Scott Tibbs
Published by the Indiana Daily Student
November 17^th, 2005

Back to Short Writings.

Note: The IDS only published the first two paragraphs of this letter.

No tolerance from the Left

I often wonder how many Leftists can advocate "tolerance" with a straight face, given the intolerance they display. In the November 10 IDS, Zachary Lehman urged a boycott of the Red Cross because they do not accept blood from homosexual men. Lehman went so far as to say that the Red Cross should be banned from campus because of this policy.

The people who would be hurt by a boycotting or banning the Red Cross would be those who benefit from blood donated by IU students, faculty and staff. IU students step up year after year to donate blood so those who need it will have it. It is extremely selfish to hurt people in need because you do not agree with the Red Cross policy. To critics of the Red Cross: it is not about you!

On November 14, Amy Obermeyer called for removing Chick-fil-A from the Library Commons. Her critique of Chick-fil-A basically boils down to the fact that the company is run by Christians. Obermeyer takes issue with the company's Christ-centered mission statement and their partnership with Focus on the Family as reasons to remove them from the library.

Obermeyer makes the idiotic comparison to "contracting North Korea to make our nuclear weapons" or offering "a contract to a restaurant who donates to al-Qaida". Does she actually believe Chick-fil-A is the equal of the oppressive and murderous North Korean regime? Does she actually believe that Focus on the Family is as bad as terrorists who indiscriminately murder innocent people and have no problem targeting children?

Obermeyer might want to study the First and Fourteenth Amendments and related case law. A tax-funded university cannot discriminate based on religious faith. Were IU to end Chick-fil-A's contract because it disapproves of the faith held by those running the company, the university would be slapped down hard by the courts.

It is unfortunate that students at an institution of higher learning would seek to banish charitable organizations and businesses who do not hold the politically correct views. Whatever happened to the free exchange of ideas? Should we not respect ideological diversity?