TO THE EDITOR:
I am intrigued that the UNC College Republicans have invited Dr. Mike Adams to speak at UNC. His name was familiar and a little research shows him to be a prolific writer and TV pundit, and the center of a recent controversy at UNC Wilmington in which he wrote about a specific student by name (earning the wrath of many students and faculty).
I imagine two ways his speech can go. In the first, students and faculty upset by his history make their displeasure known, perhaps by picketing, in a way that doesn’t disrupt the event. People who choose to attend weigh what he says, and if given the chance to question or respond, do so in a way they’d want their favorite speaker to be treated. At the end, people with different opinions might even talk to each other (maybe I dream too much).
In the second scenario, those who find Dr. Adams odious try to have his invitation withdrawn; failing that, try to disrupt his talk, drowning out any discourse. At the end, people with different opinions walk away convinced the other side is evil.
In the first case, the media find virtually nothing to report. In the latter, we have a big debate not about the content of his views, but whether another university that supposedly stands for free inquiry shuts down an opposing point of view. I have no reason to think the UNC Republicans see this as an way to provoke “snowflakes” into falling into a trap — but the trap is out there. Let’s not fall into it.
Joe Swain
Class of ’77
