College. Worth Less Than I Thought.

A few months back I was reading an article in Medium, an online column site. I only subscribe because a close friend started writing for them last year and I love her writing. Well last fall I was reading a column and the author was criticizing the recent space flight by William Shatner on Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin, and the company itself. He saw it as a massive waste of money, and he should use it for something more useful, like “funding a college.” 

My immediate response is normally, “It’s Bezos’s money, he can do with it what he wants.” However, the more I thought of it, the more I realized the last thing he needed to do was spend money on a college. God knows we have enough, and their only purpose as of right now is to radicalize young people and indebt them to the federal government for hundreds of thousands of dollars with no useful skills.

A classic example, an “institution of higher learning” in New York, will have its students lectured by…ready…a convicted cop killer:

 

Paroled cop killer asked to give speech at university; officer’s widow objects "I would not like to see the school besmirched by hosting a brutal killer of police officers,” said Diane Piagentini, whose husband and a second officer were ambushed in 1971

 

Jalil Muntaqim, formerly known as Anthony Bottom, was convicted in 1971 for the ambush killings of two NYPD officers: Piagentini and Officer Waverly Jones. Bottom, 70, served nearly 50 years in prison before he was paroled in 2020. Bottom was sentenced to 25 years to life alongside his co-defendant, Herman Bell. 

 

Recently, Bottom was invited to be a guest speaker at SUNY Brockport, a university in western New York state, according to CBS News. SUNY Brockport later said it would change the event to a virtual format after weeks of controversy, the report said… 

…At a Long Island rally on Sunday, Piagentini and several NYPD police unions called for the virtual event to be canceled. 

 

"I would not like to see the school besmirched by hosting a brutal killer of police officers who will mislead the students by portraying himself as a political prisoner and freedom fighter," Piagentini told News 12.  

Respectfully Mrs. Piagentini, the university can’t be besmirched worse then they have already despoiled themselves. More on that in a minute.

SUNY Brockport so far has not canceled the event, citing First Amendment rights. The school says a private donor will be paying Bottom for his expected appearance on April 6, according to Rochester First. The parolee was invited to speak by a school faculty member. 

One, the First Amendment has nothing to do with this. This felon is free to say anything he wants to. A public university (Or any institution for that matter) is under no obligation to provide him a venue. He wants to speak, fine, let him go to a park or “free speech zone” on the campus and let him speak. Two, why is he being paid for anything? He wants to complain on how he was framed (What a shock, a convicted cop murderer swears he never did it), he can do it at the next BLM rally or other riot. And the fact a “faculty member” invites this POS to the university tell you all you need to know about the college. That any member of the faculty also shows this university needs to be closed and turned into vo-tech school. Or a waste dump.

 

Now I wondered why this murderous thug was being invited to speak to the students. A few minutes searching was enough to find out. From the university president:

Statement Regarding Jalil Muntaqim Event

On April 6, Jalil Muntaqim, previously known as Anthony Bottom, will be at the SUNY Brockport campus to deliver a talk entitled, “History of Black Resistance, U.S. Political Prisoners & Genocide: A Conversation with Jalil Muntaqim.” He was invited by one of our faculty members who was approved for a Promoting Excellence in Diversity grant.

Mr. Muntaqim joined the Black Panther Party at age 16 and the Black Liberation Army at 18. In 1971, he was convicted in the killing of two New York City Police Officers. He spent nearly 50 years in prison for this crime before being released on parole in 2020. 

The College has received strong feedback about this visit. Some are outraged that a man who has been convicted of such crimes was invited onto campus. Others look forward to the opportunity to learn about Mr. Muntaqim’s experiences.

We do not support the violence exhibited in Mr. Muntaqim’s previous crimes, and his presence on campus does not imply endorsement of his views or past actions. However, we believe in freedom of speech. SUNY Brockport has routinely held speaking events involving controversial speakers from various background and viewpoints, and will continue to do so. These conversations are uncomfortable. They are meant to be. 

They’re about gaining a new perspective…

“New perspective?” Like why he murdered two officers, one a black man (I wonder if BLM will have issues with that?), and was involved with the murder of a third. From the Officer Down Memorial Page:

Patrolmen Joseph Piagentini and Waverly Jones were shot and killed while on foot patrol in the Colonial Park Houses.. They were ambushed by members of the Black Liberation Army. 

 

As the two patrolmen were returning to their cruiser…three suspects snuck up behind them and opened fire. Patrolman Jones was struck in the back of the head and killed instantly. Patrolman Piagentini was shot 13 times and succumbed to his injuries en route to the hospital.

 

One of the suspects stole Patrolman Jones' weapon which was later recovered in San Francisco, California after several BLA members opened fire on a San Francisco, police officer. 

 

Two of the suspects, along with five others, were also involved in the murder of Sergeant John Victor Young of the San Francisco Police Department on August 29th, 1971… 

You want to expose your students and others to the “perspective” of others, in this case a convicted capital murderer. OK, if  Shawn Allen Berry is paroled in the future, will you invite him to give his view on the murder of James Byrd? How about the viewpoint of Patrick Crusius? He murdered 22 and injured 26 in a racially motived attack, sounds like his opinions need airing. Zoom is a wonderful thing for airing views like this. Zephen Allen Xaver murdered 5 people in Florida, he should fit right in for sharing his views.

 

Higher education has been decaying for decades, and this is a classic example. Bringing Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton to speak is one thing. I’ll give them this, they have not shot anyone. But if a university will invite and pay a convicted murderer to speak to its students, allow others students to skip school for that day due to them being made uncomfortable, shows how low our once great higher education system has sunk. I said this about an abandoned strip club used by junkies, and it applies to SUNY Brockport. There is nothing wrong there that can’t be fixed with some gasoline and a match.