Ward Is Merely The Tip of the Iceberg

Betsy Nemark links to a Denver Post story about Phil Mitchell, another professor under siege at Colorado University. His crime:

Mitchell taught at the Hallett Diversity Program for 24 straight semesters. That is, until he made the colossal error of actually presenting a (gasp!) diverse opinion, quoting respected conservative black intellectual Thomas Sowell in a discussion about affirmative action.

Sitting 5 feet from a pink triangle that read “Hate-Free Zone,” the progressive head of the department berated Mitchell, calling him a racist.

“That would have come as a surprise to my black children,” explains Mitchell, who has nine kids, as of last count, two of them adopted African-Americans.

Then, Mitchell had the audacity to use a book on liberal Protestantism in the late 19th century. So repulsed by the word “god” was one student, she complained, and the department chair fired him without a meeting, he said.

The paper notes that Mitchell was eventually reinstated, “but was never able to teach in the history department again”.

There’s a key quote by Mitchell that sums up a huge difference between liberals the left:

“People say liberals run the university. I wish they did,” Mitchell says. “Most liberals understand the need for intellectual diversity. It’s the radical left that kills you.”

Exactly. And it’s further proof that liberals of the FDR, JFK, LBJ variety were essentially purged from power–and from academia–by the class of ’72.

Update: Somewhat related thoughts on liberals, leftists and intellectual diversity, here.

Vermouth-infused Update: Dead-on-target thoughts, from Stephen Green.