<p>I opened the paper this morning and was stunned to discover this article. Wow…things are really getting scary around here with the evolution/ID issue. Still, there is something that just sounds <em>weird</em> to me about this article. If YOU were being closely tailgated, would YOU pull over and then get out of the car? This just seems SO odd to me…What do you think?</p>
<p>If I am being tailgated, I would try slowing down gradually to convince them to back off, and if that didn’t work, I’d pull over to let them pass. If they stopped and got out, I don’t know what I’d do (call the police, I guess.) But my guess is that most men would get out of the car (don’t mean to be sexist-- but I think it’s culturally true.)</p>
<p>I’m not going to get into a question the victim mentality, though. What’s weird is that the man got beat up.</p>
<p>Absolutely…I referred to that when I said that things were getting really scary around here. </p>
<p>I really wasn’t trying to make a comment about victim mentality, though I can see where you interpreted it that way. What I was trying to delicately infer was that the wannabe detective in me finds this story a tad strange. </p>
<p>The professor had been chastised for some comments he had made in an email to some members of a student organization. The class that he was going to teach (in which intelligent design would be described as “mythology”) was then cancelled at his own request. Then, a short time later he is followed on a rural road at 6:40 in the morning and he pulls over, gets out of the car, and is beaten up? This incident certainly makes the “fundies” he referred to in the email look disgraceful. All of a sudden, this professor goes from being the “bad guy” to the “victim”. </p>
<p>I have no choice at the moment but to take this story at face value, but I do think it is a bit unusual, and I would not be at all surprised if some additional facts surface about it. ~berurah</p>
<p>Um, Berurah, maybe I’m misunderstanding, but isn’t your second post actually also questioning the victim? It still seems that this is your point, and your prerogative, if you want to do so. I think I get exactly what you’re saying, and, as delicately as you are, you still are saying it. (though it’s hard to imagine him bruising himself and breaking his own tooth for a cause–but maybe I don 't take my causes seriously enough! )</p>
<p>Well, garland, O.K. I will concede. If I had been at the center of a heated controversy and then found myself being closely followed on a rural road, I probably would not have stopped for a chat at that time.</p>
<p>interested cc readers may want to take a look at the previous newspaper articles about the controversy surrounding the professor. the Chancellor commented recently about the situation. I believe he called the e-mails “vile or venemous” or something like that. The e-mails reportedly were very very offensive. The Catholic religion was mentioned in the e-mails according to the newspaper articles. check Wichita Eagle, Kansas City Star, Lawrence and Topeka on-line newspapers.</p>
<p>What is unacceptable is beating someone up for their beliefs, no matter how vile that person’s beliefs are. That’s the “problem” here, not that the guy pulled over. I don’t think he pulled over for a “chat”. He even says that he regrets getting out of the car. He may have pulled over to let them go by. When they got out of the car, perhaps he could have sped off, I don’t know. As Garland said, sexist as it may be, many men would then get out of the car. A woman might have rolled the window down two inches if they approached and kept the car locked. But no matter, the victim is not at fault. He erred in judgement to get out of the car if someone was tailgating/harrassing. But he did not deserve to be beat up in a civilized society. It very well may be that he sent very inappropriate emails or has made inappropriate statements (the article mentions a statement he has made for which he has apologized) but nobody should be assaulted physically for their views. This should be handled in other ways. If he has acted inappropriately in written and verbal communications, then the college must deal with that. If it is simply his views, it is a nonissue. But all that aside, even if he erred in getting out of his car, he was STILL A VICTIM. </p>
<p>Susan</p>
<p>PS, I should clarify that my opinion just now was based on just the initial article and the OP’s posts about it but I clearly do not know all the facts and there may be more to it.</p>
<p>I am a little skeptical of the story. Is there evidence that Mirecki was beaten up because of his opinions? How would the so-called fundies identify him and his car, how would they know he would be up and about at 6am? So many unknowns…</p>
<p>I do not doubt that he was beaten up, just his identification of the people who did the beating.</p>
<p>As usual, marite succinctly expressed what I obviously failed to express properly in many more words, at least if I am to judge by soozie’s vehement response. ~berurah</p>
<p>A Harvard educated, with a Doctor of Divinity degree, fellow who studies ancient Coptic and Greek texts, perhaps is a bit misplaced though and controversial in this day and age of open-mindedness! He seems like an interesting guy. Too bad he was not allowed to teach the course. It is a story that I will keep up with. I am sure there is more to this tale than meets the eye.</p>
<p>*And rightly so. Professor Paul Mirecki’s outrageous statements about evolution, intelligent design and religion shine a light on why he wants to teach this class right now. It isn’t just his comments on intelligent design that have got him in hot water, but his calous and nasty comments over the years about religon in general, such as referring to the Pope as “a corpse in a funny hat wearing a dress.”</p>
<p>Such comments, along with his foolish remarks about slamming intelligent design in his curriculum have resulted in his class being cancelled, and Kansas University investigating his anti-religious and bigoted comments. Not to mention stirring to outrage many of Kansas’ citizens.*</p>
<p>very offensive remarks…i think so…and I’m not even Catholic. one of my friends, also not Catholic, was also appalled at his e-mail remarks. </p>
<p>newspaper reports say that the Kansas Legislature will be holding budget hearings during their session…and the issue of decreasing funding for KU…will be discussed. i believe the professor may be called upon to testify at the budget hearings.</p>
<p>berurah - i, too, upon hearing the story, had the same reaction as you. will be interesting to see what facts come forth in the investigation.</p>
<p>Nice to hear that I may not be WAAAAAY off track here. I’m really not a run-of-the-mill “victim basher”…it’s just that this whole thing struck me as odd.</p>
<p>emeraldkity~</p>
<p>Thanks for the additional info. This whole thing is really too bad. The evolution issue in this state is touchy and heated enough without either side being represented by these types of people. Blech.</p>
<p>So what’s the deal - was he beaten or not? (inquiring minds want to know…the issue to me is not about evolution, but whether professors can be beaten for their beliefs, however expressed.)</p>
)</p>