“terminate” or “liquidate”?
FIRED BY E-MAIL
As of 7:09 pm, March 14, 2006, I have been officially terminated by the Board of Directors of the Illini Media Company, owner of The Daily Illini.
Acton,
The board of the Illini Media Company has decided to terminate you
from the position of editor in chief of The Daily Illini, effective
immediately.Sincerely,
Mary Cory
As I’ve said from the very beginning, I knew this was going to happen the day before I was given my suspension notice. I was told exactly how it would all play out, and it all has … to the letter. I have my prediction on who would take over command, but I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to read the new mast head of the newspaper.
Last night’s meeting before the board of directors took only about 10 minutes of the 30 minutes I was allotted to defend myself against the allegations levied against me. There were no questions. Just a curt dismissal after my statement. And I wasn’t interviewed by the "student task force".
I’ve got a mid-term exam I have to study for tonight, so I can’t be up all night working on addressing this issue, but let me say this last part. If this was about the process and not the publishing, then why was every trace of the cartoons systematically wiped from existence at the Daily Illini’s website, including the request from the company to Google.com that they take down the cache of the original cartoons?
UPDATE: Official release from Illini Media
March 14, 2006
Statement from the Illini Media Company board of directors:
Decisions have been made regarding the status of suspended Daily Illini Editor in Chief Acton Gorton and Opinions Editor Chuck Prochaska. Gorton has been relieved of his duties while Prochaska has been invited to return as the opinions editor.
The Illini Media Co. board of directors ? following a thorough review, a report by a student task force of senior members of the staff, and a hearing with Gorton ? found that Gorton violated Daily Illini policies about thoughtful discussion of and preparation for the publication of inflammatory material.
The board, made up of University of Illinois students and faculty, voted unanimously to fire Gorton.
The interim Daily Illini editors in chief, Shira Weissman and Jason Koch, decided to reinstate Prochaska; however, he declined to return for personal reasons.
The two editors had been suspended with pay since Feb. 14 when the student task force was convened to investigate the internal decision-making and communication surrounding the Feb. 9 publication of an editor?s note and the Danish Jyllands-Posten cartoons.
The board is disappointed with this outcome and regrets that Gorton?s actions necessitated his termination less than three months into his one-year term. But the board believes this conclusion is in the best interests of The Daily Illini newsroom and will allow the student journalists to carry on with the newspaper?s 135-year-old tradition of a vibrant, independent student press.
The Illini Media Co. is a nonprofit student media organization and is independent from the University of Illinois.
-Well, there it is. Worthy of a Stalinist show trial including the unananimous show of hands over the predetermined results. "Decisions have been made". We’re making "decisions" too. Stay tuned.
UPDATE: THERE IS ALREADY A T SHIRT OUT THERE - "FREE ACTON"
UPDATE AND QUESTION: DOES ANYONE KNOW WHERE THERE MAY BE SITES THAT STILL CARRY THE ORIGINAL EDITORIAL AND CARTOONS AS WELL AS THE OTHER MATERIAL THAT HAS BEEN DELETED FROM THE DI WEBSITE? I MENTIONED "STALINIST". I PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE SAID "ORWELLIAN" AS WELL. ILLINI MEDIA HAS SYSTEMATICALLY SCRUBBED EVERY TRACE OF THE ORIGINAL MATERIAL OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH. DOES ANYONE KNOW OF ANY TIME, EVER, IN THE WESTERN MEDIA WHERE THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE?
UPDATE: THEY’VE BEEN REPOSTED APPARENTLY -THE CARTOONS/EDITORIAL ARE STILL VERBOTEN AND THE GOOGLE CACHE IS STILL EMPTY.
UPDATE: CONTRIBUTIONS ARE NOT TAX DEDUCTIBLE
ACTON GORTON DEFENSE FUND
C/O JUNAID AFEEF
AFEEF LAW OFFICES LTD
2300 BARRINGTON RD., SUITE 400
HOFFMAN ESTATES, ILLINOIS 60195
TheSquire said,
March 14, 2006 @ 11:00 pm
I still don’t understand how you think that you deserved to get off scot-free after screwing up big time.
Crystal Clear said,
March 15, 2006 @ 1:27 am
Bigger and better things will come from your show of belief and action on behalf the freedom of speech. Keep your head up. You are not alone.
It’s official: Daily Illini is now the crappiest student newspaper in America » Peoria Pundit said,
March 15, 2006 @ 3:40 am
[…] As I expected, the Daily Illini has officially fired editor in chief Acton Gorton> for printing the slightly insulting cartoons that some Muslims claim gives them the right to riot and destroy property. […]
syn said,
March 15, 2006 @ 6:00 am
Inflammatory material? A cartoon? Does this mean we can riot over a Ted Rall cartoon for his inflammatory material? When did the right to free speech end in America?
In any case, The Daily Illini’s 135-year-old tradition of a vibrant independent student press ended the day Stalin’s useful idiots terminated an editor for not having cowered under Sharia law.
Another unholy alliance between the totalitarian Left and fascist Jihad. Ward Churchhill remains free while Acton is terminated.
College students must be asking ‘dude, what’s free speech’?
I’m surprised the Collective hasn’t demanded you attend reprogramming sensitivity class enforced by the Peace Studies department.
Dr. Dave Ivers said,
March 15, 2006 @ 8:06 am
As an alum, I certainly hope TheSquirt above is not an alum nor a current student. I’d like to think Illini students learn better than the Stalinist mode. Freedom of Press and Freedom of Speech is not screwing up, unless you’re a PC nutcase.
I’ve seen worse than those cartoons in The Tumor (do you guys still publish that for Homecoming?).
Those who won’t allow free expression for others will eventually find they have none for themselves. The censors are always out there, you know.
Either you have freedom of the press and free speech or you have the Stalinist doubletalk without reality.
Make your choice, Squirt.
rosignol said,
March 15, 2006 @ 8:10 am
Wow.
If you’re going to fire someone, have the guts to tell them in person. If a boss doesn’t have at least that much courage, they shouldn’t be the boss.
As far as the cartoons are concerned- I’ve seen them. They’re pretty tame for editorial cartoons, which are traditionally meant to be provocative.
Thank you.
RKV said,
March 15, 2006 @ 8:10 am
You did not screw up. The purpose of a free press is to publish news and commentary. The cartoons were/are news. That some media outlets will publish cartoons which offend Christians and Jews and then run away from publishing similar content about Muslims is only a measure of the fear of their owners and staff. Be strong and remember you did the right thing. You obviously have the courage to do much bigger things than be an editor of a college newspaper. There is a whole, real world of opportunity outside the walls of the academy.
Mike G said,
March 15, 2006 @ 8:25 am
You’ve learned an important lesson about working in the media. No matter how lofty the principles, when it comes to actually acting on them, you can expect your bosses to turn on you like total chickenshits.
Letalis said,
March 15, 2006 @ 8:25 am
“Declare ye among the nations and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not….”
Jeremiah 50:2
k. pablo said,
March 15, 2006 @ 8:29 am
That’s fucking ridiculous.
kpb
B.S. 88 UIUC
M.D. 93 UIUC
Lisa said,
March 15, 2006 @ 8:30 am
I would be more upset for you if you didn’t link to Michelle Malkin here . . . what she does is not journalism and your linking to her calls your judgment into question, aside from anything that occurred at the Daily Illini.
Mark Green said,
March 15, 2006 @ 8:32 am
Don’t pay attention to TheSquire - you didn’t screw up big time.
With that one decision, you showed that you had more journalistic integrity than the entire board of the Illini Media Company.
These cartoons were not endorsed by you or anyone on the staff. They were not presented because you or anyone on the staff felt that they presented a point of view that was worthy of discussion (although, arguably, they do present such a view). Rather, they were included in the newspaper to show the newspaper’s readers why thousands of Muslims were rioting and killing.
Sorry - that is worthy of the news.
The “politically correct” crowd likely was afraid of upsetting Muslim sensitivities. I have no problem respecting their beliefs, however, I do not believe that we need to necessarily honor their beliefs - to do so would be to endorse their religion (or submit to it). If they believe that pictures of Mohammed should not be drawn (whether satirical or not), then fine - as a Muslim they should not draw them. However, as a non-Muslim, why should I be forced to not draw them or read a newspaper with the cartoons contained therein?
Religious beliefs are great. People should be spiritual. However, Freedom of Religion works both ways. It also requires that I am free to not exercise other religions or follow the tenets of that particular religion.
The reaction of the board was cowardly.
Even if you believe the cartoons were in poor taste (which I do not), what is worse - the cartoons or the reactions of Muslims?
A Jewish individual may elect to not eat pork. However, no Jewish person I know would threaten to kill you for eating a BLT. When Christians were upset at the depiction of Christ in “Piss Christ”, they did not riot or kill others. They protested the “work of art” in a peaceful, non-violent manner.
I think that Muslims need to understand that we are not all Muslims. If I must respect their faith, they must respect mine. Moreover, “respect” does not require obedience to their particular religious tenets.
rwilymz said,
March 15, 2006 @ 8:37 am
“squire”, it’s obvious you don’t like Gorton, but could you please just confine your commentary to “nanny nanny boo boo” instead of your farcical unsupported declamations? Thanks in advance.
John said,
March 15, 2006 @ 8:38 am
>>> get off scot-free
Why is free speech viewed as a crime when it’s not something the politically correct left agrees with?
You’ve got terrorists sawing the freaking heads off of live human beings on camera — and that draws a collective yawn. But God forbid somebody publishes a cartoon (the *horror*) correctly depicting the violent proclivities of Muslim fanatics…
Grow a pair, folks.
Scott Kirwin said,
March 15, 2006 @ 8:40 am
Welcome to the New McCarthyism. It’s the same as the Old McCarthyism - just the political ideology of the oppressor has changed.
Left is right; up is down. “Liberals” support censorship.
Pat Rand said,
March 15, 2006 @ 8:42 am
Consider this your personal downpayment on living your life as a free man. Congratulations and good luck.
The Razor » Editor of College Newspaper Fired said,
March 15, 2006 @ 8:45 am
[…] Source […]
Easycure said,
March 15, 2006 @ 9:00 am
Another blow right to the mid-section of the First Amendment.
Go Huskies!
AllanR said,
March 15, 2006 @ 9:04 am
Obviously, you should have been an ex-member of the Taliban. Then they would have promoted you.
Jeff Z said,
March 15, 2006 @ 9:08 am
Squire’s right. It’s deeply unfair that newspapers make it a point never to print anything that might offend any other religious, political, and ethnic group in America, but go ahead and say whatever they want about Muslims.
Can you imagine if the US print media simply went ahead and criticized Catholic abotion supporters, Jewish supporters of Israel. or. worst of all, the president for his Christian faith? What a nightmare that would be!
PS: Squire: Someone hacked your website! They’ve put in content-critical, mocking, angry- that makes you sound like you favor free speech, a free press, etc. They’re fooling people into thinking you advocate what is clearly the exact opposite of what you so clearly believe.
Len said,
March 15, 2006 @ 9:11 am
The cartoons can readily be found on volokh.com
Gorton said,
March 15, 2006 @ 9:14 am
I may not have been clear about the cartoons in the DI. I am talking about the original pages that were on the website that have now been erased. Are there any caches that people know about where I can link to the “original” pages of the editorial and the “dissent”?
Howie said,
March 15, 2006 @ 9:25 am
I was linked to the google cache as well. Never thought to save the page to my hard drive sorry.
Who? said,
March 15, 2006 @ 9:28 am
The cartoons, with translations, can be viewed here:
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/danish_muslim_cartoons
Ross said,
March 15, 2006 @ 9:30 am
Jeff Z - Over the years, I’ve seen numerous cartoons in American newspapers poking fun at Christians.
Ross said,
March 15, 2006 @ 9:31 am
Oops, sorry Jeff Z, disregard.
spacemonkey said,
March 15, 2006 @ 9:32 am
Wow, covering a major news is ’screwing up big time’. A sad state of affairs. Weird that the traditionally liberal educational establishment is coming out against free press. Who’s the fascist?
Gorton, you’ll be a better man for this. Sorry you had to learn the hard way that the ‘free press’ has self imposed shackles. but it’s a lesson better learned earlier than later though.
You’ve got guts. Keep them and you’ll go far.
Matt said,
March 15, 2006 @ 9:36 am
For what it’s worth, I disagreed with your decision to run the cartoons, but I perhaps more strongly disagree with the Daily Illini’s decision to fire you for it.
Ross said,
March 15, 2006 @ 9:43 am
What “Muhammed”?!? Most of those cheesy cartoons just had some grubby-looking bearded guy. His name could be “Joe” or “Steve” for all we know.
Josh Miller said,
March 15, 2006 @ 9:46 am
As an alumnus, I’ve followed this situation and am sincerely disappointed in what has transpired. There is - and always will be - a right to offend in this country. And I say that as one studying to be a Catholic priest; we’ve taken our fair share of shots lately.
mongoose said,
March 15, 2006 @ 9:47 am
I suggest you contact the local office of the ACLU.
Ross said,
March 15, 2006 @ 9:50 am
Journalists and journalism students - just make sure you never publish cartoons that feature guys with really thick, full beards. You just might piss somebody off.
Stephen said,
March 15, 2006 @ 9:52 am
Meanwhile, the many who watch and read these barometers say “…see brother, is it not as I said?” You may have been the one to be screwed sir, but it is “your betters” who have assumed the position.
ha....scared? said,
March 15, 2006 @ 10:00 am
Your a joke Acton, and soon, when the dust settles and everyone sees you were fired for what seems to be violating company policy…your going to look like a fool, you’d be better off keeping your mouth shut. This has nothing to do with free speech and you know it, going down this road is going to lead you to an even worse place.
dbett said,
March 15, 2006 @ 10:04 am
Forget the ACLU. Contact F.I.R.E.
They are specialists in this type of case
rwilymz said,
March 15, 2006 @ 10:07 am
Dear Mr and/or Ms “scared”:
Violating “company policy” when said policy contains conflicting work rules is a lawsuit alleging capriciousness waiting to happen.
If Gorton was required to submit editorial decisions to a committee meeting, then Cory would not have declared that the editor in chief has final authority. Such authority indicates — in every other workplace — that permission is unnecessary.
You, and Cory’s/DI’s attorneys, are going to have to do considerably better than that.
Jim said,
March 15, 2006 @ 10:11 am
Fortunately, you are young enough to get totally out of journalism. The worst mistake I eve made was getting a journalism degree. You can still correct that. There are plenty of careers where honesty and integrity still matter. Try one of them instead.
Howie said,
March 15, 2006 @ 10:12 am
Yahoo cache deleteed as well. This link has the text of the article.
http://stevedonohue.blogspot.com/2006/02/because-daily-illini-has-requested.html
Orson Olson said,
March 15, 2006 @ 10:15 am
You can buy Mohammed postcards in the capital of the Islamic Republic of Iran - but you can’t see the cause of nearly a hundred deaths lasting almost two weeks in the Muslim world in the DI
The day relevant information is censored by the establishment is the day I join any and all revolution1 against them: It’s time to raise Hell!
I have no use for them and their gutless kind. I wish them a swift demise and a one-way trip to the underworld where their kind are at home (ala Stalin and Fidel).
“Let Freedom ring!”
Sergio said,
March 15, 2006 @ 10:27 am
You’re kind of a folk hero now, and that’s a great thing to be. You’ll have a fantastic career, while whoever takes over for you (Shira & Co?) will look like saps of the existing PC order - aka typical, useless American media, irrelevant, and getting less relevant by the day. Hope to see you on television soon.
Who? said,
March 15, 2006 @ 10:31 am
mongoose:
unfortunately, the ACLU only cares about/fights for free speech when the subject speech is agreeable to their contorted views
Ross said,
March 15, 2006 @ 10:35 am
The ACLU seems mainly to be concerned with pressing issues such as making sure boys can wear lipstick and taffeta gowns to school.
chris fountain said,
March 15, 2006 @ 10:36 am
Perhaps the paper should hire Ha Scared as your replacement. “your” instead of “you’re” demonstrates just the literacy skills they seek.
Bill said,
March 15, 2006 @ 10:37 am
Lisa:
If you haven’t noticed, “Journalism” is a profession in the same sense as prostitution but without the same rigid entry requirements or the need to provide value.
Ha...scared? said,
March 15, 2006 @ 10:50 am
I didn’t realize we were spell checking and doing things for accuracy, because if we were… Acton’s blog wouldn’t exist, now would it? Well you may all think so…but he knows it wouldn’t.
Californio said,
March 15, 2006 @ 10:54 am
Ah HA! Comrade journalist: Why do you not express sorrow for your anti-fraternal feelings? Verily, the University stands for knowledge and enlightenment. Part and parcel fo this is the interaction with those who embrace and advocate hatred and ignorance. To promote a wide open debate, said academy must then stop any expression which threatens the exercise of earlier said forces of oppression and hatred. So you see, by crushing dissent to facilitate the preaching of misogyny and sectarian hatred, the University actually PROMOTES diversity - which is a higher god than all others. It is all a very scientific march to the future! Companero, don’t hate the Uni - you must love the University for it, by definition, is the sole repository of a shifting amorphous thing the ignorant refer to “truth.” ONWARD!! [music swells - image of marching clean-cut youth wearing red neckerchefs fades in and obliterates prior image.]
Bruno said,
March 15, 2006 @ 11:27 am
Good luck. You did the right thing. I hope you can wear this as a badge of courage.
Ken said,
March 15, 2006 @ 11:56 am
As I imagine you already know Acton, there are a lot of people behind you on this one. Don’t get discouraged.
rwilymz said,
March 15, 2006 @ 12:05 pm
current cnn.com vote tally:
Was the University of Illinois right to fire a student editor for publishing caricatures of Mohammed?
Yes 20% 8410 votes
No 80% 33101 votes
Total: 41511 votes
Scott W. Somerville said,
March 15, 2006 @ 12:05 pm
The freedom of the press belongs to them that has one… your firing is the beginning of the end for Dinosaur Media (newspapers), and the end of the beginning for Mammal Media (blogs).
Mat Krepicz said,
March 15, 2006 @ 12:07 pm
Take your licks and get ready to fight back. There’s a growing groundswell against the totalitarian brainwashing going on at universities, and it will soon be a big fight nationally. Free speech will exist regardless of what PC professors and their tools do. No-one can silence all the blogs and pamphleteers out there.
Ross said,
March 15, 2006 @ 12:10 pm
What if you published a picture of Rupert from ‘Survivor’, and someone thought that it kind of looked like Mohammed (you know, with the scruffy beard and such)? Would you still be in trouble?
Everything Between said,
March 15, 2006 @ 12:32 pm
[…] As he largely expected, Daily Illini editor-in-chief Acton Gorton was fired last night for his role in publishing the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons last month. Quite pathetic that a public university would take such drastic action. […]
PH said,
March 15, 2006 @ 12:44 pm
I didn’t think that they would show this much sense. Sorry Acton, but what you did was stupid and this is the consequence. Welcome to the “adult world”.
Chip H. said,
March 15, 2006 @ 12:47 pm
Heh, I used to write an opinions column back in 99-01. Sad to see that the paper I am so proud of is acting so foolishly.
Daedalus said,
March 15, 2006 @ 12:49 pm
The correct term is pandering……pandering to a group of intolerant religious bigots who would like to see the world under Shira Law, and who is it that is helping them do it – why none other than the saviors of the world, the politically correct left….
Rob said,
March 15, 2006 @ 12:52 pm
Gorton, set up a PayPal account to accept donations for your defense. You should be able to generate funds a bit faster than mail.
Rich K said,
March 15, 2006 @ 1:00 pm
Pathetic. Guess you needed to publish some Holocaust cartoons for balance.
Ok, now let’s get back to the Chief.
Rich
BS CS ‘78
Basil Duke said,
March 15, 2006 @ 1:01 pm
Take heart, Acton. You have been thrown by cowards under the bus of political correctness. But your discharge is a far better fate than having to toil any longer for such a group of hypocritical fascists. Pity, though, to see yet another example of what university leftwingers - self-appointed champions of all things noble and free - really think about ‘free speech.’ They scuttle into the shadows and throw bricks at the real warriors.
Cookie said,
March 15, 2006 @ 1:05 pm
Acton…I know there is probably not much solice that your integrity was, and still is, intact. I laud you for your courage to pursue “Free Speech”..wherever it needs to be…Kudo’s. I am a retired Police Detective Sergeant and an old Vietnam Seabee…over the years..in one form or another…I’ve fought for your right to publish a “cartoon”….all the best to you…Cookie
Secular Blasphemy said,
March 15, 2006 @ 1:08 pm
Student paper editor fired for printing Mohammed caricatures…
…
DennisR said,
March 15, 2006 @ 1:48 pm
What….No Fatwa? You could print a T-Shirt, ” I published a cartoon of Mohammed and all I got was this STUPID letter”.
TheSquire said,
March 15, 2006 @ 1:57 pm
The Editors Note and the Dissent are still on the Daily Illini website. Sorry for ruining your whole memory-hole persecution complex.
Publius said,
March 15, 2006 @ 1:59 pm
You did the right thing, and I’m glad to hear about it. I was a post-doc at UIUC fifteen years ago, admired the place then, and now I have a daughter coming up to college age. I think I’ll have to re-consider the worth of an Illinois education. Good luck.
Rknil said,
March 15, 2006 @ 2:10 pm
Good to see so many people have figured out the University is separate from the Illini Media Company. Way to get those facts straight!
Ken said,
March 15, 2006 @ 2:30 pm
TheSquire:
In your posts both here and on your own site, there seems to be a strong undercurrent of jealousy. I read ‘15 minutes of fame’ at least 4 times. I am not sure if this tone is purposeful or simply poor rhetoric, but I just thought I would let you know so that you aren’t under the mistaken belief that your opinion — if there is one — is being taken seriously.
And for the record, I hope this “15 minutes of fame” is picked up by every major outlet in the country. This is a necessary and vital debate, regardless of where you stand vis a vis his situation in particular. This was not printed in any widely-read publication in this country, yet the images have been a source of strife across the globe. Just a couple weeks ago, I went to University of California - Irvine where the cartoons were “unveiled” by the College Republicans. There were 300 Muslims outside the hall chanting Allah’u Ackbar. This chant could be heard in a residential area of Irvine for about a mile. If you have two groups that care vehemently about something as simplistic as a cartoon, and their opinions are diametrically opposed…burying your head in the sand and attributing the attention Mr. Gorton is receiving to “15 minutes of fame” is either a lack of understanding or jealousy. Possibly both.
JEM 84 said,
March 15, 2006 @ 2:33 pm
Well, you saved me a re-up for my Alumni dues. And for the few of you wanting to take shots, please do a better job, with some evidence of intellect obvious to those nuckle-dragging neanderthals of us who are curious to see how the looney left think. Oh wait, I forgot you only know how to name call and laugh at your own lack of wit.
You cannot call this as anything other than a craven action on the part of the University. You think they suddenly have found religious sensitivity? Shameful, shameful. I am embarrassed to be a graduate.
TheSquire said,
March 15, 2006 @ 2:50 pm
Ken - my opinions on Acton as an attention seeker stem greatly from his actions after running the cartoons. He went out and got people to interview him, set up this blog to catalog it all, and has consistently tried to set himself up as a pariah - witness the text of this very post, where he accused the DI of being Orwellian for taking down things that they didn’t actually take down. His actions don’t match those of a “crusader for truth” or whatever you want to call him. I’m not jealous of his media attention - because being so would require me to want to do something as stupid as he did, which I don’t.
I’m of the opinion that a newspaper could (and some, like the Northern Star, did) publish the cartoons in a contextualized manner and present it as news. The way Acton ran them frankly sucked, as all he did was go “Here are these offensive cartoons! Look at us for publishing them! We can because the first amendment lets us, so nyah.” If you doubt me on this, read the editor’s note that Acton wrote to run with the cartoons. That’s what he effectively did, and that’s not the way to deal with an issue like this.
ErikNotTheRed said,
March 15, 2006 @ 3:02 pm
For a bastion of higher leaning, I am disturbed by the fact they dismissed you via email. What a way to educate! When there is a difficult task at hand, let’s take the easy way out.
ChasVS said,
March 15, 2006 @ 3:11 pm
“The clash we are witnessing around the world is not a clash of religions or a clash of civilizations. It is a clash between two opposites, between two eras. It is a clash between a mentality that belongs to the Middle Ages and another mentality that belongs to the 21st century. It is a clash between civilization and backwardness, between the civilized and the primitive, between barbarity and rationality.” Dr. Wafa Sultan
Ross said,
March 15, 2006 @ 3:14 pm
When cartoonists go into hiding for fear of their lives, Squire will be there to defend them. Right, Squire?
Ross said,
March 15, 2006 @ 3:26 pm
Squire,
When the New York Times addressed the cartoons/religious offense controversy, what did they do? They refrained from posting any ‘Muhammed’ cartoons; however, they were thoughtful enough to post a picture of Chris Ofili’s “Holy Virgin Mary” (the Virgin Mary depicted in elephant dung). This is “America’s Newspaper of Record” we’re talking about. Using your logic, it looks like the Times “got away scot-free”.
Pluto's Dad said,
March 15, 2006 @ 3:30 pm
Wow, first the DI goes out on the web and eliminates all traces of an article, even from caches, and then the Telegraph does the same thing with Alasdair Palmer’s article.
And we thought 1984 was just fiction. It just took a few more years, that’s all.
TheSquire said,
March 15, 2006 @ 3:32 pm
Ross, false parallel - there’s no such religious proscription of such things in Christianity, it’s old news that’s already been reported, and most Christians I’ve run across know better than to waste energy being offended by it.
Ross said,
March 15, 2006 @ 3:43 pm
‘there’s no such religious proscription of such things in Christianity’ - actually, quite a few Catholics (Rudolph Giuliani, for one) found the work, and the public display of it, offensive. And that gets to the point: Suddenly, there appears to be a new standard in “Journalism” that if a non-Christian or non-Jewish group finds a publicized image to be “offensive”, the terms of being “permitted” to publish such images is either quite resrictive, if not impossible. Who came up with this?
Mary B. said,
March 15, 2006 @ 3:51 pm
I am so, so, so disappointed in the goings on at my alma mater. I cancelled my alumni membership after I found out the university was hosting two former Weathermen, and now this. This is the last straw.
rwilymz said,
March 15, 2006 @ 3:53 pm
being [jealous] would require me to want to do something as stupid as he did, which I don’t.
Irony isn’t really your long suit, is it, “squire”?
You’ve attached you sneering commentary to half the entries he’s made, plus the entries others have made, both for and against his general position in blogs far and wide [that I’ve run across], plus the entries on your own… which you pass off as your business being a “local blogger” [to Chambana, I presume].
I’ve said this before: you’re giving every indication of doing the Homer Simpson “basking in the glow of reflected fame” thing.
———–
And for your information, “squire”, it’s hardly a inapt parallel. It can only be called such by someone who is refusing to sese anyone else’s perspective.
You are looking at the analogy from the religion-baiting viewpoint, using various definitions of heresy. Now look at it from the western/liberal perspective. Western liberalism allows spoken and printed challenges to orthodoxy, be the orthodoxy religious, political, ethnic or otherwise demographic.
And we have, as seen here, certain orthodoxies which may not be challenged without incurring the self-righteous wrath of the self-appointed arbiters of western-liberal decorum.
The cartoons in question are exceptionally tame; we see worse, and on a daily basis, during US election cycles. We saw worse during the height of the Dover School Board debacle. Our traditional iconoclastic sensibilities are allowed to take on everything, mock everyone, living or dead … with the exception of islam?
Because it’s rude?
Because *they* consider it blashpemy?
“They” aren’t in charge, in case you hadn’t noticed.
Or maybe you’d prefer if “they” were?
Jonathan Bean said,
March 15, 2006 @ 4:10 pm
They scrubbed the WHOLE year of 2006 from the WayBack Machine — the official history of the Internet. Go to
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://dailyillini.com
Here is rule #13:
Some sites are not available because of Robots.txt or other exclusions.
What does that mean?
The Standard for Robot Exclusion (SRE) is a means by which web site owners can instruct automated systems not to crawl their sites. Web site owners can specify files or directories that are allowed or disallowed from a crawl, and they can even create specific rules for different automated crawlers. All of this information is contained in a file called robots.txt. While robots.txt has been adopted as the universal standard for robot exclusion, compliance with robots.txt is strictly voluntary. In fact most web sites do not have a robots.txt file, and many web crawlers are not programmed to obey the instructions anyway. However, Alexa, the company that crawls the web for the Internet Archive, does respect robots.txt instructions, and even does so retroactively. If a web site owner ever decides he / she prefers not to have a web crawler visiting his / her files and sets up robots.txt on the site, the Alexa crawlers will stop visiting those files and mark all files previously gathered as unavailable. This means that sometimes, while using the Internet Archive Wayback Machine, you may find a site that is unavailable due to robots.txt or other exclusions. Other exclusions? Yes, sometimes a web site owner will contact us directly and ask us to stop crawling or archiving a site. We comply with these requests.”
Barry Caro said,
March 15, 2006 @ 4:11 pm
Squire-
You do finally make a good point when you point out that “most Christians I’ve run across know better than to waste energy being offended by it.” Yes, and Jews don’t burn down Italian embassies when an Italian paper publishes a cartoon showing Ariel Sharon murdering Jesus. I’m sensing something of a difference in reaction between these groups and Islam, no?
Armed Liberal said,
March 15, 2006 @ 4:16 pm
Here’s the Wayback Machine archive of the Daily Illini…
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.dailyillini.com/
The Missing Link said,
March 15, 2006 @ 4:19 pm
You’re Fired…
A college newspaper editor has been fired for publishing the Mohammed cartoons…….
Mina said,
March 15, 2006 @ 4:21 pm
If firing you for this is fair, then every other person who has published anything offensive to Jews, Christians, Hindis and so on should also be terminated. I’m always hearing liberals preaching about freedom of speech and here they are censoring the heck out of you. It’s like a censorship orgy on their part. And how cowardly to send you that email instead of treating you as a human being.
penny said,
March 15, 2006 @ 4:53 pm
Caught defending free speech, young man!! Sorry. You’ll never make it among the burqa clad appeasers in the MSM where you write for their agenda.
Journalism is now so corrupted. The best talent never had a degree.
We all salute you.
No support rally on campus in your defense? No surprise. The indoctrinated dhimmi peer sheeple can’t fathom the issues. Contact F.I.R.E. They are trying to break up the leftist campus fascism and will defend you. The ACLU is the leftist campus fascist’s agency. Your peer sheeple? Pathetic.
TheSquire said,
March 15, 2006 @ 5:13 pm
A commenter over at my blog is saying that you refused to pick up the phone when they called you to fire you, hence the email. What’s your response to this?
rwilymz said,
March 15, 2006 @ 5:17 pm
…continuing the fine tradition of innuendo-as-fact…
Firing by phone is so-o-o-o much better than canning by email….
TheSquire said,
March 15, 2006 @ 5:33 pm
hey, if he denies it then I’ll accept that - but since gorton’s been all about making himself a pariah with this blog, it seemed like something he’d do
rwilymz said,
March 15, 2006 @ 5:46 pm
I’m going out for dinner later tonight with my wife. I won’t be home.
If you’ve been to my website and are reasonably intelligent you can find my home phone number. If you call me to bless me out for daring to beard the lion on your blogsite, and I’m not home to answer, will I be “refusing to answer” too?
The wife and I may even canoodle later on — and if we go to the Appleby’s knockoff and she gets her strawberry dacquiris, it’s a good bet. We refuse to answer the phone at those times. Would it be because it’s you calling? or because other things are going on?
In other words, exactly how willing are you to let presumption be your guide?
tee bee said,
March 15, 2006 @ 5:51 pm
But the board believes this conclusion is in the best interests of The Daily Illini newsroom and will allow the student journalists to carry on with the newspaper?s 135-year-old tradition of a vibrant, independent student press.
Vibrant and independent of what? Critical thinking, journalistic instinct and integrity?
Interesting that some people - not naming any names, Squirt - are still trying to shut you up. Yell and don’t stop yelling. The left’s deathgrip on academia and the MSM will have to be pried loose forcefully.
And there are plenty of good dailies out there; I wouldn’t eschew journalism because it can be tough - that’s just ensuring that a free press in America becomes a fond memory.
Ross said,
March 15, 2006 @ 5:58 pm
Pretty soon, if you just post a picture of a guy with a beard, it will be considered offensive!
Blind Mind’s Eye » This is me, playing the littlest violin in the whole wide world… said,
March 15, 2006 @ 6:02 pm
[…] Yet another editor has been fired from a student newspaper for having the audacity to publish the Danish cartoons that have outraged Muslims around the world. Who the hell do these student newspapers think they are by fostering debate? Didn’t they know that Islam and the feelings of Muslims are beyond question and that there is no room for debating this very clear moral point? My God, the kids today actually think that the university is supposed to foster a free exchange of ideas by offering a forum for discussion and allowing people to freely post controversial material in order to educate others on what a controversy is over. What philistines! […]
Colin said,
March 15, 2006 @ 6:17 pm
interesting bunch of comments.My favorite is “Lisa” who feels linking to Michelle”Not a Journalist” Malkin is ipso facto proof Acton has feet of clay.One wonders at the lack of logic behind this and also-and some of my best friends were liberal arts majors-about her field of study.The Sssssquire seems upset that Acton has received kudos for taking a principled stand,and that this is proof the stand wasn’t principled. I am perplexed as to why U-I was willing to knuckle under and fire Acton.These certainly weren’t that inciendary on the face of it.Much of the indignation seemed manufacturedd
-kind of like Amerindian groups protesting about the “Tomahawk Chop” when the Braves
are in the series.Does aanyone have an explanation why Mr.Gorton was removed?
curious said,
March 15, 2006 @ 6:23 pm
rwilymz–the board named the time they would be announcing their decision, and everybody knew it. If Acton wasn’t there for the call (and I have no idea if he was or wasn’t), I think it constitutes ignoring it. Anyway–Acton. Say what you will about the Board of Directors, but I have a problem with this: "And I wasn’t interviewed by the ’student task force.’" The task force attempted to contact you several times and you refused to meet with them–you wouldn’t even return their emails. So leave them out of it.
Acton’s note:
On the contrary, I tried several times to meet with the board. I was told it was too late and couldn’t do it. My lawyer tried over and over to reach the Illini Media lawyer but she wouldn’t return the phone calls or emails … something about moving offices so she couldn’t do it. Effectively, they ran the clock out. As for the board naming the time they would be announcing the decision, they never did that. When I left the hearing Monday night they said they would let me know. But that was about as much as they said.
Suniarkar Karmarphong said,
March 15, 2006 @ 7:26 pm
is this the link you’re looking for?
http://www.dailyillini.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticle&ustory_id=6e078845-593a-4afb-8bd5-a0f0d8caef3a
curious said,
March 15, 2006 @ 7:43 pm
I knew the time, and I was just hanging around the newsroom. If they really told the DI staff and not you, that was a dumb move on their part, but it seems rather unlikely. That said, I have no way of knowing, so I’ll leave that point alone.
As for the other issue:
“On the contrary, I tried several times to meet with the board. I was told it was too late and couldn’t do it.”
It’s not the board we’re talking about, it’s the task force. They were autonomous from the board and did in fact email you personally several times asking to meet with you. Not once did you or your lawyer respond.
As I said, say what you want about the board; you and your lawyer had your own dealings with them, and I don’t know what went on. But I know the task force did try to meet with you.
diogenes said,
March 15, 2006 @ 8:09 pm
I am familiar with the events on the student task force. In Acton’s explanation above he meant “task force” and not “board”. There was no direct contact from any student by email or otherwise. If you know differently, and you don’t, name them and when it happened. All contacts were through illini Media. Nonbe were directly from staff.
beth said,
March 15, 2006 @ 9:27 pm
Colin said:
‘I am perplexed as to why U-I was willing to knuckle under and fire Acton.’
Perhaps they were concerned about getting enough practice in for Dhimmitude while they still can.
Living under laws in which Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Press are so severly restricted is going to take some adjustment.
They don’t want to mess up and get their heads sawed off, after all. So give them a break - they need all the practice they can get. They are used to saying [peace be upon him].
anon's the non said,
March 15, 2006 @ 10:02 pm
Hey, can someone post what the exact policies were that Acton violated? It seems to me that if that’s why he was canned, it would help us dialogue on this. Or, ahem, it would help each side put some flesh on their firmly entrenched views…
So, who’s on the inside with this info? People posting seem to be privy to the task force findings.
David said,
March 15, 2006 @ 10:17 pm
Free press? Free speech? lol you guys are funny. This is neither a free press or a free speech issue.
bg said,
March 15, 2006 @ 10:29 pm
Seriously Squire, clearly you have spent way too much time obsessively making the ups and downs of someone else’s life your own - not to mention attempting to capitalize on it by linking to your blog over and over again. As your modus operandi is personal attack on someone that you aren’t even acquainted with why don’t you take responsibility for your ridiculous comments rather than hiding behind that Dungeons & Dragons-esque rarely-see-the-light-of-day moniker?
The Daily Illini witch hunt ended in that oh so predictable manner - after publicly stoning Gorton, they furiously backpedaled in an attempt to find some obscure fine print regarding a violation of procedure. Never mind that what was actually voiced during the initial suspension hearing were self-centered concerns over their own future careers and paranoia over imagined reprisals such as firebombing. The fact is that after branding him a “renegade editor” in print, all traces of Gorton’s editorial were wiped from the web (and later, conveniently reinstated on the Illini site, sans the “offensive” imagery). Overtaken by what I can only presume to be concern for their own thin hides, Illini’s publisher, board, and much of its student staff have failed to support a brilliant young editor-in-chief who had the foresight to print something immensely newsworthy in a sensitive, critical fashion. Indeed, these are dark days we live in.
Greaterthanwho? said,
March 15, 2006 @ 10:39 pm
For those interested in the juxtaposition of Christians and Muslims, this from John Piper’s website:
“What we saw this past week in the Islamic demonstrations over the Danish cartoons of Muhammad was another vivid depiction of the difference between Muhammad and Christ, and what it means to follow each. Not all Muslims approve the violence. But a deep lesson remains: The work of Muhammad is based on being honored and the work of Christ is based on being insulted. This produces two very different reactions to mockery.”
As they say: Read the whole thing.
http://www.desiringgod.org/library/fresh_words/2006/020806.html
Chris Perardi said,
March 15, 2006 @ 11:35 pm
I am so, so, so disappointed in the goings on at my alma mater. I cancelled my alumni membership after I found out the university was hosting two former Weathermen, and now this. This is the last straw.
Well, you saved me a re-up for my Alumni dues. And for the few of you wanting to take shots, please do a better job, with some evidence of intellect obvious to those nuckle-dragging neanderthals of us who are curious to see how the looney left think. Oh wait, I forgot you only know how to name call and laugh at your own lack of wit.
You cannot call this as anything other than a craven action on the part of the University. You think they suddenly have found religious sensitivity? Shameful, shameful. I am embarrassed to be a graduate.
Just a reminder, the Daily Illini is not a University-published paper. It’s put out by the independent non-profit Illini Media Company.
The University had no say in Gorton’s firing.
Hoystory » Blog Archive » I guess that’s the journalistic standard said,
March 15, 2006 @ 11:39 pm
[…] Judging by how few American newspapers had the intestinal fortitude and respect for their readers to actually publish the rather tame cartoons of Muhammed that sparked riots around the world that left more than 150 people dead, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that the cowards at the University of Illinois have fired the editor who was brave enough to publish them in the campus newspaper. […]
TheSquire said,
March 16, 2006 @ 12:26 am
We know that, after being suspended, he intentionally violated the blogging policy. As for what he violated by running the cartoons, I’m not sure what you could call it besides “acting to the detriment of the newspaper.”
TheSquire said,
March 16, 2006 @ 12:26 am
Beth and Colin: the University of Illinois doesn’t run the Daily Illini. The Illini Media company does.
rationalcop said,
March 16, 2006 @ 1:06 am
For you folks who keep talking about “free speech”, are you referring to the First Amendment of the US Constitution? If you are, you might want to read it. The amendment restricts the actions of the GOVERNMENT, not the actions of a private newspaper or media company. Unless one can demonstrate that the government censored the newspaper, it is not a Free Speech issue.
Aside from that, it does demonstrate the ridiculous fervor that theists can engage in when their beliefs are questioned or challenged. Take a photo of a cross in a glass of urine and see what happens… oh wait, someone already did that and that caused quite the uproar as well, though perhaps not to the level of death threats or riots.
We can move past this silliness when people start to question “faith” and “beliefs” and start using reason to guide their lives.
rwilymz said,
March 16, 2006 @ 5:54 am
I’m not sure what you could call it besides “acting to the detriment of the newspaper.”
In what way and according to whom, Trelawney?
Because as your own time-line depicts, not to mention the press reports that have been issued in the last 24+ hours and others that have been linked repeatedly, he was fired for “process infraction”, not “bad action”.
It was not the higher-up[s] who wanted him removed, but his subordinates, who did “the democratic thing”, took a vote and [this is the fantasy of every corporate moll the nation over] voted the boss out of a job. The vote was simply ratified by the Board.
Everything, and I mean EVERYthing, reads like a coup d’press.
Raging Bee said,
March 16, 2006 @ 9:24 am
I read the CNN article on your firing, which was factually lame to the point of being laughable. Anyone here who wants a half-decent insight into Arab politics and culture can check out this guy’s website:
http://muttawa.blogspot.com
You did the right thing. The cartoons were tasteless and not very funny, but they were news.
rwilymz said,
March 16, 2006 @ 9:28 am
“Curious”, even *if* the board named a time they would meet on the subject, you’re missing the larger point. They fired him by email??? … because they couldn’t fire him by phone????
It’s not done that way. So many are quick to declare that editorial decisions are not done the way Gorton and his evil side-kick did them [although I’m sure most journalists in the trade who’ll tell you it’s a daily event], but for acting in ways that are simply gauche, the DI takes the cake, and the platter it’s sitting on.
Firing by email because he didn’t answer to get fired by phone.
Craven.
Raging Bee said,
March 16, 2006 @ 10:52 am
Here’s a quote that puts the whole Arab Toon Tantrum into perspective:
In Germany, the conservative Die Welt printed one image on its front page and declared in an editorial: “The protests from Muslims would be taken more seriously if they were less hypocritical. When Syrian television showed drama documentaries in prime time depicting rabbis as cannibals, the imams were quiet.”
Funny…the American media aren’t too noisy about that sort of thing either…
DennisR said,
March 16, 2006 @ 11:07 am
Let’s face the facts..Islam doesn’t debate issues with anyone, there cannot be, and never will be, any serious discussions between Muslims and Christians.
As Ms Sultan intimated when debating(?) the Mullah, “Now that we have the Death Threats out of the way..You have NOTHING left to defend your beliefs, but you will never keep me from saying what I have to say”!
Raging Bee said,
March 16, 2006 @ 1:12 pm
“Violated the blogging policy?” Care to tell us what specific rule of that policy he violated, “Squire?”
Ben R. said,
March 16, 2006 @ 4:53 pm
I find the whole episode pretty surreal. Acton, please know that this alum supports your decisions and actions. In fact, I only wish more editors had the courage you do.
Ben R., UIUC ‘80
Ross said,
March 16, 2006 @ 6:55 pm
Geez, looks like Acton’s getting the Judith Miller treatment from his colleagues.
Bang My Head Upon The Fault Line » As long as it doesn’t affect advertising, I don’t care. said,
March 17, 2006 @ 11:22 pm
[…] In several places, such as comments on blogs and and ACLU press release (looks like they need a new fact-checker), I’ve seen confusion about the connection between the Daily Illini and the U of I. The DI is not operated, owned, or in any way shape or form a division of UIUC. […]
UIUC Student said,
March 21, 2006 @ 1:57 pm
**** Press Release ****
- For Immediate Release -
PRESS STATEMENT ON DAILY ILLINI (ACTON GORTON’S DISMISSAL)
March 15, 2006
(Urbana-Champaign, IL 3/15/2006) The Muslim Students Association and Council on American-Islamic Relations at UIUC have been at the forefront of organizing constructive initiatives aimed at educating and engaging the academic and local community on matters of Islam and working against Islamophobia.
The Illini Media Company’s decision to dismiss Acton Gorton was an internal decision completely separate from the work of MSA and CAIR. MSA and CAIR have never specifically sought an apology, dismissal, nor any curtailment on the right to free speech.
We continue our work in coalition building and open dialogue on a common platform opposed to all forms of hatred; we hope to continue to educate each other that all religious figures are worthy of dignity and respect regardless of faith.
Contact:
- Shaz Kaiseruddin, Muslim Students Association (skaiseruddin@yahoo.com)
- Reem Rahman, Council on American-Islamic Relations-UIUC (rrahman2@uiuc.edu)
- END -
Alyssa said,
March 22, 2006 @ 1:12 am
In case the debate needs to be resparked…
Pascha said,
March 22, 2006 @ 1:20 am
I don’t know enough about this situation to truly “take sides,” but here’s my two cents:
I am a raging liberal and it pisses me off that so many people got pissed off at these cartoons. I’m all about free speech, yada yada yada, but this isn’t about that.
If Muslim people don’t believe they should recreate him in any form, then they shouldn’t do it. But that shouldn’t stop others from being free to do so.
I think if someone wanted to publish them, they should be able to do it.
I do disagree, however, with the way it was done by Acton. I agree with Squire, that it kinda seems like you did it in such a way as to say, “Look what I can do.”
It was crappy for them to fire you in an email…but I still think they should have fired you. I’ve been fired over the phone before, and it sucks that it didn’t happen in person. But in your case, BOTH sides should have tried harder for a face to face meeting, especially since you claimed to know it was coming.
Pascha said,
March 22, 2006 @ 1:23 am
PS
You’re taking donations for your “defense fund?” Seriously?! Come on…if I did something, whether I thought my punishment was wrong or not, I wouldn’t be begging for other people to help pay for my attorney!
Motherofanother said,
March 25, 2006 @ 9:33 pm
Ok, first off: Thank you all for the laughs this evening! My day was spent painting for a client to enable me to pay the bills that this single Mother of six, four still at home, needs to pay. Paint fumes, not so good. Fun reading material here on the web, priceless! Dang it Acton, I’m so sorry that you have to endure all this ribing but I can honestly say that I’m grateful to have such enlightening reading material! Truth be told folks, I have gone through here and dampened myself a tad! To those that suggested the ACLU: Yikes! Have ye lost yer friggin’ minds oh silly delusional peeps? What a joke the ACLU! Good for a laugh on occasion, I admit. And you, Squire: I couldn’t help but notice that you omitted "……UNDER GOD……" from your website. Cute. And oh so nice that you have the right to rewrite the pledge of allegience, the allegience that goes along with the red-white-and-blue flag that my daughter and son in law are committed to serve (BTW: imagine hearing someone say that they killed 4 American contractors, just to put this all in perspective because, well, it really did happen and yet seems so far from this amusing little diatribe we’re having here, meself included). Interesting how some folks get all worked up and on their soap boxes to care about the fanatical religion of others who avow to take the lives of others because they’re offended by some stupid caricature of a mere man and yet you dare take away the basis of the foundation of MY country?!! Interesting that you can do that but Acton, or anyone else for that matter, cannot publish caricatures. I fail to get the point here. Maybe it’s my lack of formal education…… I must say that I’m ecstatic to read that there are those of us still thriving who love this country and all she was meant to give her inhabitants although we are losing ground on a daily basis due to the weaknesses of others and their whole "We’re gonna play the way that makes everone happy regardless of the fact that we may lose our playground at some future point or I’m gonna go home and tell my Mommy" crap. I’m 41 years old, a stay at home Mum for 16.5 of the past 21 years and it never fails to amaze me how much of my freedom, freedom that others have fought so hard for, has been taken from me. Well, guess what? You can’t take away my right to laugh at the idiocy here on this page by the few involved! Even funnier is the fact that they won’t even recognize themselves. Funnier still is the fact that when I come back in here another time I will find something directed at me and the director will be an even bigger joke since to hack me up one side and down the other means absolutely nothing to me, period! Heck, it may even make me laugh, so go ahead, make my day. I’m willing to bet that certain peeps who have posted here are members of the Snopes community. I have a feeling I’ve read of rantings by you at one time or another there, it’s such a liberal snot-faced community of "mommy-will-you-wipe-my-butt" kids who, in their next breaths, want to convince us that what they seek is the ability to prove their adult-ness! Sure, I know it’s not a word but who appointed you the scrabble police? Whew, this could go on and on, I’m sure, but I’m not getting any younger and it may very well be past my bedtime. Ok, that said, this is Kimberly, old fashioned, conservative man-should-be-the-head-of-household woman who needs to change her brookies before hitting the hay. Goodnight all and please rest well knowing that your Country’s Military has your back so that you can rant and rave like crazy folk! Father, I LOVE this Country! Thank You and please bless her even more. This is Motherofanother, out. (well, for now)
Motherofanother said,
March 27, 2006 @ 8:42 pm
Acton,
Please allow me to apologize for my written insanity of this past weekend. I don’t get out much and a few beers really does me in especially considering that I’m a 2 beer Annie at heart. Whew, I sure can hear the thoughts over that little acknowledgment.
hat said I would like to note that I’m not apologizing for the fact that I don’t agree with the whole argument made by a few here against what you did in printing the cartoons that were deemed offensive. I’m all about letting the ‘collective’ whole decide for themselves what is and isn’t appropriate and sometimes a special few will need to be offended momentarily for that to happen (I’m offended every time I turn on the TV and I combat that by not turning it on that often). It’s a judgement call that happens here in this country on a daily basis although the conservative Christian is really taking it in the heart, in no small part due to the fact that there are those who make that very claim themselves only to appear self-serving but that’s a whole other conversation.
So what we have here are the fanaticals who want to take away our rights and the ‘other’ fanaticals here among us waiting to take away our rights (along with the many they already have). Hmm, reminds me of a song. “Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right……”
Take care, Acton, and God bless.
“One Nation Under God……”
UIUC Student said,
March 28, 2006 @ 11:59 pm
**** Press Release ****
- For Immediate Release -
PRESS STATEMENT ON DAILY ILLINI (ACTON GORTON’S DISMISSAL)
March 15, 2006
(Urbana-Champaign, IL 3/15/2006) The Muslim Students Association and Council on American-Islamic Relations at UIUC have been at the forefront of organizing constructive initiatives aimed at educating and engaging the academic and local community on matters of Islam and working against Islamophobia.
The Illini Media Company’s decision to dismiss Acton Gorton was an internal decision completely separate from the work of MSA and CAIR. MSA and CAIR have never specifically sought an apology, dismissal, nor any curtailment on the right to free speech.
We continue our work in coalition building and open dialogue on a common platform opposed to all forms of hatred; we hope to continue to educate each other that all religious figures are worthy of dignity and respect regardless of faith.
Contact:
- Shaz Kaiseruddin, Muslim Students Association (skaiseruddin@yahoo.com)
- Reem Rahman, Council on American-Islamic Relations-UIUC (rrahman2@uiuc.edu)
- END -