Lee Bollinger, School Yard Bully

Lee Bollinger, the president of Columbia University, introduced the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the student body Monday. The introduction consisted of a series of verbal slaps to the face and insulting kicks on the shin. I'm sure it made Bollinger look like a big man in his own eyes, but the images that will remain with the people of the world will be different. My feelings were these:
1) Bully - you agree to introduce a guest, and instead you insult him instead without warning.
2) Barbaric - Ahmadinejad is not an Arab, but he is Muslim and a player in that arena. To insult a guest in that culture is to demonstrate barbarianism.
3) Sophomoric - Bollinger's words were not those of an educator, one who is a seeker of truth, one who constantly tests and looks for new ways. Instead they were the words of a preacher, one who already knows everything important and knows all the facts.
4) Stupid - Ahmadinejad was known to be slipping badly in public opinion throughout Iran, the Moslem, and particularly the Arab world. Many felt he was through and finished. After Bollinger's insults, Ahmadinejad was regarded well, as handling himself properly.
5) Shrouded - Bollinger's tirade tended to obscure Ahmadinejad's true lack of understanding of critical factors.
6) Wasted - Instead of challenging Ahmadinejad to comment on several important concepts, Bollinger told him before he began speaking that he (Ahmadinejad) was not worth listening to.

Columbia University fell in my own estimation as a result of this sad performance, and Ahmadinejad did what he could to save the day, including his faux-pas about no gays in Iran, and yet, one was left to wonder how George Bush would have performed speaking to and entertaining questions from the student body of a college in Iran, or anywhere else, like – for example – any American university.

© John Womack, 2007. All rights reserved.