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Tom Friedman Pied by Brown Student
4:30PM ON
04/23/2008
BY
Ariel Werner
UPDATE: Footage, courtesy of the Greenwash Gorillas themselves… even as this was a pretty amazing spectacle, the footage kind of makes me want to give Tom a big hug. While I understand the criticisms of Friedman’s work, I wonder if this was an effective way to get the message across, or whether this merely reflects poorly on the University… thoughts? Could the pie-throwers have raised their dissent during the Q&A with as much flair?
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv6nvMUq10U]
New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman had just begun his Earth Day lecture at Brown last night, when Molly Little ‘08.5 and a colleague let him know what they thought of his work. The Brown Daily Herald reports:
A female audience member ran on stage last night and threw a green pie at New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman [...]. The woman had been sitting in the south side of the auditorium’s front row when she pulled the pie out of a Brown Bookstore plastic bag that had been tucked in a red backpack and leapt out of her seat.
At the same time the woman threw the pie, a male accomplice seated a few rows back ran down the aisle and onto the stage, throwing small pamphlets explaining the actions into the crowd.
[...] One side of the pamphlet contains an excerpt from a September 2006 review of Friedman’s book, “The World is Flat,” written by Raymond Lotta for the journal “Revolution,” which styles itself as the “Voice of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA.” The review is highly critical of Friedman, who the review claims cannot see his own errors while “seated in the business class of his analytical jetliner.”
The other side contains five bullet-points explaining why “Thomas Friedman deserves a pie in the face,” which include reasons like “his sickeningly cheery applaud for free market capitalism’s conquest of the planet,” and “for helping turn environmentalism into a fake plastic consumer product for the privileged.”
The pamphlet declares “Thomas Friedman’s ‘Green’ as fake and toxic to human and planetary health as the cool-whip (sic) covering his face.”
After taking a brief hiatus to clean up, Friedman delivered the rest of his speech, which received two standing ovations. On the pie incident, Brown President Ruth J. Simmons chimed in, “We really very much defend the right of anybody to contest any speaker’s opinions. But nobody here favors assault.”
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7 Comments on “ Tom Friedman Pied by Brown Student ”
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:26AM
Dude, North Kingstown’s getting a Dell | Providence Daily Dose Says:
[...] Got something to prove? Send us your pictures. « Tom Friedman Pied in Face by Brown Student [...]
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:39AM
Ari Savitzky Says:
Hey, also, the ProJo ( and DRUDGE!) is now reporting that Friedman ducked the pies.
“Thomas Friedman ducked the pies, which were thrown by two people who rushed the stage just after he stepped to the microphone. He avoided the brunt of the contents, stepped off stage for a few minutes, and returned to deliver his speech.”
http://www.beloblog.com/ProJo_Blogs/newsblog/archives/2008/04/student_identif.html
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April 23rd, 2008 at 2:35PM
Eric Says:
This was total stupidity. The protesters could simply have stood outside and handed out the fliers in a civil manner instead of resorting to something like this, which really proves nothing and instead makes Brown look bad.
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April 23rd, 2008 at 8:06PM
Beth Comery Says:
Are people really still even talking about Communism? It doesn’t work! I understand debate clubs are making a comeback, and not a moment too soon.
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April 24th, 2008 at 5:57AM
Jessica Says:
I am with you, Eric. It was quite a media stunt, but made Brown students look like spoiled brats to the general public. (Which is too bad, because many of the Brown students and alums I know are totally respectful, and are smart enough to kick ass during a real dialogue with someone they disagree with.)
Also, this story was picked up by Gawker.
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April 24th, 2008 at 1:42PM
ethan Says:
Compared to the concrete damage people like Friedman do in the world, a pie is pretty tame. I don’t see the obligation to be respectful to people like him.
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April 26th, 2008 at 8:26PM
JOE BERNSTEIN Says:
I spoke out against the former Immigration Commissioner.Doris Meissner,when she appeared at Brown some years ago.So did my former supervisor.We took her to task in no uncertain terms about her malfeasance in her former position and its consequences.We waited our turn;did not engage in mockery or abusive speech;and while I think Ruth Simmons was extremely annoyed by us,we received a surprisingly good reaction from many of the people present.I had assumed I would be in hostile territory at Brown,and was happily proven wrong.There are ways to make your points that are way more effective than acting like it was initiation night at a fraternity.
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