University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce’s path to citizenship and her current esteemed position are laudable. One might say, “only in America.”
As the leader of one of our region’s most important institutions, she felt compelled to speak out against Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan. Members of those groups are indeed beneath contempt. But once everyone has had their fill of the low-hanging fruit, let’s move beyond platitudes and reach for a higher level of understanding of the conditions that have contributed to the right-wing extremist backlash.
Cauce says “universities are vibrant communities committed to the free exchange of ideas … striving to become more diverse and inclusive.” Catchy mission statement, but blatantly false. Intolerance rules campuses across the country. When administrators talk about the need “to move forward those values that we hold most dear,” what they really mean is stifling the voices of those who dare to take a different view. It’s easy — just apply the label of “white nationalist” to someone who favors legal immigration, for example.
It should not be surprising that the militant suppression of dissenters by extremists on the left has caused an equal and opposite reaction by extremists on the right.
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