Hitchens' fighting words
From the New York Daily News:
Leave it to pro-war pundit Christopher Hitchens to rile up a crowd of New York liberals.
The catcalls started almost from the moment the prickly Brit began defending the Iraq adventure during Wednesday night's squabble at the Ethical Culture Society.
"Make zoo noises!" Hitchens taunted. "Bear in mind, if you had been listened to, Bosnia would part of greater Serbia, Afghanistan would be run by the Taliban, and Saddam Hussein would still be in charge of Iraq."
For good measure, he added: "British intelligence was quite right to say that Saddam Hussein was seeking uranium in Niger. That you can look up."
To which a peacenik screamed: "F- you!"
"Shut up," Hitchens retorted. "You're rude and silly. And ugly."
Afterward, a deeply satisfied Hitchens smoked a cigarette. "I know how to hurt their feelings because I know what they're going through. ... I have a real relish for inflicting pain on them."
---
This is one of the many reasons I admire Hitchens. When he's right, he doesn't back down, no matter how harsh the audience. One thing I've learned about my arguments over the years is that winning the argument and being right are two different things. That reality has caused me to detest arguments in general. So instead of arguing, I just agree to disagree and back off.
No one can be sure if Hitchens changed any minds at his recent speaking engagement. What we can be sure of, is he did not leave allowing his crowd to think it had gotten the better of him.