Michael Moore at the U of A--are you f@cking kidding me?!
Mood:  on fire
Now Playing: The Sex Pistols
So I get an email last week from a friend of mine that the University of Arizona is going to pay Michael Moore almost $30k to speak as part of their get out the vote effort. WHAT?!?! Are you kidding me?!I immediately wrote U of A President Peter Likin an email expressing my concern--alright, my outrage at this suggestion. Following are my original email, President Linkin's response and my response. I had to vent about this.

"Dear President Likins-
I cannot begin to tell you how deeply disturbed I am that ASUA, and by extension the University of Arizona, is paying to bring Michael Moore in to speak to the students.

You have stated that Mr. Moore has been invited to participate in the ASUA's "...effort to heighten student awareness about the political process during this election year. ASUA's efforts include a massive voter registration drive, educating students about issues and candidates, and getting students to the polls on Election Day."

I fail to see where Michael Moore would have any positive contribution to this effort. How does a man who publicly derides the United States, its leadership, its legislative process and its people bring anything to your efforts? This is the man who, during an interview with the British paper The Mirror, said this about Americans: "They are possibly the dumbest people on the planet . . . in thrall to conniving, thieving smug [pieces of the human anatomy]," Moore intoned. "We Americans suffer from an enforced ignorance. We don't know about anything that's happening outside our country. Our stupidity is embarrassing."

This is the man you are encouraging to speak to our young people about the political process? A man who presents himself as a documentary filmmaker, when in fact he is nothing but a self-serving, self-promoter who is making a fortune by misleading the American public through creative editing of the facts.

I do not care what party you are affiliated with: Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Green, etc. Michael Moore has nothing to do with civic awareness, political mindedness or political education.

Michael Moore is a draw--not a valid input. If you were really going to bring someone in for this effort it would be a non-partisan speaker who would talk about the American lives that have been lost to protect our ability to vote, the fight for women's suffrage, the importance of educating yourself on the issues and the candidates as well as the significance of speaking your mind by voting. It would not be someone who has used the issues and the candidates to promote himself, line his own wallet and who is clearly not interested in presenting any unbiased information to the students of the University of Arizona.

I consider Michael Moore a traitor to our men and women in uniform who are willingly risking their lives on a daily basis to protect our continued freedom and our ability to vote. He is un-American and does not deserve to have the University of Arizona help him to advance his personal agenda.
Sincerely,
My Full Name
University of Arizona, Class of 199_"

President Likin's response dumbfounded me to say the least. Keep in mind while reading it, that this is from the President (as in highest paid staff member) of a major university...

Peter Likins wrote:
Megan ...

I see that part of the problem here is that I have never taken Michael Moore sufficiently seriously to read anything he has written, hear him speak or see his films. I have no interest in his visit to campus, but then again I ignore extreme views on all sides of these questions so I can concentrate on working with real people on real issues.

For me this flap is not about Michael Moore at all. It's about whether or not I should allow students whom I know and trust to do their best to provide the campus with a balanced set of five speakers. My decision is to support my students, even if they have made a judgement that I would have made differently. These students are feeling very badly right now, knowing that I am taking the heat for their decisions. I have told them that it's my responsibility to protect their freedom to learn from experience, and that's what I'm doing.

Cheers ...

Pete

Is this man huffing suntan lotion? "Cheers Pete"? How inappropriate a closing is that? Not only did he address me as if I were an insipid youngster, he really didn't address my concerns. Therefore, a reply/rebuttal was needed:

"Dear Mr. Linkin-
I find your response to my email disturbing to say the least. The fact that a speaker is being paid to come to the University of Arizona and you, as the President of the institution, have "no interest in his visit to campus" is, pardon my frankness, asinine.

You say that you feel your students did "their best to provide the campus with a balanced set of five speakers." Balanced? In what universe are their choices balanced? There is no balance whatsoever with the five speakers chosen. The only ones who are balanced and will present relatively un-biased information are Governor Napolitano and Representative Jim Kolbe, who when last I checked was TBD as a speaker, which means he could very well not be able to attend depending upon his commitments in Washington. That leaves you with one relatively non-partisan speaker, Governor Napolitano, and three speakers who are all self-motivated by their own personal agendas and stand to gain or profit by some means through this appearance.

A Karen Filippelli answered an email for you with some nonsense about different "belief systems" justifying Moore's appearance. Different "belief systems"? That's rich! How about a complete lack thereof other than the almighty dollar on Moore's part? He is nothing but a self-aggrandizing opportunist.

Please know that I don't dislike Moore because of his political views. I dislike him because he presents a skewed point of view, manipulates it with editing to produce his own distinct opinion and then represents it as the truth. His films are less about truth than they are about the truth AS MOORE SEES IT. This makes them propaganda tools, essentially, and Moore himself has said he advocates using his film in an effort to defeat Bush. He is using his movie as a political tool. He has no objectivity and it is obvious that he is as self-serving as any of the media giants...the only thing he's promoting is himself and his anti-Bush rhetoric. This is one of your `balanced speakers'?

You say that you are giving your students the freedom to make these choices. I am a staunch believer in freedom. I am a firm supporter of the First Amendment. America is all about freedom of speech, but along with freedom of speech comes the responsibility to speak responsibly which I think we all know, Moore will not do at this, or any other, speaking engagement.

Mr. Moore has had every opportunity to speak his mind and anyone who wants to, is able to purchase his works and listen to his opinions. However, when a public institution spends almost $30,000 (regardless of the source of the funding) to help him further his personal agenda in the name of getting out the vote efforts, those of us who pay taxes and tuition fees to support that institution become unwilling advocates of that opinion and have the right to object and you, as well as the members of the ASUA, rightly deserve to take the heat for these decisions and any ramifications that may result from them especially the fact that the University's alumnus funding is going to take a major hit from this decision. While you were "ignoring the extreme views on all sides of these questions" so you could "concentrate on working with real people on real issues", I am surprised that you really haven't given this "real issue" brought to your attention by "real people" much consideration but then again, in your own words, you haven't been paying attention you've been "ignoring" it.

Never in my time attending the University of Arizona, was I subjected to any public figure or professor who flat out gave his opinions without ever having to produce any facts to back them up. Apparently things have changed on campus and I, for one, think it is detrimental to the future of the institution.

Sincerely-
My Full Name
Class of 199_

PS-On a completely different note, I find it disconcerting that for some reason you felt it was appropriate to address me with undo familiarity as if I were an acquaintance. Is this because I am only 36 years old? I find it highly doubtful that you would have responded to members of the class of 1957 with "Cheers Pete". "