The part of this article I wish to highlight is:
The Harvard platform for Peretz gives racism an intellectual cast and authority and that is a very dangerous thing. When groups like the Tea Parties espouse bigoted views, they are more easily dismissed. But when Harvard chooses to distinguish a man who cloaks his prejudice in intellectual jargon, and then gives him additional credibility by choosing to recognize him out of thousands of its distinguished alumni, it makes scholarship a haven for prejudice.
I disagree with a lot of what Peretz allegedly said. His views are abhorrent and should not be honored. Please note I am not saying whether Harvard should honor him, or not, frankly I know very little about him.
The part I find intriguing is that the CNN author says: "When groups like the Tea Parties espouse bigoted views, they are more easily dismissed." He claims that Peretz should not be honored for his views because Peretz extrapolated a bad trait from a small part of a group to the entire group. (Muslims abusing first amendments.) He then does the exact same thing by talking about a bigoted tea party.
Why is it ok for this man to fight bigotry with bigotry? Why is it ok for CNN to "honor" the author's bigotry by giving him prominent placement on their website while Harvard should be forbidden from doing the same? This is the new left. Their bigotry is fine and if you disagree with them you are a racist, or a bigot and will be "called out" on their news cites.
The practical reality is that the elite universities already have a form of bigotry built into them. The students and professors alike are known to condemn conservatives. The elite, liberal, ivy-league schools need to open their doors not only to people of other races and religions but also to people with more diverse opinions. Harvard has done a comparatively good job of this, especially the law school when Kagan was Dean. I do not know enough about Peretz to say if he should be honored; I do know that Harvard is on the right track by accepting students and hiring professors of differing opinions. We should honor Harvard, not the bigoted views of Mr. Syed.
*Full Disclosure: I am currently a student at Harvard University but am by no means opposed to criticizing it if I think it is proper.
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