Fortunately for KC Johnson, the so-called "Concerned CUNY Person," or "Persons," unintentionally makes the strongest case yet for his promotion and tenure since the recent posting by former Brooklyn College history professor and union representative Jerom Sternstein. Johnson is an untenured, junior faculty member who says he is being maligned and persecuted by a small handful of senior, tenured professors with whom he has had a professional disagreement over what he considered an unbalanced teach-in after 9/11 which contained no representatives of pro-US or pro-Israeli viewpoints and a recent search for a modern European historian. (Incidentially, left out in all this discussion was the fact that although I have spoken to two tenured professors who say that they also objected to the lack of balance on the teach-in, Professor Johnson was singled out as the only untenured professor who did so.)
Yet the so-called "Concerned CUNY Person(s)," allegedly supporting the smalled handful of Johnson's senior tenured critics, cannot show himself or herself, but can only strike from the shadows with a barrage of unattributed, undocumented, trash. Simply because certain senior faculty members hold these vile opinons of Professor Johnson does not make him uncollegial.
Even more so, "Concerned CUNY Person(s)" confuses reasonable dissent with uncollegial activity. I can understand why. If I were as confused and mindless as "Concerned Cuny Person(s)," I could easily make the same mistake. Clearly, "Concerned CUNY Person(s)" lacks the clearness of thought or self-esteem (or both), to distinguish between dissent and a personal affront. It can only be hoped that not all of Professor Johnson's critics have as minute a grasp of the fundamental rules of historical scholarship - attribution, documentation, objectivity, and intelligent thought. But sadly, all of these are lacking in these taciturn sycophants that learn, think, and TEACH by rote.
Perhaps this is why the person who originally posted as "Concerned CUNY Person" has been forced to vacate her/his position to a more "seasoned" author. But let us not forget that the ability to write has no bearing on the ability to think for oneself or prevent oneself from spurting out a useless and baseless diatribe.
Nevertheless, any neutral oberver who goes through the voluminous records released by junior Professor Johnson, his beloved students, and the nationally-acclaimed scholars who have rallied to his defense, would know at the very least that the written material, including numerous emails written by those who are now his critics, makes an extremely compelling and unrefuted case for what Professor Sternstein called the most "corrupted" tenure process he ever had witnessed.
In the words of Mary McCarthy in another situation, every word in the so called "Concerned CUNY Person(s)'s" posts is demostrably untrue, including the words "and" and "the."
In summation, unlike "Concerned CUNY Person(s)," Professor Johnson, his numerous supporters, and myself, all respect academic freedom and the freedom of speech. We all know that both of these components are necessary to the functioning of a "legitimate" institution of higher learning, and the discovery of truth. So "Concerned CUNY Person(s)," I encourage you to continue your posts and maintain your closely guarded anonymity. The truth of the matter remains, that all of us do not need to know your name in order to ascertain your true identity. For you are nothing more than a spiteful, jealous, and unthinking scab, whose capacity for logic, and human compassion for that matter, has obviously shriveled up and decayed.
I urge you to continue your posts and raise new "evidence," because it is apparent to all of is who have participated in this discussion, that the more you speak, the more you bury yourself. You can be sure I'll "stay tuned."
by Daniel Weininger on December 5, 2002 at 11:49 AM