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Ayers encourages active citizenship
by Nashrah Rahman
News Editor
News | 5/19/09
Posted online at 12:53 AM EST on 5/19/09
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The event was sponsored by Democracy for America, Students for a Democratic Society, the Brenda Meehan Social Justice in Action Grant and four academic departments: Peace, Conflict and Coexistence Studies; Education; History; and Social Justice and Social Policy. A question-and-answer session followed Ayers' speech.
In the 1960s, Ayers was a radical antiwar activist whose protest group was blamed for several bombings at the Capitol and the Pentagon. The Weather Underground was also suspected of involvement in the shooting of Boston police officer Walter A. Schroeder during a bank robbery in Brighton.
DFA members Liza Behrendt '11 and Mariel Gruszko ' 10 introduced Ayers, referencing the controversy surrounding his visit to the University campus and the recent cancellation of his planned visit to Boston College.
"We are proud that our university has demonstrated great intellectual integrity, becoming the first Boston-area institution to present a speech from [Ayers] after President Obama's inauguration," Behrendt said.
In his speech Ayers advised his audience, "Open your eyes, act, doubt."
He explained that one must "see the world as it is: with all of its suffering as well as all its joy and ecstasy; ... otherwise, you're [just] being a good person in your mind," Ayers said.
He said that he was disappointed to hear his progressive friends and students hope that Obama would make a difference without considering what they could do to help the president. Similarly, Ayers asked the audience to think about "what you did this morning for peace, what you did this morning for economic democracy, what you did this morning to change the frame for health care, education or GLBTQ rights?"
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
David R. Zukerman '62
posted 5/20/09 @ 12:20 AM EST
No, the Ayers group did not end the Vietnam War. North Vietnam did.
If the "rules" in Vietnam had been applied to the Middle East, the Arab-Israel War might well have long been ended. (Continued…)
Franco
posted 5/21/09 @ 1:31 AM EST
Bill Ayers asked the audience "what you did this morning for peace"
Well, I did not blow up any police stations or military dance halls, or loose the life of my girl friend because a bomb I had asked her to build blew up. (Continued…)
Thomas Charging Hawk
posted 5/22/09 @ 1:49 PM EST
Ayers did something I respected very much at this event: he admitted that his generation had the great shame of failing to stop the Vietnam war. I don't want to come off as gloating that an old man conceded defeat, because I'm not a jerk, but, for the longest time I've heard people worshipping the 60's ("the music was better, the activism was better, even the sex was better," Ayers said, poking fun at the phenomenon), when in the end, what did they do but elect Nixon, right? They did fail to stop the Vietnam War. (Continued…)
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