The Right to Feel Comfortable ...

You hadn't heard that one, had you? It's Amendment I-A to the Constitution, the one that abrogates the right of free speech on our campuses if the speech is offensive. Mike Adams is a pain in the neck who moonlights as a professor of criminal justice at UNC-Wilmington. An administrator there recently asked him not to discuss some subjects with his colleagues because it makes them uncomfortable. In his latest column for TownHall, Adams enumerates some things that have made him uncomfortable at UNCW.

*My first year at UNCW, a faculty member in our department objected to a job candidate because he was"a little too white male." Such comments make me feel really uncomfortable, being a white guy and all that.
*My second year at UNCW we removed a white woman from our interview pool in order to make room for a black woman. When the university forced me to discriminate on the basis of race, I felt really uncomfortable.
*My third year at UNCW someone suggested that we should reject a job candidate because he was"too religious." It sure makes me feel uncomfortable when people say things like that.
*My fourth year at UNCW someone objected to a job candidate because she felt that the husband played too dominant a role in the candidate's marriage. It also makes me feel uncomfortable when people say things like that.

*Then there are all the times that the name Jesus Christ has been used as a form of profanity in the office. That makes me feel uncomfortable. By the way, I am especially offended by the phrase"Jesus F***ing Christ!" I mean, no one ever says"Mo-F***ing-Hammed!" or"F***ing Buddha!," do they?
*Then there was the time that a gay activist in our department suggested that I switch to bi-sexuality in order to double my chances of finding a suitable"partner." That made me feel uncomfortable and she knew it. After I started to blush, she asked,"What's the matter, are you a little homophobic?" So what if I don't think you can change your sexual orientation as easily as your underwear? Is that so wrong? Do I really have a phobia?
*And how about the time that a faculty member called another faculty member a"mother f***er" in one of our meetings? That was before he said that he should have climbed over the desk and"slapped the s*** out of him." These sociologists need to start getting along with one another if they plan to build a Utopian society. Plus, it makes me feel really uncomfortable to hear about these threats of violence in the workplace.

*Then there's the professor in our department who thinks that I am trying to poison her with tear gas. A few years ago the police questioned me about breaking into her office and spraying chemicals. That was a pretty uncomfortable situation. I think it even qualifies as a Maalox moment. By the way, how long do I have to work with this woman? She makes me feel very uncomfortable.
*And then there was the time that the university attorney read two of my personal e-mails against my objections. Do you have any idea how uncomfortable that made me feel? That's a long story that you can read about in my new book, which I am not trying shamelessly to promote. I know that capitalism makes a lot of my colleagues feel uncomfortable.
*A member of the UNCW Board of Trustees has been heard calling people"white trash" and making other racist statements in public. She has to vote on my next promotion as well as the promotion of every other professor at the university. That makes me feel a little uncomfortable, still being a white guy and all that. Maybe my race makes her feel uncomfortable, but some of us can't afford to change the color of our skin. We can't all be like Michael Jackson. I know that makes a lot of parents feel comfortable.

Now that" comfort levels" have become the trump card in academic communities, Mike Adams is comfortable that he'll never have to face situations like this again. Thanks to Erin O'Connor at Critical Mass for the tip.
Update: In re the comments here at Cliopatria, Erin O'Connor poses the hypothetical"in which a student, colleague, or administrator is offended by the offensive material disclaimer" and Mike Z, a commentator at Critical Mass makes this suggestion:

With the emphasis on" comfort", and avoidance at all costs of making somebody"uncomfortable", perhaps it's best that we re-work the University curriculum to simply do away with all that troublesome stuff, like philosophy, history, comparative religion, literature, and stick with the safe subjects, like finger-painting and cooperative group play.
Then perhaps there would spring up little academies, centered around one or two dedicated and enthusiastic teachers, who would challenge their students and teach them how to think, how to question, and how to learn. It's happened before.