A student faces disciplinary action after two people threw green whipped cream pies at New York Times columnist and author Thomas L. Friedman as he began an Earth Day speech at Brown University.
Little also said she and her co-pie thrower wanted to open up a dialogue about what it really means to have free speech on an elite college campus like Brown.
She said they considered passing out fliers or preparing questions to ask Friedman during a question-and-answer session, but ultimately decided to take a more significant step.
YouTube video of assault here.
Assault is not free speech
As the U.S. Supreme Court justice said: “Your right to swing at me ends where my nose begins.” Striking someone in this fashion is not free speech or expression. I have no doubt that as an exercise in speech, this format very clearly and presently falls into the category of unprotected speech.
The video of the assault has been removed from YouTube, btw; apparently for Terms of Service violations.
There is nothing that cannot be found offensive by someone, somewhere.
Civil suit
Friedman should file a civil suit against the perpetrator. He could then donate the proceeds to a pro-Israel group or foundation. The perpetrator is very anti-Israel and this would be a great counter to the pie in the face.
Brown should also expel her.
Proceeds?
Um, there have to be proceeds. The kid is a 19 year old Leftist wannabe from Maine. There are no proceeds, what are you going to get a few hemp skirts and some books by Marx?
Future earnings
Proceeds would be her future earnings. She is going to an elite Ivy league school. She may not be destitute her whole life.
Absurd
The judgement would would have to be renewed ( NY CPL&R 5104 if I recall requires it be renewed after 10 years).
It is not worth the time and trouble. Most University students are fairly judgement proof.
Meh
Kids will be kids. People do this to Ann Coulter (who creeps me out) and Friedman, Willie Brown and Anita Bryant. Bill Gates, Calvin Klein and Sly Stallone have all been ‘pied’
It is juvenile and pointless. It is indeed a crime, but ranks about as high as overtime parking in my book.
The assailant should be arrested and tried and if convicted made to pick up trash on the roadside for 100 hours or so. It should go in (as the nuns always told me) in her permanant record.
Envision a job interview at an investment bank 10 years from now:
Employer – so I see you have an arrest record
Idiot – yes I threw a pie in the face of a speaker because I disagreed with him.
Employer – thank you for coming in , have a nice life.
Act like a child; find yourself treated like a child. I wouldn’t hire this person. Trust me all the good jobs require background checks. [Perhaps she could get an MLS]
Compared to overtime parking
A physical assault if even it is minor I think should be viewed at a higher level than something like overtime parking.
The video has been taken down of the incident but two pies were thrown. Pieces of the first pie spattered on the floor behind Friedman. When he ran to avoid being hit by the second pie he almost slipped and fell. The wooden flooring of the stage with cream on it was clearly very slick.
You don’t open up a dialogue by almost breaking someones arm. Perpetrator quoted as saying she wanted to “open up a dialogue about what it really means to have free speech on an elite college campus like Brown.”
It was not an axe murder
The kid was a jerk, but they don’t need to break out the rubber hoses and get her to confess to the Lindburgh kidnapping.
Get a little perspective it was Cool Whip on an aluminum plate. Stupid, juvenile, and a crime sure. But complaining about a slick floor is only whinging.
She didn’t want to open a dialogue about anything. She decided to be an attention whore. 90% of what people tell you is a lie, why would you believe nonsense about dialogues, she wanted her friends to notice her. Too bad she could not do that through a dialogue, or having her own opinion, or helping the homeless, or tutoring children. Nope, she grandstands and throws pies, she goes to Cuba and conducts fact finding missions in Ecuador (while taking a semester of Spanish there). Please, she is a little Leftist because she wants people to notice her. How else does an English Literature major get noticed.
Another child screaming lookatme, lookatme, lookatme, lookatme, lookatme, lookatme,. Mommy, lookatme, lookatme, lookatme, lookatme, lookatme, lookatme.
She will make a wonderful barista some day.
a medal
Tom Friedman is a clueless, smug, fatuous, overrated, Forrest Gump of a prick. He deserved it. I laughed so hard my ribs squeaked.
Ok
So if I feel that way about you there is no problem with getting you with a pie on your way to work on Monday?
Thomas Fraudman blog post
The Activity Pit
http://activitypit.ning.com/profiles/blog/show?id=1981927%3ABlogPost%3A90231
Friedman is insufficiently rabid
Conservative speakers have long been used to campus progressives responding to their reasoned arguments by throwing food. Drunk on the success of Obama’s campaign, the Left has become so radicalized that now even liberals can be targets if they are perceived to be insufficiently rabid.
http://www.moonbattery.com/archives/2008/04/thomas_friedman.html
“Don’t pie me, bro'”
They should just do like the security folks at the University of Florida and Taser them when they disrupt a public event. That would solve the whole problem. Plus the student would get an income from the publicity that you could later claim in damages. See… everyone wins!