Bollinger the Brave

When it was first announced that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was coming to Columbia University, there was a public outcry that any institution in this or any other country would allow this confessed anti-Semite and Holocaust denier who has made no secret of the fact that his desire is to wipe Israel and ultimately the United States off the map, a forum from which to spew his poisonous bile. There was already a furor as to whether or not the Iranian President (read: dictator) should be allowed to visit 'Ground Zero' in Manhatten and Columbia's announcement only served to fuel an already raging inferno. Enormous public pressure was brought on to Columbia to cancel the invitation, which University President Lee Bollinger annouced would not be rescended despite the outcry, but then he went further. It wasn't enough for him to simply say, 'we extended the invitation, we're going to honor it.' No, no! Then he had to continue on and say, "Of course we'd allow Hitler to speak." Pardon me?

The incredibly ironic thing about President Bollinger's "defense of free speech and the free exchange of ideas" is that little more than a year ago, this very same Columbia University under this very same President Bollinger remained silent as Jim Gilchrest of the Minutemen was shouted down during his prsentation. I guess the "free exchange of ideas" is only applied when Bollinger and Columbia happen to AGREE with the ideas being exchanged.

Following the uproar over Columbia's decision, Bollinger made a point of "calling out" Ahmadinejad during his introduction, rightly likening him to a "dictator" and questioning his nation's record of basic human rights and its persecution and execution of those believed to be hostile to the government. Many in the media gave Bollinger kudos for having the "courage" to publicly castigate Ahmadinejad and some went so far as to suggest that the original intent of the invitation was the opportunity to call attention to and potentially embarrass the tyrant over his abismal record.