I find it quite surprising that people are really pissed off about Ahmadinejad speaking at Columbia.
I suppose the thinking goes that by inviting the guy to speak, you offer some kind of validation for his actions. That strikes me as narrow minded and, typical of our culture, trying to fit everything into little black and white boxes.
To me, this would be an unprecedented opportunity to learn about what makes the guy tick, in an environment that is completely different and on our turf. No state-controlled TV or sound bites or edits. This is him in the wild, and I think that's pretty cool.
The guy has a seriously fucked up view of the world, I have no doubt. Is it smart to just write that off as a flaw and move on? I don't think so. Trying to understand why he is the way he is strikes me as an opportunity to exert power over him. Why pass that up?
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