Warwick University Student Union got itself into a bit of bother last week by banning Iranian born secular speaker and Human rights campaigner Maryam Namazie from delivering a talk to the Warwick Atheist, Secularist and Humanist Society. The students' union claimed that the talk "could incite hatred or offend Islam".
You need to let that last sentence soak in a bit before you realise how stupid it is on so many levels. It's analogous to saying something like "We're banning Einstein from talking about Quantum Physics because it might offend Newtonian Physics" one of the purposes of attending University, being young and free to challenge ideas is that you actually do it and (perish the thought) learn something in the process! Even ignoring this primary function of these institutions we are still left with the asinine idea that "an idea" can be "offended", what? Can't these lefty laggards understand the difference between ideas and people? Is criticising Conservative monetary policy morally equivalent to taking a dump in David Cameron's letterbox? How ridiculous.
I never thought I'd live to see the day but it seems like the spiritual heartland of free thought and intellectual challenge to discriminatory establishments of all stripes (i.e. the Student body) has (at least in Warwick) been overrun by weak minded, politically correct wimps who have actually convinced themselves that cow-tailing to the misogynistic, anti-gay, anti-free-speech, traditionalist, juggernaut that is "conservative" Islam is somehow a moral thing to do?
In a pleasing update to this sorry tale it seems that the Student Union have reversed their decision and apologised to Maryam; perhaps some of those ex-hippy professors took them aside and explained a thing or two about proper activism.
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