Editor,
Pity poor Richard Berthold. He's on the hot seat. Here in New Mexico, he's the guy who everyone loves to hate, the target of our unbridled anger and fury.
Some folks want to take away his job.
Others are content to revile and scorn him.
What has he done to deserve this treatment?
Let's take a look. On Sept. 11, while in class knowing that the United States had just been savagely attacked by terrorists who slammed hijacked commercial airliners into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania, and killed thousands of innocents, he blurted out, "Anyone who can blow up the Pentagon gets my vote."
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Dead silence!
I think the students couldn't believe their ears.
What sort of bombshell had the professor just dropped?
What sort of statement had they just heard?
Certainly it was shocking. Unbelievable. Insensitive. Just plain stupid.
Why would he utter such an inappropriate statement?
In the brouhaha that followed, that question seemed to be forgotten.
Why in fact had he done it?
The professor later explained his actions. He said that he "was shocked by the events," that it was "a stupid and pathetic attempt at a joke." Not to be taken seriously. But it was taken seriously.
Well, Berthold knew he had played the role of a jerk to the hilt, and that what he said was horribly wrong. He wasted no time in apologizing.
"It was inexcusable," he said. "All I can say is all of us are insensitive jerks periodically in our lives. On September 11, I was a callous and insensitive jerk."
He apologized numerous times, in print and on TV, begging forgiveness. But, it appears, he was not forgiven.
Instead, folks sought his hide.
They want him out of the University, out of their lives.
Nothing less than expulsion will do.
And that's what I don't get.
This is the story of a man who has made a stupid mistake and exercised bad judgment - nothing more. It is not treason or sedition.
All of us are guilty of lapses in judgment. In keeping with the severity of the offense, it is time to accept his apology and move on.
If we are reluctant to do so, is it because we are so disgusted by his words that we cannot find forgiveness within ourselves, or is it because it is Richard Berthold, notorious gadfly, iconoclast, outspoken champion of unpopular causes, wielder of pointed opinions and general irritant?
Would we ride our warhorses so hard if the offender were not Richard Berthold, but rather some other unlucky individual, some poor unfortunate soul without a history, who made the same mistake?
It does seem to me that somehow we have lost our sense of proportion.
The terrorist attack of Sept. 11 changed our world, twisted us every which way, destroyed our very notion of normality. But it is not to our credit, even now, to use such a large hammer on such a small fly.
It is interesting to note that at a recent radio forum for the Albuquerque mayoral candidates, Jim Baca was the only candidate to allow that Berthold was anything more than a repulsive slug.
Baca said, "We all have said stupid things in our lives-every one of us-and we weren't forced to quit our jobs over it. . He has apologized profusely."
Imagine losing your job because of a stupid comment or two.
Jim Baca was not my candidate of choice before, but now he's the frontrunner.
I have been friends with Rick Berthold for more than 25 years.
During that time I have found him to possess admirable qualities.
He is the most honest person I know.
He tells the truth, regardless of consequences.
No sugar coating.
No political correctness.
No punches pulled.
He is totally sincere. He does not manipulate. His word is the best currency around.
So here I am, standing up for him, because he is worthy of such support.
Some might wonder why I am putting myself squarely in the line of fire by defending Rick.
Well, for one, I am loyal to my friends, and I am compelled to offer a hand during trying times.
And for two, I don't want all of us to compound his mistake with a mistake of our own which we may ultimately regret.
Rick is an easy target, given his history, and that scares me.
I would not like to see him served up in scapegoat stew.
He's every bit the human being as are the rest of us, and he deserves a fair assessment of his transgressions.
Larry Waldman
Long-time UNM community member
