DEAR EDITOR:
Re: Consider the source, Letters to the editor, Burnaby NOW, Wednesday, Oct. 12.
It is disturbing to learn that Jack Chivo has been a lecturer in Ethics in Journalism, since his writing could be used as an example of unethical argumentation in a class on the subject.
His ploy of deflecting attention from the issue in debate, that of censorship and the right of students to express themselves, by launching an attack on Mordecai Briemberg has a long history: It was called "argumentum ad hominem" by the Roman rhetoricians. It has been much used by people on the losing side of a debate and is a common tool of political propaganda. I am not aware that anyone has claimed ethical credentials for this generally despised trick.
As for the admirable principle of doing diligent research, if Chivo had any interest beyond the defence of Israel, he would have found that Mordecai Briemberg is a Rhodes Scholar, who, as professor of sociology and head of the department of sociology and anthropology at Simon Fraser University, staked his job in support of students agitating for greater voice in university governance in 1968. He was suspended by the university administration for this, and Simon Fraser University was blacklisted by the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) for their undemocratic action.
There is a lot more that due diligence would reveal, but my purpose is to point out merely that there is also a long history behind Briemberg's support of students' rights.
Chinmoy Banerjee, Burnaby
