The blogger over on Powerline (nice blog design by the way) takes on the issue of the hate crime crisis on the Claremont College campus. A Claremont College professor has been charged with staging a hate crime directed at herself in order to discredit some shadowy hate group operating on or just off campus (unstated assumption: a conservative hate group). Powerline calls this the Reichstag gambit. There is evidence that the Nazis burned down the German Reichstag and then blamed it on the communists in order to help them foment hatred against the communists and to take over the government.
The "hate crime" caused the 5 Claremont College campuses to be closed down. The President of the college sent an email out in response to the finding by law enforcement officials that the "hate crime" was a hoax by one of the leaders of the anti-hate crime movement that said:
"While this information certainly comes as a shock and surprise to our community, Claremont McKenna College remains committed to its mission as an undergraduate residential college in which academic freedom and free speech are wholeheartedly supported, and in which all individuals feel welcome to study and teach here, and free to express their viewpoints, thoughts, and ideas."
This statement led to calls for the college president to resign. Understandable. And just when will the professor be suspended?
There were questions about the previous "hate crimes" being staged as well but without any evidence to the contrary those questions were dismissed. From the LA Times:
Lindsey Wollschlager, 21, a Pomona history major from Cannon Falls, Minn., dismissed the idea of a hoax. She said that for someone to raise the possibility was "so sick. They are in denial. People don't want to accept that a well-educated, liberal community can have hate."
Sure they can. Being a liberal doesn't mean you can't hate. Just read what they write and watch what they do and you will see open, unrepentant hate on a daily basis. The Reichstag gambit is used a lot in many different ways.
