Comments by Paul Wolf-February 2, 2005
A media frenzy has developed surrounding a 2001 Ward Churchill article
entitled "Some People Push Back: On the Justice Of Roosting Chickens,"
in which Dr. Churchill compares the World Trade Center victims to nazis,
and suggests that if there was any better way to punish them for their
complicity in the 1991 gulf war, he'd like to hear about it. This was
indeed a foolish and unscholarly theme for an essay, dismissing the
distinction between civilians and combatants set out in the Geneva
Conventions half a century ago. By Churchill's logic, his own death in
such an attack would be justified.
But that's beside the point. Churchill's article was obviously intended
to be offensive. What's amazing is the ability of Bill O'Reilly to pull
this scandal out of the dustbin. It must have been a slow news day at
Fox for Mr O'Reilly to have seized on this three year old article.
O'Reilly is an expert character assassin, and should be held accountable
in a court of law for the death threats and other harms Churchill has
suffered. He's been doing this a long time and is well aware of the
reprecussions of his work. While the media has seized on Churchill's
"hate speech", how else can we classify a show like "The O'Reilly Factor"?
I had some dealings with Dr Churchill a few years ago when we agreed I'd
promote his book, The COINTELPRO Papers, on my website. I soon learned
of the bizarre and conspiratorial world of the largely-defunct American
Indian Movement. On its website, AIM's leaders accuse Ward Churchill of
working as a counterintelligence agent in the Vietnam war, of recruiting
mercenaries for the contras in the 80's, of working for Soldier of
Fortune Magazine (a CIA-connected publication, back issues of which have
been purged from all libraries near Washington DC), and of sabotaging
AIM's negotiations with Saddam Hussein. (see
and BBrown_Rmeans memo for
AIM-Baath Party negotiations). AIM is also upset about Churchill's AIM
splinter group in Colorado. In return, Colorado Autonomous AIM accuses
the AIM leadership of espionage, drug dealing, and complicy in the
murder of Anna Mae Aquash. Colorado AIM
Arlo
Looking Cloud was recently convicted of complicity in the Aquash murder,
but Leonard Peltier insists he was framed. John Graham may soon be
extradicted from Canada to face charges for the same murder, on the
barest of evidence, much like Peltier was. AIM's politics are
incomprehensible to me, except to conclude that the fight is to the death.
Paul Wolf-February 3, 2005 ©
Churchill a lightning rod
CU prof at center of 9/11 dispute has been there before
By Charlie Brennan, Rocky Mountain News, January 28, 2005
So, people are mad at Ward Churchill. What else is new?
For a man who has weathered anonymous death threats telephoned to his
home, the latest turmoil is comparatively tame.
Churchill, chairman of the Ethnic Studies Department at the University
of Colorado, is at the center of controversy - again. This time it's
students at Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., upset about his scheduled
appearance there next week. (Churchill's appearance was cancelled).
They are disturbed by an essay Churchill wrote in the wake of the Sept.
11, 2001, terrorist attacks suggesting they were justified.
In an essay written the day after the attacks, Some People Push Back: On
the Justice Of Roosting Chickens, he said America was merely reaping
what it had sown through a long history of violent domination and
assault upon indigenous people.
"There is simply no argument to be made that the Pentagon personnel
killed on September 11 fill that bill" as innocent victims, Churchill wrote.
"The building and those inside comprised military targets, pure and
simple. As to those in the World Trade Center . . . Well, really.
"Let's get a grip here, shall we? True enough, they were civilians, of a
sort. But innocent? Gimme a break."
Among those spitting mad is Debra Burlingame of Westchester, N.Y.,
sister of a pilot who died on Sept. 11. She said the CU professor's
remarks are "beyond the pale."
To find himself outside the mainstream is not a novel experience for
Churchill; this is the same man who, in an interview last year, said "it
may be that more 9/11s are necessary."
U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez, R-Colo., has called for Churchill's resignation
because of his 3-year-old Sept. 11 essay. And U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, an
Eldorado Springs Democrat whose district includes Boulder, said
Churchill's essay "grossly defames those who were murdered in the attack
on the World Trade Center. Mr. Churchill owes the 9/11 families an apology."
Churchill, 57, was one of eight defendants acquitted in Denver on Jan.
20 for blocking the Oct. 9 Columbus Day parade, which he and his
co-defendants consider an act of hate speech and ethnic intimidation.
He also was arrested in a 1991 Columbus Day parade protest, but the
charges in that case were dismissed a few months later.
This semester, Churchill is teaching three classes at CU: Topical Issues
in Native North America, American Indians in Film, and Indian/
Government Conflicts.
He is currently out of state on a speaking tour. But his wife, fellow CU
ethnic studies professor Natsu Saito - also one of those acquitted in
the Columbus Day parade trial - spoke highly of her husband as an academic.
"Students love him. His classes are always filled to overflowing, and he
sets a standard for teaching and scholarship that is inspiring for all
of us," she said.
"He has written more books than most academics even think about writing.
I think he inspires the students with respect to how to put one's
teachings into practice, and applies it to the world."
This is not the first time Churchill has come under fire for his
alternative viewpoint on Sept. 11.
He stirred a hornet's nest of opposition during a visit on Dec. 1, 2001
- less than three months after nearly 3,000 were killed in the attacks -
to the University of Vermont.
Situated in the liberal enclave of Burlington, Vt., the university lost
13 alumni in the attacks.
"The stuff was so outrageous and the timing was so bad because it (the
Sept. 11 trauma) was so fresh," said Sam Hemingway, a columnist for the
Burlington Free Press who wrote about Churchill's visit. "Everybody was
so worked up."
Many still are.
Debra Burlingame is the sister of Charles "Chick" Burlingame III, the
captain of American Airlines Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon
the day before his 52nd birthday.
Using the same argument Churchill has used against the Columbus Day
parade, she said of his writings: "I consider it hate speech, which
isn't protected at all by the First Amendment.
"What (Hamilton College) is doing is paying him money, sponsoring him,
an individual who is calling for the murder of innocent people. That is
hate speech."
Saito said those who have read her husband's writings - which include at
least 15 books - should have a good sense of who he is.
"I think the part that a lot of people miss - because he says things in
a way that makes people uncomfortable, because he forces people to
confront truths they don't want to deal with, that they would rather
ignore - is why he does it," said Saito.
On Thursday, interim CU Chancellor Phil DiStefano issued a statement
emphasizing that Churchill's views are his own and not representative of
the university.
"While I may personally find his views offensive, I also must support
his right (guaranteed by the First Amendment) as an American citizen to
hold and express his views, no matter how repugnant," he said.
Link to Report
Statement by Leonard Peltier
Statement by Susan Harjo
February 2005 News Reports