Have you heard about the big controversy in New York? I mean, the decision of the board of trustees of City University of New York not to grant an honorary degree to playwright Tony Kushner, because he isn’t pro-Israel enough to suit their tastes? The controversy, and the backlash—the board says it’s reconsidering—has been huge. Over at the NYT, Clyde Haberman’s “City Room” column gives a pretty good rundown, noting that the board has been denounced, not only by the Times itself, but by generally regarded as pro-Israel types like Ed Koch and the NY Daily News.
The one place you won’t be reading about L’Affaire Kushner is the Washington Post, which is observing a near-perfect radio silence regarding the matter, confining itself to two short AP pieces in the entertainment section—the guy’s a playwright, isn’t he? Those New Yorkers! So provincial!
Yes, yet another good reason for not reading the Washington Post. Because there’s nothing to read.
Afterwords
I am way not a fan of Tony Kushner, whose trademark combo of gay fabulousness cum Old Left nostalgia/self-pity* rubs me precisely the wrong way. His plays, and their massive popularity among the educated classes, are a perfect illustration of the wit of the Guermantes, which will be with us forever. I would never have voted to give Kushner an honorary anything. CUNY has compounded stupidity in a manner most marvelous and made a martyr out of well-heeled schmuck whose latest piece o’ shit play will probably triple its already obscene take as a result of the current contretemps. Nice going, CUNY board of trustees!
*The Rosenbergs were innocent! The Doctor’s Plot? Totally a myth! Stalin was a good guy!
