Time Immortal

So the anti-Catholic bigot posted a picture of his work of desecration of the Eucharist…and, while certainly offensive (one never enjoys seeing Christ mocked), it was also rather bland an unoriginal.

I mean, c’mon, Prof Myers…driving a rusty nail through the Eucharist? Lame…the Romans had the same idea 2,000 years ago. Really, if he wanted to be offensive about it, why didn’t he just do a time-lapse series of photos of his consumption of what he so derisively calls a “cracker” — that would have actually been a substantially worse desecration, theologically speaking. But he didn’t even have the smarts — or perhaps the courage — to go to those lengths.

(To tell the truth, I was honestly expecting something scatological when he claimed that he’d carried out his threat. Or a used condom.)

And then there was Myers’ suggestion, in the same blog post, that nothing should be held sacred, and that everything would be questioned. I agree with the second part — yes, question everything. But remember, too, that ours is a rational universe that often rewards inquiry with answer…and remember, then, that sometimes the answers we get in reply to our questions suggest that we should hold some things as being sacred.

Jimmy Akin feels that Myers should be fired, and I find that I more or less agree. Not because I’m particularly interested in silencing Prof Myers — his freedom of expression is important to me — but because this was not just an act of freedom of expression. It was a mixture of incitement and something far, far worse.

P. Z. Myers has demonstrated that he will go out of his way to offend the sensibilities of anybody who holds anything sacred, to treat whatever they hold sacred with public contempt. The problem thus is not limited to Catholics and Muslims. Since, in Myers own words, “Nothing must be held sacred,” and since he is willing to desecrate anything that others do hold sacred, the university must conclude that Myers is willing not only to outrage Catholic and Muslim students, parents, alumni, and citizens but members of any other group as well.

Myers is thus incapable of effectively carrying out his mission as an educator and his position must be terminated.

He also is in violation of the University of Minnesota Code of Conduct, which holds that faculty members “must be committed to the highest ethical standards of conduct” (II:2) and that “Ethical conduct is a fundamental expectation for every community member. In practicing and modeling ethical conduct, community members are expected to: act according to the highest ethical and professional standards of conduct [and] be personally accountable for individual actions” (III:1).

It also stresses that faculty members must “Be Fair and Respectful to Others. The University is committed to tolerance, diversity, and respect for differences. When dealing with others, community members are expected to: be respectful, fair, and civil . . . avoid all forms of harassment . . . [and] threats . . . [and] promote conflict resolution.”

P. Z. Myers has done none of these things. He is in fundamental breach of the University of Minnesota’s Code of Conduct and must be discharged.

To voice your opinion on this subject, contact the offices of the president and the chancellor:

President Robert H. Bruininks
202 Morrill Hall
100 Church Street S.E.
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN 55455

Via phone: 612-626-1616
Via fax: 612-625-3875
Via e-mail: upres@umn.edu

Chancellor Jacqueline Johnson
309 Behmler Hall
600 East 4th Street
Morris, MN 56267

320-589-6020
E-mail: grussing@morris.umn.edu

Just to briefly illustrate: using Myers’ logic, I’d be perfectly justified in digging up the grave of one of his relatives and doing unspeakable things to what’s left of the body — being decayed meat, its not like it’s sacred or anything. It’s fine to hold that theory and belief in the abstract, but to act on it crosses a very definite line, and Myers has shown himself to be a liability to his employer because he has done as much.