Sir Salman Rushdie explores free speech, civility in 2019 Kenan Lecture
Acclaimed author Sir Salman Rushdie presented the 2019 Kenan Lecture Wednesday night in front of a sold-out crowd in Transylvania’s Haggin Auditorium. Reflecting on this year’s campus theme of “On Civility,” Rushdie stressed the importance of sharing ideas, fighting for free speech, arguing respectfully and standing up to hatred as the world navigates a particularly uncivil time in its history. “I am a language person—words are my only tools,” he said. “So I firmly believe we need to talk to one another across the various divides to get better at doing it than we have been of late—to say our piece and hear others say theirs.” In order to effectively share and debate, Rushdie said, our society must develop a “thicker skin,” with which we become unafraid to hear differing opinions and recognize the value of speech and debate. He recounted a story of being portrayed in a film as a monstrous villain, gleefully torturing his victims. The depiction was so slanderous that the British Board of Film Classification considered banning the release of the film for fear that Rushdie would sue for libel. Instead, Rushdie wrote a letter to the BBFC giving up his right to legal recourse, believing that the freedom to make the film was more important than the attacks against his character. Throughout the lively, provocative and often humorous presentation, Rushdie lamented the societal divisions in America and abroad, noting that both sides of the aisle
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