[Buddha-l] A ltter concerning toleration

Wed Jun 1 09:27:56 MDT 2005

This rhetoric of "reporting people" for their views reflects two
current campaigns to "purify" academia of so-called "antipatriotic"
and "leftist" elements -- the one against tenure, for which Ward
Churchill is the poster child, and the so called "academic bill of
rights" up for approval in a number of states that would disallow
professors from expressing any views that can be considered
"controversial" or "biased".  I have not yet heard of any bills to
purify listservs.
What ever happened to the idea that the US is an open and pluralistic
society in which individuals can express and realize themselves in
multiple ways?
Eric

On 6/1/05, curt <curt at cola.iges.org> wrote:
> Joanna has put her finger on it nicely. Steven Lane or anyone else can
> have as low an opinion of Richard Hayes or me or Mother Theresa as
> they like - but to mount a campaign, even a ludicrous one, to get someone
> fired because you don't like what they say is loathsome in the extreme.
> And it definitely fits in a much wider pattern. Whether he is "on someone's
> payroll" or not, he is definitely marching to a particular drummer.
> - Curt
> 
> jkirk wrote:
> 
> >These are indeed interesting times.
> >This attempt to get you fired is astounding.  I wonder if he's on anyone's
> >payroll.
> >Perhaps your university will convene a faculty Un-American Activities
> >Committee?
> >Joanna
> >============================================
> >
> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: "Richard Hayes" <rhayes at unm.edu>
> >To: <buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com>
> >Sent: Wednesday, June 01, 2005 5:27 AM
> >Subject: [Buddha-l] A ltter concerning toleration
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >>Denizens of buddha-l,
> >>
> >>The following letter has been sent to the chair of my
> >>department. Perhaps others of you would like to join our
> >>friend in discussing my qualifications. Otherwise, enjoy
> >>the letter as an interesting sign of our times.
> >>
> >>Cordinally (and moderately) yours,
> >>Richard Hayes
> >>
> >>\begin{letter}
> >>Mr../Prof Goodman,
> >>
> >>    My name is Mr. Lane and I am a member of of list
> >>called Buddha-L. I am writing about the outrageous
> >>behavior of Richard Hayes. He constantly posts rabidly
> >>anti-American posts, anti-Christian and if you believe Dan
> >>Lusthaus anti-Jewish. He has called Dan Lusthaus a war
> >>mongering pinhead. His anti-Americanism is not loyal
> >>opposition but outright treason. He blamed the U.S. for
> >>Sept 11 justifying the attacks as the result justifiable
> >>anger. He has said it is the U.S. that is the cause of all
> >>the trouble in the world "as we are the oppressors". He
> >>seemed to anticipate happily the fall of the U.S. yet we
> >>never hear a peep out of him about the evils that occur in
> >>the P.R.C or the Islamic counties.
> >>
> >>    Mr.. Hayes constantly belittles Buddhist sutras he
> >>does not agree with (the Lotus Sutra) and feels it is O.K.
> >>He has ridiculed the Hua-Yen and T'ien T'ai which many
> >>people feel are the highest level of Buddhist thought. Mr.
> >>Hayes feels it is totally appropriate to slander any
> >>religious doctrine he does not agree with or understand
> >>but when somebody posts something contrary to his beliefs
> >>he either blocks it or responds with a personal attack.
> >>
> >>    Mr. Hayes is a translator but fancies himself a
> >>Buddhist scholar. From what I have seen he has yet to
> >>understand one Mahayana doctrine which in and of itself is
> >>no crime, however given the Mahayana and its non-dualist
> >>doctrines are religious beliefs of millions I do not not
> >>see any difference between his mocking non-dualism and
> >>anybody slandering Christianity. Judaism or Islam. Mr.
> >>Hayes has no clue of the difference between monism and
> >>non-dualism but I understand that you will be letting him
> >>teach a course on Hui-Neng and the Platform Sutra, is that
> >>true? If so you might as well let him teach a course in
> >>quantum mechanics as his understanding of the two is about
> >>the same. (Incidentally Hayes went through a whole tirade
> >>about relating quantum mechanics and Buddhism only later
> >>to admit he knows nothing about QM at all). This of course
> >>is classic Hayes M.O. try and ridicule anything he is
> >>incapable of understanding. Yes I have personally attacked
> >>him on Buddha-L as he has attacked me. Apparently he
> >>thinks the latter is fine but not the former.
> >>
> >>   Mr. Hayes is a self professed former Communist (I have
> >>grave doubts about the former part - I believe in one of
> >>his recent e-mails he described himself as a Marxist
> >>Quaker). I don't believe Communists or former Communists
> >>should be teaching young people in this country any more
> >>than I would accept a Nazi or former Nazi teaching
> >>teaching them. After all we are talking about a party that
> >>has slaughtered over 100 million people in the twentieth
> >>century. I wonder who his role model is Stalin, Mao or Pol
> >>Pot.
> >>
> >>     Despite all of this I still would not be writing
> >>about Hayes if he believed in free speech but of course
> >>what (former) Communist does. To that end I am asking for
> >>the names of all of your superiors in the university, the
> >>state government and any persons important in private
> >>funding of the university so that I may forward them his
> >>outrageous e-mails. I think we should see if these people
> >>agree with my opinion that (former) Communists should not
> >>be teaching young people. Mr. Hayes will of course deny
> >>all of the above but remind him that I have all Buddha-L
> >>e-mails going back to 1998 backed up in three different
> >>places.
> >>
> >>  Sincerely yours,
> >>  Mr. Lane
> >>\end{letter}
> >>_______________________________________________
> >>buddha-l mailing list
> >>buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com
> >>http://mailman.swcp.com/mailman/listinfo/buddha-l
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> >_______________________________________________
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> >buddha-l at mailman.swcp.com
> >http://mailman.swcp.com/mailman/listinfo/buddha-l
> >
> >
> >
> >
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-- 
Eric Sean Nelson
http://faculty.uml.edu/enelson/index.html