Common sense or anti-American? Feelings strong on Ayers cancellation

When it comes to a public figure like Bill Ayers, there is little middle ground.

The decisions by a Naperville high school and bookstore to cancel scheduled Ayers appearances have been both applauded as victories for common sense and decried as violations of free speech.

"He's a renegade radical who has shown no contrition for what he did," said Park Ridge resident Tom Roeser, a conservative commentator with a weekly radio show on WLS AM-890. "I think the cancellations were very appropriate."

"I'm amused when people claim loyalty and fealty to the First Amendment on one hand, but then can't wait to try to stop someone they disagree with from speaking," said Ed Yohnka, director of communication for the Illinois office of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Officials at Naperville North High School decided earlier this week to cancel a previously scheduled talk by Ayers after receiving a flood of angry calls and e-mails from community members. Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville also canceled a scheduled appearance, citing safety reasons.

Ayers, a Glen Ellyn native who is now an education professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, co-founded the Weather Underground, an anti-Vietnam war group responsible for bombings at a series of public buildings in the 1960s and 1970s. His name surfaced in the recent presidential election, when Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin repeatedly referred to him as an unrepentant terrorist and questioned his ties to President Obama, then the Democratic presidential nominee. After the cancellations, Ayers told the Daily Herald that he condemns acts of terror and has never advocated violence.

Roeser, a former teacher, said he thinks it was misguided to invite Ayers to speak in the first place.

"I don't believe it's appropriate to bring an unapologetic terrorist into a school," he said. "I don't think the spirit of free speech allows for that kind of person to speak to young people.

"I'm also a firm believer in bringing a balance of viewpoints into a school. If you're going to bring someone who speaks for a particular side, you should also bring someone from the other side. Debates are an excellent way to get kids interested in a topic."

Yohnka said people troubled by Ayers' views or past actions could have made that known by not attending his talks.

"There are lots of speakers I don't agree with, and I simply make the decision not to go see them," he said. "I don't try to make sure that nobody can see them."

When asked if their views would change if the canceled speaker had protested by bombing abortion clinics instead of government buildings, Roeser and Yohnka both said no.

"I would not stop such a person from speaking, no," Yohnka said. "Again, if I wasn't interested in hearing what he or she had to say, I'd just stay home."

Roeser said that, as in the case of Ayers, he believes it would be inappropriate to invite to a school someone who protested through criminal acts of violence. He added that if a school decided to invite a legitimate anti-abortion activist to speak, it should also invite someone who supports abortion rights.

"Again, I think showing a debate between the two viewpoints is what would be valuable for the students," he said.