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more religious violence
Dec. 9th, 2005 07:03 pmAs much as I dislike religion in general, I can't help but shed a tear for Paul Mirecki--chairman of the Religious Studies department at Kansas University. Beaten over the head and back with a metal object by a couple of redneck christians in a pickup truck for speaking out against Intelligent Design. He was one of the "good guys", trying to help religion be a bit less obnoxious and more informed:
http://www.kansan.com/stories/2005/dec/06/mirecki/
http://www.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/12/08/creationism.professor.ap/index.html
While his comments could definitely be said to be "unprofessional" I find it worrisome on a personal level how careful professors have to be about what they say. This is why friends-only posts are necessary sometimes. Because there are those people in the world who would rather win an argument with a blunt metal object than with words. This really frightens me. On the one hand I understand that professors are authority figures and have to set an example for the rest of us by not making insulting remarks, but on the other hand I feel scared that I might soon be in a profession where I can't voice my opinion on things without fearing for my life. I guess I just have to remember to be tactful, and try to put things as carefully as possible so that it couldn't be construed as an insult or a personal attack. (Which Paul Mirecki is apparently not very good at.)
http://www.kansan.com/stories/2005/dec/06/mirecki/
http://www.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/12/08/creationism.professor.ap/index.html
While his comments could definitely be said to be "unprofessional" I find it worrisome on a personal level how careful professors have to be about what they say. This is why friends-only posts are necessary sometimes. Because there are those people in the world who would rather win an argument with a blunt metal object than with words. This really frightens me. On the one hand I understand that professors are authority figures and have to set an example for the rest of us by not making insulting remarks, but on the other hand I feel scared that I might soon be in a profession where I can't voice my opinion on things without fearing for my life. I guess I just have to remember to be tactful, and try to put things as carefully as possible so that it couldn't be construed as an insult or a personal attack. (Which Paul Mirecki is apparently not very good at.)
