Inside Gallaudet
Professor Frank Duffy on free speech
Dear colleagues,
There is a lot of talk among us about "freedom of speech." I think it is important to know that the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that protects free speech only protects us from the government's intrusion on our speech.
Free speech is not protected in organizations. In fact, individuals suffering under the illusion that free speech is protected in organizations have been stunned by the punishment they received for speaking their minds in many different kinds of organizations throughout the United States.
Universities are generally places where free speech is supposedly protected, but that protection most often only applies to those who are in favor of the dominant culture or politics of a university (e.g., did you see what happened recently at Columbia University when there was a guest speaker who did not fit in with the dominant culture of that university? There was a riot in the auditorium and the speaker's free speech was silenced).
Those people who speak out in opposition to the dominant culture or politics of a university are often verbally slashed to pieces, disenfranchised from the power structure of the university, pushed to the fringes of the university's community thereby becoming virtually invisible, or pushed out.
Given these very real consequences the "voices" representing differing opinions are effectively silenced. This creates a very oppressive environment for those with opinions that conflict with the dominant culture or politics of a university.
Do we have an oppressive environment bearing down on the faculty, students, staff and alumni who have opinions that differ from the dominant culture and politics driving this current protest? Are their "voices" being driven into silence because of fear of reprisals from their colleagues and peers? If we truly believe in free speech, should we tolerate that oppression?
If we believe in and value free speech then we need to walk our talk and make sure that free speech protects all opinions and views, not just those that support what we believe.
So, what are we going to do about this oppression?
Prof. Frank Duffy
Gallaudet University
Posted: 25 Oct 2006
