The spin on Ward Churchill

More articles about Ward Churchill's amazing leap to centrestage:

'The fuss about Ward Churchill' by Linda Sue Grimes, BellaOnline

'Prof Resigns as Department Chair Amid Furor Over 9/11 Remarks' - Fox News Channel (Associated Press; Jan. 31, 2005)

Notice how the U.S. Republican right is suddenly using the exact same words, ideas, and even social protest tools and actions, as the left?[1] Amazing.


The 'Little Eichmanns'

Excerpt from Amy Goodman's radio interview with Ward Churchill on Democracy Now!:

Ward Churchill: Well it goes to Hannah Arendt's notion of Eichmann, the thesis that he embodied the banality of evil. That she had gone to the Eichmann trial to confront the epitome of evil in her mind and expected to encounter something monstrous, and what she encountered instead was this nondescript little man, a bureaucrat, a technocrat, a guy who arranged train schedules, who, as it turned out, ultimately didn't even agree with the policy that he was implementing, but performed the technical functions that made the holocaust possible, at least in the efficient manner that it occurred, in a totally amoral and soulless way, purely on the basis of excelling at the function and getting ahead within the system that he found himself. He was a good family man, in his way. He was loved by his children, participated in civic activities, was in essence the good German. And she [Arendt] said, therein lies the evil. [...] anyone in this sort of mindless, faceless, bureaucratic capacity could be the Nazi. That he was every man...was what was truly horrifying to her in the end. [Source.][2]

Media's political smearing of Ward Churchill as 'treasonous,' based on his Eichmann remarks (see end) actually makes comfortable allies of corporate Jewish Americans and former Nazi Germany. Pretty wild. It's kind of like Jewish political theorist Hannah Arendt's love affair with pro-Nazi philosopher Martin Heidegger, pre- and post-World War II: partnerships are possible, in spite of profound ideological differences.[3]

See my other post, Media contrasts and coincidences: Jan to Feb.'[4]


Of Puppets and Pawns

I have reason to believe the uproar about Ward Churchill's writings was a pre-planned event intended to distract people from the U.S. Republican party's responsibility in:

a) Having foreknowledge about the September 11th attacks, and (deliberately?) failing to act;

b) Having senior U.S. officials who have profited from both the 9-11 aftermath and the resulting wars; and

c) Launching two major wars on Afghanistan and Iraq, where countless civilians have died.


Even Hamilton College's original invitation to Professor Churchill, the sudden 'discovery' of his 3-year old article ('Some People Push Back: On the Justice of Roosting Chickens'), and their present stance on supporting 'free speech' are worth questioning.

Watch out America: media hype and distortion, plus political corruption, are kicking into third gear.


Academia in the Real World

I heard Ward Churchill speak at a Racism and National Consciousness conference in October 2003. I had posed a few questions, and talked openly about surveillance and harassment, social representation in media, and so on. My mentally-handicapped uncle Joseph died two weeks later, under suspicious circumstances. I had predicted his passing.[5]

Funnily enough, a relative of mine (by marriage) attended a job interview in Hamilton, Ontario, last March, which I also suspected was a set-up.[6] Lack of seriousness given to the job interview - considering this person was one of three people shortlisted for a departmental chair position - was unbelievable. Yet, I wasn't surprised, having had doubts about this being a 'real' interview beforehand (not because of my relative's capabilities). Afterwards, this relative was offered a ride to Toronto by a man named Killingsworth; his area of specialization includes CRTC regulation. How curious is that?

There's more to this mini-saga, which may shed light on cross-border strategies, Canada-U.S. cultural integration, and so on, but I'll try to limit my wild theorizing for today.


All-Knowing Technologies

If my family's emails are being tapped, which I believe they are, and my relatives were subsequently surveilled (due to our uniqueness, and NOT for criminal wrongdoing, for the last time!!!), much could be discerned about each of us.

I had quoted from this relative's work in an email I sent five years ago. [Actually, I had sourced quotes by past Canadian prime ministers that happened to be in this person's book. It's not nepotism, it was just convenient.]

That same year, I also responded to a listserv post that called on students to protest a visit by a foreign ambassador, believed to have ties to ultra right-wing groups in Europe. I replied that hotbeds of hate groups exist right here in Canada, so why don't we work together to counter oppression and support common causes by starting within the university and working outwards. (Uh-oh...)

Regrettably, my bold ideas and challenging style tend to silence or threaten people, shutdown discussion, and may even foster apathy or despair. This has been powerful learning for Big Brother.

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[1] I don't personally believe in a 'right' or 'left,' but it's an easy way to refer to long-standing political groups and ideological positioning. In my view, real transformation requires holistic knowledge and action. Yet, in my naivete, I didn't realize how unscrupulous ultra-conservative elites can be in appropriating people's ideas and experiences, and applying these towards a rather nasty master plan.

[2] More about Hannah Arendt: her bio, work summarized, wiki page, quotes, and more quotes.

[3] Martin Heidegger apparently 'foresaw the computer [and internet], what he called the "language machine," explains Samuel Ebersole in Media Determinism in Cyberspace (1995).

[4] If you really want to get deep, check out: 'A Glossary of Jungian Terms' by Craig Chalquist (scroll to 'Some history...').

[5] My uncle Joseph may have been mentally handicapped, yet he embodied innocence and was loved by all. His sensitive spirit often reminded me that beauty has many forms.

[6] What's up in Hamilton? Well, their Brain Bee , for one thing. (See post 'I'm a slooow learner.')