Letter: Violence more offensive than preacher's words

Editor,

It was once said that before one can truly know where one's enemies stand, one must first know where one is standing. In her letter to the editor in Monday's Daily Lobo, Katarina Garcia's commentary was outrageous, particularly for a college-educated person in 2005. By her sightless support of Meisha Dwight's assault of Matt Bourgault during his sermon on the mall, Garcia has naively placed her ideology alongside his in terms of offensiveness and ludicrousness.

Dwight, who was arrested for assaulting the preacher, found his discourse inflammatory. Being troubled by what he said, her options were to continue to listen, debate or to walk away. She chose instead to lower herself to his level and assault him. She says she did this because she found his words offensively sexist and alleges that Bourgault spat on her. If he did, she had the option of reporting his assault upon her and having him arrested. Ironically, his arrest may have been the quickest and easiest way to quiet him.

In her letter, Garcia's comments not only assert a loud slap in the face of freedom of speech, but her condoning censorship of the preacher speaks against one of the fundamental veins of university principles. Universities are places where exposure to all views is tolerated and encouraged, not just those views that don't offend some of us. Agreeably, universities must foster environments that are conducive to learning, and each of us has the right to not be harassed for who we are, what we are, or for in what we believe.

Garcia and everyone else who stopped and listened to Bourgault chose to be harassed. Dwight went further by choosing to not only listen to the preacher, but to become actively involved in a no-win debate with him, which ultimately led to violence perpetrated by her.

Freedoms often conflict when one person or group chooses to forego the rights of others in support of their own. Dwight's violent response to a fervently delivered speech that she found offensive was itself more offensive and dangerous than any words the preacher could ever have delivered.

Wendell Hunt

UNM student