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Not Everyone at Emory Got Salman Rushdie鈥檚 Important Message About Free Speech
Acclaimed writer to students at Emory University last week about what it means to defend freedom of speech and why students must vigilantly do so. Though his plea was well-argued and powerful, it didn鈥檛 reach all Emory community members鈥攑articularly not whoever set up by student group Emory FIREfor Justice in Palestine (ESJP) Sunday night and Monday morning.
In his final lecture as University Distinguished Professor, Rushdie reflected on his own experiences, from assuming in 1968 when he graduated from Cambridge University that 鈥渢he battle of free expression had been won,鈥 to facing death threats for writing The Satanic Verses two decades later. He urged students to vigorously defend their rights, even as he acknowledged that many young people accept censorship.
Rushdie made several key distinctions lost on too many students, professors, and administrators lately, noting that he鈥檚 鈥渋n favor of good manners鈥 but that his disposition does not negate 鈥渢he liberty to say what one thinks, even if people don鈥檛 like it.鈥 And while individuals are free to decide not to listen to ideas they don鈥檛 like, or not to watch movies or read books that might offend them, anyone who values freedom of expression should recognize that it must apply also to expression of which they disapprove.
Emory relayed Rushdie鈥檚 points on the 鈥溾 segment of its website:
鈥淭hat鈥檚 not the boundary, that鈥檚 the starting point,鈥 [Rushdie] said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really easy to defend the right to speak of people that you obviously agree with or to whom you are indifferent.鈥
The true test of tolerance is when somebody says something that you disagree with, but you can still defend as free speech, he noted.
That is democracy, Rushdie said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not polite. It鈥檚 not a tea party. It鈥檚 a rough-and-tumble affair. It鈥檚 an argument. It鈥檚 permitting others to say what you think is unsayable 鈥 If you want it, that鈥檚 the price of the ticket.鈥
Rushdie warned his audience: 鈥淭he future is yours. Don鈥檛 screw it up.鈥
Just days later, someone (or a group of someones) screwed up. Emory鈥檚 student newspaper Tuesday that ESJP members twice returned to where they had set up their display, a wall presenting their viewpoint on Israel鈥檚 treatment of Palestinians, to find that it had been torn down.
Emory Senior Vice President and Dean of Campus Life Ajay Nair wrote in an email to students that 鈥淸t]he destruction of the display runs counter to our community鈥檚 commitment to debate and dialogue.鈥 He also reminded them that 鈥淓mory University unequivocally affirms that our community members have the right to open expression without interference.鈥 Nair asked students to consider that some expression may upset others, but aptly proposed that the community 鈥渄eliberate ideas, ideologies, and policies with which we disagree, rather than target individuals or groups with whom we disagree.鈥 Additionally, according to the Wheel, a leader of the student group Emory Hillel called the wall鈥檚 destruction 鈥渃ounterproductive鈥 and made clear that Hillel did not support the vandalism. It is not yet apparent who is responsible for the destruction of the wall.
The Wheel reports that the Emory Police Department is investigating the incident as well.
This is the right response. Vandalism is not a protected exercise of freedom of speech, and students should not be silencing their peers by destroying property. Instead, students who disagree with ESJP can add their voices to the conversation by, for example, setting up their own wall or handing out leaflets countering the arguments made by ESJP.
Those who missed Rushdie鈥檚 speech last week have another opportunity to learn from his wisdom; he鈥檚 slated to deliver the at Emory鈥檚 commencement ceremony on May 11. FIREhopes that if he addresses the issue of freedom of speech in May, everyone pays close attention.
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