I received an email today that seemed to provide a "Call to Write," to appropriate the title of John Trimbur's textbook by the same name. Or we could call it an "exigency" for all of you rhetorically savvy folks out there. The "call" came in this form:What's controversial on his website can be found here.
"hello sir,
i thought teachers were not supposed to preach their political views. it's obvious that you have an agenda is it not? i cannot believe that state money goes into teaching this garbage. and i am not even some looney right wing guy either. is the u.s. so bad or is it that your politics just make for some more exciting pedagogy? do you flunk students whose views do not reflect theirs?"
If you haven't already guessed, it's an unsigned email sent to me from a mysterious "dk"--yes, it's a hotmail account. Thus far, my question "who are you?" has remained unanswered. But I find it interesting in that it comes with no context. I have yet to have my first class this semester, so chances are, "dk" was checking out my website. Who knows.
If this professor is correct to infer that the attack is soley based on what appears on the professor's website, not what he does in class, this is a great example of where calls for "freedom" turn to tyranny, where anyone with an opinion is condemed for having an agenda.
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