Norman Finkelstein, A Giant
Why didn't Norman Finkelstein, professor of political science, not get tenure at DePaul University? It seems obvious that the reasons are many, but petty. The Dean of his department basically said that he called people bad names and that was bad for DePaul's reputation. Alan Dershowitz, a pathetic man of no academic value, sent a 50-page dossier on Professor Norman to the school of law at DePaul. Unprecedented in my inquiring of friends/acquaintances that teach at universities.
The reasons, though, in my mind, don't really have too much significance. It seems as it was a forgone conclusion due to Professor Norman's "confrontational" style. I put confrontational in quotes because I've never seen him confrontational in any debate or discussion. He is always calm, clear, concise. His debate with Shlomo Ben-Ami on Democracy Now was the type of debate that makes one proud to be human. Now if you want confrontational, go see Dershowitz debate. He just screams like an ape, thinks he wins because he was the loudest ape. "Gorillas in the Mist" is all I can think of when I hear him debate, except I don't want to defame Dian Fossey. An awful blowhard that proves one doesn't need to actually be an intellgient, dilligent scholar to be called a scholar. Another tool in America's power structure that makes the U.S. look pathetic.
And we look more pathetic when we can't give a great intellectual as Norman Finkelstein tenure at a place of higher learning. His students love him. His colleagues respect him. Raul Hilberg has the utmost respect for him. I have yet to hear anything come from the Grand Canyon sized mouth of Dershowitz about this fact. Dershowitz slanders Norman Finkelstein by calling him a "holocaust denier", but when the Dean of Holocaust studies calls Norman Finkelstein a great scholar, Dershowitz keeps his trap shut.
I have a had a little correspondence with Norman Finkelstein, and he has been nothing but gracious, clear, to the point, and ALWAYS answers my emails. His dedication to his studies, research, answering positive and negative feedback, is the stuff of giants. Just go to his site and see his talk at Brandeis University. The first questioner after the talk (part 3) makes the most horrific statements about Finkelstein's family. And Norman takes it honorably and tells the audience to listen, doesn't get hostile. He is intense, he may seem even obsessive at times, but he is a true artist. He never waivers from his core beliefs. The anecdotes from his mother, a woman who survived labor camps, concentration camps, and the execution of her family under Hitler, are always deeply enlightening.
It's a sad day in the world of the academy. Raul Hilberg states it well: "I have a sinking feeling about the damage this will do to academic freedom". All some powerful voice for American power has to do is run a smear campaign, and the unacceptable intellectual is out. We need to remember what happened to Norman, use it as an example of what is wrong with academic culture, and scream "we do not accept this!" I have seen many pathetic professors with tenure (professors of economics at University of Chicago come to mind), but to not give it to Norman Finkelstein is a crime.
