Richard Dawkins' Berkeley event cancelled for 'Islamophobia'

originally posted by: Cutepants
a reply to: chr0naut

Are you being serious? The tweet literally contains only a single sentence. Surely if you're going to talk about context you have to look at things in a wider scope than just one sentence. What are you even saying the tweet is context for? Isn't the tweet what sparked the controversy in the first place?

Anyway, good on Dawkins for criticizing Islam too. I think this blindness to it is detracting a lot from liberal credibility, and is one of the major causes for this reactionism we're seeing now. It probably won Trump the election.

So the Nazi slogan "Juden kaput" (kill the Jews) wasn't hate speech because it is even less than a sentence?

Yes, that tweet specifically was quoted as the reason for the radio station cancelling the lecture.

I blame atheism explicitly for the premature deaths of 60 million (according to Solzhenitsyn) men, women and children in Soviet Gulags.

I blame atheism explicitly for the premature deaths of 55 million (according to Yu Xiguang) men women and children in Mao's "Great Leap Forward".

Atheism has no moral superiority and in the 20th century has proven more evil than religion. While it is true that there are evil people within religion, only atheism makes evil systematic.

a reply to: chr0naut
Of course, but it wasn't it's own context.

On the rest I'm undecided. You can certainly make a case that atheism contributed to the murders. On the other hand the Nordic countries of today are extremely secular, and there's very little state-sponsored violence going on there. It's got it's ups and downs, I guess. Atheism is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get?

originally posted by: Cutepants
a reply to: chr0naut
Of course, but it wasn't it's own context.

On the rest I'm undecided. You can certainly make a case that atheism contributed to the murders. On the other hand the Nordic countries of today are extremely secular, and there's very little state-sponsored violence going on there. It's got it's ups and downs, I guess. Atheism is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get?

It isn't the belief system necessarily that predicates violence.

Some humans are evil.

originally posted by: knowledgehunter0986
Link

The best-selling author had been due to address an event hosted by KPFA Radio in Berkeley, California, in August.

Organisers accused him of "abusive speech against Islam" when scrapping his appearance, but he argues his criticism was not directed at Islam.

He called on the station to review his past remarks and apologise.

In a letter to ticket-holders, the publicly funded radio station wrote: "We had booked this event based entirely on his excellent new book on science, when we didn't know he had offended and hurt - in his tweets and other comments on Islam, so many people."

Muh feelingz..

He said harsh statements he has made in the past have been directed at "IslamISM" - apparently referring to those who use the religion for political objectives - and not adherents of the faith.

"I have criticised the appalling misogyny and homophobia of Islam, I have criticised the murdering of apostates for no crime other than their disbelief," Professor Dawkins writes.

He also pointed out that he has been a "frequent critic of Christianity but have never been de-platformed for that"

The plague of politically (in)correctness strikes yet again, ironically in the home of free speech, and the capital of the SJW movement, Berkeley California. Having said that, I don't think this is an issue of free speech (?), as it was a publicly funded radio station and they are entitled to do as they wish, but rather a great example of the devestating double standard from liberals -- mostly of the perpetual butt-hurt SJW flavor.

brush

Mr.Dawkin's has openly critisized Christianity many, many times, and apparently that's all fine and dandy, but mentioning Islam is a big fat no-no.. Many liberals will condemn illiberal views from Christian fundamentalist's, but will label others "Islamaphobic" for condemning similar views held by Muslims, and in the same vein, it's ok to make fun and ridicule Christianity, but when it comes to Islam, it's like "Whoa man, slow down there buddy, we gotta respect their religion"


Ha.. ha..

Yeah, people shouldn't stereotype all Muslims. I have friends that are Muslim.

But, part of classical liberalism is being able to debate and disagree with ideas, including religious ones. If fundamentalists (of either Christian or Muslim denominations) propose unequal rights for men and women, or want to discriminate against gay people, or destroy another culture, then people should be able to disagree with those concepts.

I find the conservative question reasonable asking why some liberals are now excusing illiberal ideologies (in this case some Muslim teachings) but then criticizing heavily those of Christianity or allowing other ideologies to be criticized. Either illiberal (or let's just say problematic) ideas can be criticized or they can't.

a reply to: chr0naut

The radio station has no association with the University. The article said that plainly. Everyone assuming that the University has invited Dawkins to speak and has turned him down are mistaken. The radio station is not preventing Dawkins from saying what he wants. They are just preventing its broadcast through their station.

Well.. shut down the radio station... soon they'll be broadcasting the muslim call to prayer... trust me, it's only a matter of time..

a reply to: knowledgehunter0986

Its kinda sad now...

Previous generations used to go to College with a purpose, they knew that their opinions and views would be challenged, they would learn and assimilate new concepts, debate their own and maybe even change them to grow as human beings... The diploma was just the "tangible" consolation price for the knowledge and growth you acquired and underwent during those years and all the hard work...

This new generation walks in there racking up an average 45,000$ in debt with preconceived notions and absolutely fight to walk out the exact same way they walked in, they want to go there to learn nothing and walk out with a diploma because at some point the piece of paper became more important than the mountain of gold in knowledge and growth that is staring them in the face to which they refuse to set an eye upon or consider..

I'm wondering sometimes if we're still on the path of evolution or somehow in the last 20 years we didn't do a u-turn and no one noticed...

a reply to: _R4t_

I'm wondering sometimes if we're still on the path of evolution or somehow in the last 20 years we didn't do a u-turn and no one noticed...

At this rate, we'll be apes again in about 5 years.