12 October 2006

My e-mail to Karina Garcia regarding the Minutemen

Dear Karina Garcia,

Congratulations on your appearance on Democracy Now. It's a wonderful and essential program, and your message is one that needs to be heard. I am quite sure I am in substantial agreement with your views, though I don't know all of them. I also find The Minutemen to be a reprehensible group. Their views and actions should be challenged at every appropriate opportunity.

I must, however, respectfully, but strongly, disagree with your group's actions at the College Republican event. I should point out that I only heard about this event through Democracy Now, reported after it happened and the planned debate with Jim Gilchrist, and was not exposed to Fox News or any other propaganda outlet that you imply people who disagree with you must draw all of their information from.

Though I strongly side with your group issue-wise, and strongly oppose The Minutemen's message of hate, I think your group's behavior did little to help your cause and the general cause of activism (keep in mind that the point of activism is to persuade, not merely to preach to the choir). Unless every member of the audience simply came to boo at Jim Gilchrist, which wouldn't necessarily make your behavior justified, it's undeniable that your disruption violated Gilchrist's right to free speech. Your rebuttal that you were two groups exercising free speech is not a convincing one. If a court were to defend your behavior, I would then appeal to your sense of manners and decency.

Put yourself in Gilchrist's position. Your group organizes an event in which you invite prominent activists to speak about some contentious issue -- a woman's right to choose, for example. In the middle of your guest's talk, twenty or thirty College Republicans rush the stage, hold up a banner saying, "Stop killing babies!” and instigate a disruption that prevents your guest from continuing. Would you say, "Wasn't that great? I love free speech -- two opposing voices coming together in the spirit of democracy!"? I wouldn't. I would find their behavior rude and disrespectful. I wouldn't want to kick any College Republicans in the head -- okay, maybe I'd want to, but I wouldn't -- but I'd be incensed. Remember, to these people, you are encouraging murder. Does that give them the right to sabotage your event? Should your message not be heard, because so many disagree with it? I don't think so.

One of the reasons why programs like Democracy Now are so important in this society is that it does not produce shouting matches couched as a debate, as Fox does. While protest and dissent are important to democracy, yours was about as engaging as a Fox-style debate. I’m sure there were more productive ways to get your message out and, more importantly, weaken Gilchrist's. Couldn't you have contacted the College Republicans and asked to, instead, organize a moderated debate between your group and Gilchrist? Couldn't you have simply stood outside of the event and handed out flyers that discredited Gilchrist? I'm not sure what the format of this event was, but there are usually Q&A portions at the end of the speakers' talks. Couldn't you have voiced your concerns then? This route would have unlikely gotten your group the same kind of exposure, but I can't see how your methods helped you. Remember, as the 2004 presidential election demonstrated, people are aware of character, not issues.

You implied that Univision had a more accurate recounting of events, because it showed that a Minuteman attacked a member of your group. Do you really think that tells even close to the whole story? Wouldn't you find a newspaper headline saying, "Student activists attacked by Minutemen," just a little distorted? I'm not defending the actions of the Minuteman. If assault charges can be brought against him, all the better. Yet, your interpretation of the event really sounds like you want to have your cake and eat it, too.

By the way, as I'm sure you understand what slander is, I hope you knew what you were talking about when you called Gilchrist "a murderer." We are a very litigious society, after all.

Good luck finishing school. I wish you and your group the best luck in the future.

Sincerely,
Charles Ian Chun
Roselle, IL, via Seoul, Republic of Korea

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