Guest speakers shouldn't insult me

Author: Eric Fraser '05

James Howard Kunstler was a punk and should not have been invited to Middlebury College. He gave a lecture entitled "The Suburban Way of Life is Killing our Country" last Wednesday, April 6. The best part of the whole night was the introduction, after which point the talk spiraled downward.

The first words uttered out of Kunstler's mouth were completely demeaning, as he directed demands to the students who worked hard to help organize his visit. His manner and demeanor were immediately off-putting. Kunstler offered nothing in the way of positive solutions or any practical take-away messages.

What he did offer were insults and degrading comments throughout his entire lecture. I actually felt like I was being lectured to, and not like I was being imbued with knowledge, as he himself said the walls of academia should encourage.

Who did this guy think he was - making bogus claims and insulting the intelligence of everyone in the room? He insulted the architecture industry as a whole, and even went so far as to ask local architects in the room to identify themselves before he blatantly offended them, calling them lazy and terribly unoriginal procrastinators.

Kunstler tried to pass himself off as a doctor as well as expert in family dynamics. He made claims about depression and anxiety problems that he had no business discussing. Also, his views on artificial life support were not the reason anyone came to see him.

He made a mockery of family dynamics in suburbia and discussed little girls "turning tricks" for older men. At what point did this have relevance? It didn't. It was over the top and inappropriate.

Kunstler said "f-k" superfluously just to get a rise out of the audience. His extraneous use of the word took away from any intelligence his argument may have had. He referenced erectile dysfunction as he childishly mocked architects' attempts to create aesthetically pleasing buildings. The audience should question Kunstler's credibility and that of his opinions.

Kunstler next focused his wrath on Vermont. He described Bennington, Vt. as one of the "most f-ked up places" in the world, called Route 7 ugly and criticized the town of Middlebury in general.

I'll agree with anyone that the town traffic flow is absurd, but Battell Bridge, Marbleworks and the downtown shops are engaging and characteristically Vermont-like. Kunstler further disapproved of our campus landscaping, specifically Battell Beach. Our facilities and maintenance crews deserve more credit than that. This campus is one of the most beautiful I've seen.

After 20 minutes of this, one gentleman had enough. Despite sitting in the middle of a crowded row, he blatantly stood up, made everyone in his row move, and left - sending a defiant message. Others followed his lead, and a steady stream of people continued to walk out on Kunstler.

He made only two true statements during his contemptuous lecture. First, oil will probably run out one day. And second, we did not have to agree with his opinions.

I understand one of the goals of academia is to present different perspectives to spark conversations as well as intellectual debates. However, his arguments were so childish that I believe having a conversation with him would be like talking to the brick wall that he so scornfully spoke about.

Some will say he spoke nothing but the truth - that he said things people didn't want to hear, such as the hard realities of the future. As far as I'm concerned, Kunstler said absolutely nothing positive and offered no real solutions. Criticizing pictures of ugly brick walls had little connection with the future and the end of the world as he described it.

I went to the lecture excited and interested, but walked out with a bad taste in my mouth. I'll bet my "controversial" graduation speaker will be more tactful and won't insult me, my intelligence or my future alma mater in May.