The viewpoints on whether Ayers is a terrorist are split, but it is undisputed that he was a founding member of the Weather Underground, a radical group opposed to the Vietnam War. As Ayers disclosed in his 2001 memoir “Fugitive Days”, he helped bomb official sites, including the U.S. Capitol and the Pentagon. After charges against Ayers were dropped, he became a professor of education and currently holds the title of Distinguished Professor at the University of Chicago.
In his defense, Ayers claims "I'm not that radical" and writes in his blog:
"The Weather Underground carried out a series of illegal and symbolic attacks on property then, some 20 acts over its entire existence, and no one was killed or harmed; the goal was not to terrorize people, but to scream out the message that the US government and its military were committing acts of terrorism."
However, the Weathermen's actions were not without victims, including the death of Ayer's girlfriend. Moreover, according to the 2001 York Times article, Ayers found ''a certain eloquence to bombs, a poetry and a pattern from a safe distance'' and stated that the Weathermen "didn't do enough."
University of Wyoming does not subscribe to Ayer's appreciation of poetic violence. According to the news reports, University President Tom Buchanan supported the decision to cancel Ayers, stating: "The University of Wyoming is one of the few institutions remaining in today's environment that garner the confidence of the public. The visit by Professor Ayers would have adversely impacted that reputation."
Despite this setback, it is reported that Ayers will continue traveling around the country to lecture as an authority on social justice and education.
PHOTOGRAPH: JEFF SCIORTINO, courtesy of www.chicagomag.com
No comments:
Post a Comment