The letter writer, Susan Patel, describes what started out as an evening of happy anticipation that eventually became adversarial due to an exchange of comments by the author Blanche Wiesen Cook and an audience member who was in attendance.
Ms. Patel goes on to state that Dr. Cook made comparisons to Eleanor Roosevelt’s affinity to welcome ships full of immigrants vs. the immigration policies of that “creature in the White House.” The audience member took exception to her comment, and gave Dr. Cook a “shame on you, not everyone feels as you do” from which Ms. Patel states Dr. Cook remained composed and handled the incident “flawlessly.”
Ms. Patel goes on to state that the audience member’s instant vocal response to an ideology she disagreed with was a serious breach of etiquette and an assault on Dr. Cook’s First Amendment rights. According to Ms. Patel, because of the fact that the audience was required to pony up “good money” for the privilege of attending the event, the person who took exception to Dr. Cook’s comment had several other options available, “ a) remain seated and quietly disagree, b) get up and leave, c) refuse to applaud at the end, even boo and hiss.” I wasn’t aware that our rights to free speech had a monetary limit.
I’m not sure why some, like Ms. Patel, don’t understand the First Amendment is a double-edged sword; it cuts both ways. Much like many celebrities and other pundits who are furnished a podium and a medium with which to wax prophetic, Dr. Cook upped the ante when she turned the dissertation political.
Opinions are like navels - everybody has one unless you’re an alien; some are innies or outies, and some are best kept to oneself, depending on existing circumstances. Did Dr. Cook have the temerity to think she had the privilege to say anything that came to mind and have it go unchallenged? I can only assume she believed she was in the company of kindred souls.
Unlike Ms. Patel, I applaud the person who had the fortitude to call out what she believed to be unfair; after all, she was only exercising her First Amendment rights.
Based on her comment, it appears Dr. Cook is in disagreement with existing illegal immigration policies. Curiously, every president and politician of any note has at one time or another taken exception to America’s lax illegal immigration issues, generally when up for re-election and in need of a sound bite. Unfortunately, none of them have been able to implement any fair and equitable solution capable of humanely solving the problem.
Apparently Dr. Cook, and I assume Ms. Patel, have ideas on what’s wrong; what I don’t hear from folks who think like them are their solutions.
Wayne Allen
Lewes
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