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The letter from Prof. Myers makes me wonder who is reacting hysterically. Myers states that" "censorship requires a monopoly of force. Lacking a monopoly of force, individuals may seek to restrict access to materials to which they object without endangering freedom of expression one whit." Having written that, I wonder whether he wouldn't use a monopoly of force if he had it. Once you label a person and/or his contributions as "abnormal," as Prof. Feinstein did, then you can dispose of them without compunction. I will say it straight out: I believe that the attempt to pressure publishers not to publish controversial works is among the lowest forms of intellectual discourse. It is an admission of failure for a scholar to be calling for it. My hunch is that there are more than a few people who are afraid that there may be a kernel of truth to what Finkelstein has to say and that their arguments won't prevail in the marketplace of ideas. In cases like that, "ad hominem" works wonders. The _Spiegel_ reported that Goldhagen pressured several journals not to publish his article. That's apparently why it had to be published in Britain. I can well imagine why Goldhagen wouldn't want it to come out here. Anyone who bothers to read the article will find more than a few things that Finkelstein got right and that make Goldhagen look very bad indeed. It seems to me that this censorship of unpopular ideas, and that is what it is, should concern every person on the list. It is not defensible to muzzle people who are intellectually inconvenient by such means. What we should be calling for is a public debate or airing between Goldhagen and Finkelstein. Regards, Ken > Kenneth Kronenberg German translator / writer / editor 217 Washington St. Brookline, MA 02146 617-734-8418 617-232-6865 (fax) kkrone@tiac.net http://www.tiac.net/users/kkrone
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