Professor Kehowski and Opie and Anthony in the Same Boat
Professor Kehowski is fighting back with the aid of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). On March 9th Chancellor Rufus Glasper of the school where Kehowski teaches placed him on administrative leave and recommended that he be dismissed. Fire has sent a letter to Glasper but so far his response has been to dissemble.
The president who made the initial termination suggestion, Dr. Velvie Green, of Glendale Community College, part of the Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) says he is trying to fire Kehowski because he supposedly had violated the Technology Resource Standards and other District policy. The violation allegedly involved misuse of the institution’s e-mail system which is limited to mail supporting education, research, scholarly communication, administration, and other MCCCD business. If the profssor was in violation, although I maintain that he was not, then he had plenty of company whose offenses have been well tolerated by the adminstration. Now I find incidents like this very distasteful in general but as a historian I am particularly outraged that this fifth rate diploma mill run by left wing hacks does not consider an address by the first President of the United States to be scholarly communication. It is a slap in the face of my profession.
No one can doubt that there is a serious issue here involving censorship that is both unjust and extremely harmful to our society. That is why it has so much in common with the suspension of Opie and Anthony. In both cases past speech of the same type made them a target. The radio duo have been fired twice before and the type of material that got them in trouble was common place on their satellite show, as well as, the previous incarnation of their over the air program. It turns out that Professor Kehowski is a long time foe of multi-culturalism’s excesses and has had run ins before with other faculty and the administration.
Another thing that the professor and radio personalities have in common is that only a very tiny number of people were offended by something that caused minimal intrusion. Kehowsi’s easily deleted e-mail got sent over a district wide listserve but only five people complained, Also, you have to wonder was that five spontaneous protests or one person with four friends? As far as the self selected listeners of Opie and Anthony go they seem to be rallying around them and I doubt very much that any regular listener of the show became offended by that content.
Content, that in each case has real worth. Anything written by George Washington has intrinsic historical worth and his words still deserve attention, perhaps now more then ever. If you write down the words that Homeless Charlie said on the radio or hear them from a self-righteous scolding talking head they sound bad. However, if you heard Charlie say them in the context of the other things he was saying they still sound awful but they are also hilarious Something that intrinsically funny should not be denied to people who can appreciate it.
One of the reasons I have always loved listening to Opie and Anthony is because it reminds me of listening to really good jazz. Their and their guest’s comedy is increditably spontaneous and this sometimes leads to extremely humorous but admittedly dark places. I really wish those who do not want to go there would just listen to something else and leave those who like it alone. Because if the standard for humor is to never offend anyone then it will be like listening to jazz where the musicans are forbidden to play high notes.
Hat tip Kenny Rodgers