I couldn't agree more with Jason Vest. As an Indiana University graduate, I cringed every time those morons appeared on TV over the weekend running amok in Bloomington. Vest was right-on when he noted that many folks in Bloomington are sick of Knight's antics and (if only in secret) glad he has moved on. This is a very sad story, for there is much in Knight to admire. But there is nothing admirable about drunk, stupid college boys rampaging through town. In fact, it is downright disrespectful. On that note, The General is strangely silent.
-- Thomas Nord
I am absolutely amazed by the mob mentality that ran Murray Sperber off campus. I am a graduate student here at I.U. and am NOT a basketball fan. I came to I.U. with my husband so we could both earn our Ph.D.s at a reputable institution of higher learning.
The last few days have left me speechless. I have found the entire situation an embarrassment, as have many of the other graduate students and faculty members I have spoken to in the past few days.
I am at a loss as to how this demented cult of personality continues. Bobby Knight's greatness seems to be so far above rules that for many undergraduates, it seems that anyone who expresses anything but pure idolatry of Knight is doomed to become the recipient of mock lynchings, hate mail and all kinds of other harassment.
I certainly feel for Knight's players, who have probably known who Bobby Knight was since they were born. It can't be easy being at the eye of this storm, but I don't see how a distinguished institute of higher learning could ever sit back and let this sort of repeated disrespect for students continue.
-- Name withheld at writer's request
Tyrants remain in power at least in part because they have support from their constituents. The same had to be true for Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot among others throughout history. Even the players on Knight's teams often came to his defense. It strikes me that this curious turn of events perfectly demonstrates what has been called Stockholm Syndrome, wherein those who are abused take a psychological turn such that they come to identify with and even adore/defend their abusers. This adaptation makes it possible for them to live with less anxiety and fear within what they come to believe is an essentially hopeless situation.
Bobby Knight is a human being who for a variety of reasons abused the power that came to him through the infinite complexities of the social contract. Although such behavior can be understood, it can never be accepted as a destination for those of us who aspire to life in a more humane world.
-- Robb Reed
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