Think for yourself, Ayers says

William Ayers would have spoken at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln exactly a year ago today, and he still would like that opportunity.

The cancellation of his Nov. 15, 2008, appearance at UNL compelled the Academic Freedom Coalition of Nebraska to give Ayers the podium Saturday at its annual meeting in Omaha.

Ayers received a standing ovation in the meeting room at the Holiday Inn convention center and was reviled by some outside. At least a dozen people held signs on the hotel sidewalk, conveying messages that Ayers “still hates America” and that this nation must “stand for American values.”

“Practice responsible free speech,” said the green placard held by Janice Rustia of Omaha. “What would Reagan do?” was the message on the sign belonging to Park Blaine of the Elkhorn area.

Ayers encouraged members of his audience of about 85 to question, challenge, engage in dialogue and think for themselves.

“In a democracy, we search, we find, we investigate, we interrogate,” Ayers told the audience.

More than 35 years ago Ayers helped lead the Weather Underground, which protested the Vietnam War by bombing public buildings such as the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol. The group also participated in riots and was condemned by the FBI as a domestic terrorist group.

Ayers eventually became a scholar and currently is an education professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

He was invited to speak last year at UNL's College of Education about his research methods, but the public uproar compelled UNL administrators to cancel the visit out of concern, they said, for security reasons.

“That was really a small, noisy minority that made that happen,” Ayers told his audience Saturday. Ayers' connections in Chicago to Barack Obama also had become a national controversy last fall for Obama's presidential campaign.

Ayers, 65, wore a small ring in each ear, a charcoal sport coat over a black, collarless shirt, and jeans. Two police officers manned the event, one outside the meeting-room door, one inside.

Ayers said he wasn't the aggrieved party in the 2008 controversy at UNL. Those who invited him were, he said.

“If someone like me gets canceled ... what is the meaning of that to a high school history teacher in Omaha?” he asked. It sends the message that the teacher needs to get in line and follow orders, he said.

In fact, Americans need to “rally around the folks who have a mind of their own,” he said. In a democracy, people must challenge “controlling metaphors,” such as the belief that $1 trillion must be spent on the military.

In the 1960s, he said, the controlling metaphor criminalized gay people and labeled them as mentally ill. But that has changed, he said.

The controlling metaphor in education is that it's a market product like a refrigerator, he said, and that good administration means cutting costs.

But good education involves good working conditions, which lead to good teaching conditions, which lead to good learning conditions, he said.

In a democracy, “we take on faith the incalculable value of every human being,” he said. A democracy should listen to everyone, value dialogue and strive to correct inequalities. But this society has a “brutal policy” toward children, he said.

That policy: “Choose the right parents,” he said. “If you choose the wrong parents, I'm sorry, there's little we can do for you.”

Most stood for Ayers after his talk.

Ayers said he had no interest in whining about the UNL speech that never occurred. “I have no grievance,” he said.

Nevertheless, he said, he believes he should be allowed to speak there. And, he said, he believes UNL administrators should invite him.

Contact the writer:

444-1123, rick.ruggles@owh.com