It's dumb no matter what side of the fence it's dropped on.

It would have been interesting to see the text of the flyer that inspired the complaints rather than merely a report of its contents. I've seen test cases before, on both sides of the aisle, and this sounds like one to me. Mr. Hinkle was apparently prepared for the confrontation. The responses he delivered indicate to me that he's been rehearsed as well. He's no babe in the woods. He knows perfectly well that a public challenge of this nature, far from handicapping him, actually enhances his resume in many ways.

It's win-win for the Right. If there's a protest, it's an opportunity to make the protesting minority, the college administration, or -- hallelujah Jesus! -- both of them look bad, which they do. If there's none, they get their speaker anyway, and can claim that no one was offended because no one spoke up.

The protesting students probably had a better alternative, had they only thought a little. "Boycott" springs to mind. If there were no, or almost no, black students in the audience for a black speaker with a book title like that, imagine the photo op. "Black Speaker Tells White Students They Can Leave the Plantation". It would have required some organization and legwork, and would have depended on the independent agreement of individual black students on campus, but what a political learning experience!

As long as college administrators continue to act pre-emptively on behalf of minority students, the students will be deprived of a very important educational opportunity: learning how to organize for political purposes. The students on the Right, having been denied that support, have already learned this lesson.

Regards--
Mary Anne