Visiting Colorado Professor's Views Spark Controversy
Churchill Compares Some 9/11 Victims To Nazi War Criminals
POSTED: 8:24 am HST February 22, 2005
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HONOLULU -- A Colorado professor scheduled to speak at the University of Hawaii said he will not apologize for controversial remarks he made about those who died in the 9/11 attacks.
It is University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill's first visit to the University of Hawaii. It is funded by state money and private donations.Churchill has written that 9/11 was an unavoidable consequence of U.S. policy. He calls the World Trade Center a war target hit in retaliation for the 1991 bombing of Iraqis and other destructive U.S. acts."Ultimately what it comes down to is if you entitle yourself for profit to kill other people's babies and imagine that to be with impunity, you are in for a rude awakening. Here's the rude awakening, there will be consequences," Churchill said.Churchill claims some who perished were not innocent victims but "little Eichmanns," referring to the Nazi war criminal Adolph Eichmann."Truth be told, some disagree with what he has said and some of us are offended by what he said. But, what we are far more offended by is a government's effort to step in and silence him. We find that absolutely terrifying," said Trisha Kehaulani Watson of the UH American Studies Association.
Last month, Hamilton College in upstate New York canceled Churchill's visit and the Colorado governor wants Churchill fired."The right to speak unconstrained, that's a right vested in every citizen in the United States," Churchill said.A student group said it will be carrying protest signs when Churchill speaks Tuesday night. Student opponents said they are expecting about 100 people to join in."We feel that out of respect to the families of the victims of 9/11, we do not agree with his comments towards them. They should not be referred to as little Eichmanns," said James Schaedel of the Hawaii College Republicans.On Tuesday morning, KITV 4 News found an editorial article in The Rocky Mountain News in Colorado that quotes Churchill. In it the writer says Churchill spurs his listeners to use violence."You want to do something constructive for the indigenous Hawaiians? Stay home. And if you have to break their kneecaps in order to get them to, do it," the editorial quotes Churchill. Read the editorial.
It is University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill's first visit to the University of Hawaii. It is funded by state money and private donations.Churchill has written that 9/11 was an unavoidable consequence of U.S. policy. He calls the World Trade Center a war target hit in retaliation for the 1991 bombing of Iraqis and other destructive U.S. acts."Ultimately what it comes down to is if you entitle yourself for profit to kill other people's babies and imagine that to be with impunity, you are in for a rude awakening. Here's the rude awakening, there will be consequences," Churchill said.Churchill claims some who perished were not innocent victims but "little Eichmanns," referring to the Nazi war criminal Adolph Eichmann."Truth be told, some disagree with what he has said and some of us are offended by what he said. But, what we are far more offended by is a government's effort to step in and silence him. We find that absolutely terrifying," said Trisha Kehaulani Watson of the UH American Studies Association. | Video |
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