Apparantly the professor agreed to an email interview.
My email interview with Fitzpatrick:
From: Dimock, James P
Sent: Monday, October 25, 2010 7:02 PM
To: '
[email protected]'
Subject: RE: Protests against pastor on campus and in Marshall, Minnesota
Brian,
Thank you for your interest. I am very pleased to see that WND is interested in getting my point of view. I have been advised to make it clear that my opinions are my own and are not those of the University. I do not speak for the University or anyone else.
1) The minister, John Chisham, has told me that you led the protest in Marshall, and also have shouted him down when he has preached on campus. He adds that you called him "Pastor Douchebag." Is any of this true? I'd like to hear your side.
There was a protest in Marshall. I have shouted him down when he preached on campus although I think "preached" is a mischaracterization. Chisham, who also goes by "John The Baptist" attempts to draw crowds and create controversy. He carries a sign condemning women, feminists, and many others. He speaks out actively not only against members of the LGBT community but also Jews, Muslims and people he refers to as "so-called Christians" which includes Catholics and Lutherans. I have no doubt that Chisham presents himself to you as a good and god-fearing Christian who did nothing more than come to campus and try to spread the word of God. That is not a accurate portrait of his activities here on campus.
I urge you to contact the Maranatha Christian Fellowship (
[email protected]). The Pastor who leads that group has often stood out on our campus mall preaching. He has, to my knowledge, never generated angry counter protests. I have never attempted to shout him down. I have never written a letter about him. In fact, we have many Christian groups on campus. None of them have had counter protests. Every time Chisham comes to our campus, he encounters counter protests. I am sure that he would like people to believe that he is attacked because he is Christian. It isn't. It is because of what he says and does. Other Christians don't get protested ... so why Chisham? Logically, if other Christians don't draw protests, then it isn't simply Chisham's Christianity that brings out protesters.
Chisham has, in a recent letter to the editor and complaints to our administration, charged that I am anti-Christian. In nine years at this institution, I have never had a complaint that I am anti-Christian and not one complaint that I have discriminated against Christians. My alleged anti-Christian bias would surprise my Sunday school class.
I know Chisham has said I am anti-Christian. Really? He condemns Catholics and Lutherans and I am the one who is anti-Christian? Unless you read the Bible the same way he does, he says you aren't a Christian at all? And I am anti-Christian?
I am not anti-Christian although I am anti-Chisham. I admit I called him a douche bag because I don't like him. I sometimes have a foul mouth which I admit is a character flaw. I have never claimed to be without sin. I have also called him a Pharisee, a narcissist, and hate monger. I have accused him of seeking out attention and self-glorification. He sought you out to do a story about him ... what's that tell you?
2) Were you present at the protest against Pastor John Chisham in Marshall, Minnesota?
Yes I was. I have a constitutionally protected right to free speech. I violated no law or policy.
3) Were you the leader? If not, who was the leader, and why did you attend?
No I was not the leader. Although Chisham has told you I was the leader, told the University Administration I was the leader, and characterized me as the leader in his letter to the editor of the campus paper, I was very clear that I was not the leader of the protest. In fact, I told a very angry woman I later learned was Chisham's wife, no less than twice that I was not the leader. You can confirm this by contacting the YMCA supervisor on duty at the time of the protest (Chisham's church services are held in a YMCA conference room) who's name is also John (sorry, I don't have his last name) he can probably be reached at the Marshall YMCA (507) 532-9622.
Why did I attend?
I was asked to assist in the demonstration because I have experience with demonstration and protest. I have both practical and theoretical expertise in this area. You can see my published writings on this subject in the Proceedings of the Alta Conference on Argumentation 2009. If you have any trouble finding a copy of the article, I would be happy to send it to you. Specifically, I was asked to be a liaison between protesters and the YMCA and the police if necessary. This was done both because of my experience and in order to free up the protest organizer XXXXX and to allow her to focus on the actual organization of the protesters. I helped write and sent out press releases.
I attended because Chisham is a hate monger and a Pharisee. I wish that more groups would have attended the protest and that it was not just members of the LGBT community. His vicious rhetoric ranges far wider than the LGBT community.
4) Was this a class project?
Not for my class. No one at the protest is now or ever has been a student in any of my classes.
5) Was this an activity of an MSU student organization?
I didn't organize the event or do any of the planning. I drove a car and took pictures. I have no direct knowledge of the degree of support, if any, from any official student organization.
6) Is this the type of thing you do normally with your classes?
This is a leading question which assumes that this was, in fact, a class project. So I will repeat my response to question four: It was not a class project. No one was required to go by me or anyone else.
Because I teach courses in public discourse, I often suggest students attend public lectures and discussions and even protests. I also have suggested my students attend sessions explaining and advocating intelligent design which are scheduled this week on our campus. I have never required students to participate in any activity which runs counter to their values. I did not inform any of my students in any of my classes about this protest or my intention to attend. I didn't encourage anyone to go.
7) What were you trying to accomplish with the protest?
Chisham disrupts our campus and attacks people who have done nothing to deserve his bile and filth. I stand on my statements that he is a Pharisee. You are welcome to read my letter to the editor published in the MSU Reporter on September 30th. Since it was not my protest, I will not speak to the goals of everyone involved but my goals were first to counter the hate speech of John Chisham, second to make sure his congregation was aware of the sorts of things he was up to on our campus (the nice man I talked to after the service agreed with me that Chisham's sign - it is posted on the website of the MSU Reporter back in October of 2009 and a really good picture appears on the webpage of the University of South Dakota paper, The Volant - is offensive and sent the wrong message about Christianity; Chisham's wife insisted that Chisham never called women "whores" or "prostitutes" but he has), third and finally I wanted to be there to give protesters the benefit of my experience and make sure things did not get out of hand.
