Churchill v. University of Colorado: Churchill and a “Pitcher of Warm Spit”
J. Robert Brown | Wednesday, March 25, 2009 at 09:00AM David Lane finished the direct examination of Churchill on Tuesday morning. At one point, he threw an anticipated softball to Churchill, asking him how the controversy impacted his life. It was an opportunity to talk about the death threats, the emotional impact, the consequences of becoming an almost satanic figure. It was an opportunity to see the person underneath all of the allegations.
It didn't happen. Churchill noted that he had been out of work for two years, that there were a number of books unfinished (interrupted to use his word), that he had been consumed by the case.
Lane had to prod him to say more. He pulled out that one professor described his scholarship as not worth a “pitcher of warm spit”, a phrase ordinarily applied to the position of Vice President of the United States and that Churchill was “angry” over what had happened. Churchill indicated that within his scholarly community, his reputation had probably been unaffected but that the attacks probably affected the willingness of outsiders to consider his views, thereby allowing them to continue to adhere to the “we didn’t do anything wrong” myth.
The answers were honest and unrehearsed but they provided little insight into Ward Churchill on a pesonal level, something that might have garnered sympathy from the jury. It was an opportunity lost.
Reader Comments (2)
Rather a good tactic, actually.
Churchill could be easily mocked for making an emotional plea to the jury, But anybody trying to mock his wife for making her emotional plea to the jury would soon make a fool of themselves instead.
Rather a good tactic, actually.
Churchill could be easily mocked for making an emotional plea to the jury, But anybody trying to mock his wife for making her emotional plea to the jury would soon make a fool of themselves instead.