Then they build monuments to you

Again, someone in the world has mangled the "first they ignore you" quote, forcing me to look up the original and remind myself the actual name of the guy. (Particularly galling this time: the mangler was a libertarian, and the original was from a labor rally)

In any case, I am not placing this in prominent places in my extended brain so I can find it easily the next time this happens.

"First they ignore you. Then they ridicule you. And then they attack you and want to burn you. and Then they build monuments to you." --Nicholas Klein

In support of Lawrence Torcello

Dear President Destler:

I am writing to thank you for supporting the free speech rights of Lawrence Torcello in the face of an organized smear campaign against him, and to urge you to issue an even stronger statement in support of your faculty member.

In particular, I urge you to issue a statement affirming that Professor Torcello's essay is being completely misrepresented by his attackers. He did not in any way call for the imprisonment of individuals who deny the existence of global climate change. His criticism was leveled against those who organize and fund media campaigns promoting ideas about the climate that are harmful and false. Harmful and false statements are already a regulated category of speech, as when the law prevents people from advertising dangerous quack medicine or bans hate speech. Professor Torchello's proposal is thus well within the bounds of normal, reasonable political discourse.

Universities are contractually obligated to protect the academic freedom, including the free speech rights, of their professors. Please honor this obligation to its fullest by publicly showing your complete support of Lawrence Torcello.

Sincerely,

J. Robert Loftis

Associate Professor of Philosophy

Lorain County Community College