Sunsara Taylor has responded (in three parts) to the Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago’s letter that I posted earlier today.
First, we have her personal response, titled “Why I Was Dis-Invited, Why I Did Not Just Shut Up And Go Away, and Why It Still Matters“:
… All of this is informed by my worldview as a communist. At the same time, because this communist worldview is rooted in confronting the world as it actually is and as it actually can be, there is tremendous room for others, coming from their own worldviews but similarly committed to the betterment of humanity, to be enriched through an engagement with these views on morality.
From all this, it is clear that the EHSC knew I was a communist from the very beginning. But, as the date of my long-scheduled talk approached, some began a drive to cancel my talk exactly because of these views…
Second, we have a statement from a woman (Sue B.) who coordinated Sunsara’s tour and worked closely with the EHSC over the past few weeks:
… I believe that part of the reason EHSC is persisting in deliberately misrepresenting what happened and spinning a story that fortifies an untruthful account is because they don’t want to confront the reality of how ugly this whole thing has been, how much it goes against their own principles…
Finally, there’s a statement from lawyer Martha Conrad, who was present at the event:
… I was present at the Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago [EHSC] on November 1st. I personally witnessed the entire incident leading to the arrest and can lay out the salient facts of what occurred at EHSC that day.
That morning, I entered the building behind Ms. Taylor and others about ten minutes before the 10:30 am program was to start. No one at any time told Ms. Taylor, the videographer or anyone else that they could not enter the event, which was advertised as being “free and open to the public.”…
I’m not sure if there’s any resolution to be had between Sunsara and EHSC. But at least both sides have had a chance to explain themselves in a public setting.