letter to the editor

Author: Heather Pangle

To the Editor:

On Sept. 10, the College Republicans put up posters around campus commemorating the tragedy of 9/11, the murder of Daniel Pearl, the attack on the USS Cole, the bombing of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the Iranian Hostage crisis and the hatred manifested in the burning of an American flag. The poster calls on us to "never forget" these events. Most of the posters were promptly torn down.

In a recent letter to the editor, the poster was described as demonstrating "an intent to propagate racist stereotypes and intolerance," allegedly because "the only commonality" among the events "is an apparent Arab similarity in appearance of a number of people pictured." This critique misses the point completely. The poster puts 9/11 in the greater context of Islamic extremism, and calls on us to remember that it was not an isolated event. In no way does it aim to stir up anti-Arab or anti-Muslim sentiment. That is the same as claiming that a poster condemning Nazism is anti-German, or a criticism of the Crusades is anti-Christian. The poster calls us to remember that these extremists pose a serious threat and a serious challenge to our way of life. The struggle between Islamic extremism and liberalism is one of the most important struggles of our time. We need to think about what it means and what we are going to do about it. The poster does not demand the bombing of Iran or the endless involvement of troops in Iraq. It is not a cry for indiscriminate violence or for racism. It is a call to keep our heads out of the sand, even if we disagree with the actions of our current administration.

The College Republicans put up a poster that was, I admit, deliberately provocative. We would like to engage people in thought and debate about what this struggle means and what should be done about it. Tearing down our posters is an act of intolerance and attempted intimidation. It does not provoke thought or engage in conversation. It is a symptom of what many conservatives here on campus feel is a general atmosphere of intolerance toward any deviation from mainstream liberal views.

Sincerely,

Heather Pangle '10