An article that argued colonialism might actually have been a positive for many people has been under fire since it was first published earlier this year. It spurred demands for an immediate retraction — despite no claims of poor scholarship by author Bruce Gilley.
No, the problem was that he found data that shouldn’t be allowed to be found.
Now, the editor of the journal has finally pulled the article, but not because of its scholarship.
Just days before Columbus Day, an academic journal pulled a controversial article defending colonialism in response to threats of violence.
The journal’s publisher, Taylor & Francis, replaced the article with a notation that the content had been removed because “the journal editor has subsequently received serious and credible threats of personal violence.”
“The Case for Colonialism” was written by Bruce Gilley, a political science professor at Portland State University, and immediately sparked criticism and outrage.
Almost 7,000 people signed a petition calling for the journal to apologize and retract the article entirely, and nearly 11,000 people signed a similar petition, prompting 15 of the 34-member board to resign.
Before the threats, however, the publisher had steadfastly refused to remove the article, releasing a statement declaring that “peer-reviewed research articles cannot simply be withdrawn but must have grounds for retraction,” with the firm’s president explaining that “These parameters exist in order to keep the scholarly record intact and so academic discourse cannot be shaped by any one opinion.”
Absolutely pathetic, but not surprising.
One thing we’ve seen over the last couple of years is just how quickly leftists turn to violence and threats of violence in order to get their way. They’ve started riots to block speakers from talking. They’ve stormed free speech rallies. Now they’re threatening the life of an editor who simply wouldn’t capitulate to their demands otherwise.
Is it any wonder they think we’re so violent? It’s called “projection.”
Make no mistake, there are morons on our “side” who think they’re helping by leveling threats against leftists or those who appear to aid leftist causes. They’re vile individuals who have no place in our ranks, and the vast majority of people who call themselves conservatives or libertarians agree with that.
On the left, however, that’s not the case. Just look at how many apologists for Antifa appeared after Charlottesville. They didn’t care about Berkeley or any of the other riots Antifa and their fellow travelers had instigated. All they cared about was that Antifa were their goons.
Now we have editors of scholarly journals being threatened simply because they refused to issue a retraction for an article that no one could refute academically. The leftists didn’t have a leg to stand on, so they went to their standby: violence.
Typical. Typical and pathetic.
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