This is the most astonishing post we’ve ever seen at the creationist blog of the Discovery Institute. It’s titled Doublethink: Censor of the Year Calls for Free Speech, and it was written by David Klinghoffer, a Discoveroid “senior fellow” (i.e., flaming, full-blown creationist), who eagerly functions as their journalistic slasher and poo flinger. Here are some excerpts, with bold font added by us for emphasis, and occasional Curmudgeonly interjections that look [like this]:
It’s been decades since I first read 1984, but it clearly is a book for our current cultural and political moment. I bought a copy at a used book store the other day and the tattooed and purple-haired young lady at the register gave me a curious glance. She commented, “Oh, I’ve had other people asking about this book. Why are you reading it now?” I wasn’t going to get into a discussion about current events, but I couldn’t entirely stop myself. I said, “Well, it just seemed timely.” [Skipping unimportant stuff.] It was almost, but not quite, a conversation from Orwell’s dystopian novel, where truth can barely be hinted at, and then carefully covered over, never stated outright.
After that nonsensical introduction, says:
Even more Orwellian was a comment in a New York Times article that a colleague passed around last night with some amusement. The Times reports, “ M.I.T.’s Choice of Lecturer Ignited Criticism. So Did Its Decision to Cancel”. The lecturer is Dorian Abbot, “a scientist who has opposed aspects of affirmative action.” Well, that’s enough to get you canceled.
What’s so Orwellian about that article? Klinghoffer tells us:
Among those weighing in on the topic was, of all people, our Censor of the Year from 2014, atheist and evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne at the University of Chicago.
BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Everyone around here knows about Jerry Coyne. That’s a link to his Wikipedia write-up. We recently discussed the controversy that made him such a popular subject around here — see A Book about the Ball State Imbroglio. The Discoveroids were — and still are — furious that Coyne was able to snuff out a course that taught creationism. Klinghoffer continues:
A pioneer of cancel culture [Hee hee!], Coyne earned that distinction by using his own clout to squash a young physicist, Eric Hedin, who was then teaching at Ball State University. Hedin’s thoughtcrime (Orwell’s term) was to introduce his students to intelligent design. Acting in concert with the bullies at the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Coyne got Hedin canceled.
Well, he got Hedin’s course cancelled. Let’s read on:
The idea was to put the less powerful scientist down the memory hole (Orwell again), but they didn’t entirely succeed. Hedin is still teaching [at Biola. a bible college], though no longer at Ball State, and he tells his story in a recent book, Canceled Science: What Some Atheists Don’t Want You to See. [Link omitted!]
We wrote about that book a few months ago — see Eric Hedin’s Book Explains the Whole Universe. Back to Klinghoffer:
Cut to 2021 and here is the same Jerry Coyne, now presented without irony as a free speech advocate! From the Times story:
[Klinghoffer quotes Heden:] “I thought scientists would not get on board with the denial-of-free-speech movement,” said Jerry Coyne, an emeritus professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Chicago. “I was absolutely wrong, 100 percent so.”
BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Preventing a creationist from teaching Oogity Boogity in a state university’s science class is a denial of free speech! Then Klinghoffer goes really wild:
Coyne, who punched down, canceled Eric Hedin, and never apologized, deplores what he calls the “denial-of-free-speech movement.” Try to wrap your mind around that one. George Orwell had the perfect word. In 1984, he called it “doublethink”:
Verily, the mind boggles! Klinghoffer babbles on for a bit, but we’re skipping most of it. Here’s our last excerpt:
Doublethink is one tool by which the prestige of science is used to hypnotize the public on behalf of a materialist picture of reality. Another is intimidation and bullying.
Okay, that’s enough. We can’t think of any witty way to end this post, because Klinghoffer has temporarily scrambled our brains. If you, dear reader, can read his post and still keep your wits intact, then let us hear from you.
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