my quarterback, if you know what I mean.
But, holy cripes, John McCain is a seventy-year old United States Senator who was once shot down over North Vietnam and spent seven years in a prisoner of war camp. What on earth makes the yahoos at the "New School" -- what the heck is the New School anyway? -- think that heckling someone like that is an appropriate thing to do? When did atrocious manners become a mode of political discourse? Why weren't the other students telling them to sit down and shut up?
If Bob Kerrey -- the former Nebraska Senator, Medal of Honor winner, and President of the New School -- were thinking clearly, he would have said something like the following:
"Well, it appears that some people here don't have the manners of tomcats, don't respect their elders (and betters), and don't appear to have learned anything about civil discourse in a democracy. So I guess we'll just have to cancel commencement. Too bad that you people who aren't heckling won't get your degrees this year, and too bad that we'll have to notify the graduate schools, law schools, business schools, medical schools, etc., that you've applied to or the businesses that you've gotten jobs at that you won't be able to come because you don't have a degree. Seriously, it's unfortunate. But I don't believe in governments or institutions trying to shackle free speech, I believe in social stigmatization and peer pressure as a means of teaching people how to behave in public. And you haven't done your part to put pressure on your peers.
"Also, by the way, in order to graduate next year, you will all have to reapply and be admitted, and (not incidentally) pay another year's tuition. Otherwise, you can forget about getting a diploma from the New School.
"Thank you. And... see you in September!"
Here's the point. Dissent masquerades as courageous in America today. But it isn't courageous, because there are no consequences... we are all Civil Disobedience nowadays, but Thoreau never gets thrown in the hoosegow. If you said to graduating seniors at the New School that we will have procters at the ccommencement ceremony and anyone who heckles anyone will be expelled, not just from the commencement, but from the school... then standing up and heckling would be an act of political courage. Without those consequences, it has all the courage of a little boy kicking a cat. They know that they won't suffer any consequences, not even a punch in the nose from McCain himself.
Look, I am no John McCain guy. To me he is a bit of a phony, a guy who appears permanently enamored with his own wonderfulness. I hated McCain-Feingold -- which I continue to view as unconstitutional -- and I hated his "Gang of 14" position on confirming judges. On the other hand, he's reliable on Iraq and reliably pro-life, so that's in his favor. So he's a guy who's on my team, but not somebody I'd pick to be my quarterback, if you know what I mean.
But, holy cripes, John McCain is a seventy-year old United States Senator who was once shot down over North Vietnam and spent seven years in a prisoner of war camp. What on earth makes the yahoos at the "New School" -- what the heck is the New School anyway? -- think that heckling someone like that is an appropriate thing to do? When did atrocious manners become a mode of political discourse? Why weren't the other students telling them to sit down and shut up?
If Bob Kerrey -- the former Nebraska Senator, Medal of Honor winner, and President of the New School -- were thinking clearly, he would have said something like the following:
"Well, it appears that some people here don't have the manners of tomcats, don't respect their elders (and betters), and don't appear to have learned anything about civil discourse in a democracy. So I guess we'll just have to cancel commencement. Too bad that you people who aren't heckling won't get your degrees this year, and too bad that we'll have to notify the graduate schools, law schools, business schools, medical schools, etc., that you've applied to or the businesses that you've gotten jobs at that you won't be able to come because you don't have a degree. Seriously, it's unfortunate. But I don't believe in governments or institutions trying to shackle free speech, I believe in social stigmatization and peer pressure as a means of teaching people how to behave in public. And you haven't done your part to put pressure on your peers.
"Also, by the way, in order to graduate next year, you will all have to reapply and be admitted, and (not incidentally) pay another year's tuition. Otherwise, you can forget about getting a diploma from the New School.
"Thank you. And... see you in September!"
Here's the point. Dissent masquerades as courageous in America today. But it isn't courageous, because there are no consequences... we are all Civil Disobedience nowadays, but Thoreau never gets thrown in the hoosegow. If you said to graduating seniors at the New School that we will have procters at the ccommencement ceremony and anyone who heckles anyone will be expelled, not just from the commencement, but from the school... then standing up and heckling would be an act of political courage. Without those consequences, it has all the courage of a little boy kicking a cat. They know that they won't suffer any consequences, not even a punch in the nose from McCain himself.
posted by PDB at 10:03 PM
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