Dartblog

…In response to Dartmouth president James Wright’s reinterpretation of “free speech,” in which he wrote, “Let me exercise my right of free speech: I take it as a matter of principle that when people say they have been offended, they have been offended.”

The correspondent writes:

What would an objective person think of the following statement:

“I take it as a matter of principle that when a plaintiff in a personal injury lawsuit says that he’s been injured, he’s been injured.”

Only two types of people would make such a statement: Simpletons and personal injury attorneys. The idea that someone would fabricate or exaggerate their injuries in order to get more money from a lawsuit resonates with otherwise sentient human beings. Given Wright’s statement that he accepts any and all claims of offense at face value, you can expect that all future petitions to the Administration will include a subjective allegation of “offense,” if for no other reason than to get the President’s attention. Which leaves us with a question: what sort of intellectual lightweight would write such a thing, let alone think that anyone reading it would be impressed?