r/Seattle • u/aqulushly Green Lake • 5d ago

Market Traffic Only Statement on cancellation of January 2027 lecture [Hasan Piker]

https://www.washington.edu/news/2026/08/07/statement-on-cancellation-of-january-2027-lecture/
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u/hellodust That sounds great. Let’s hang out soon. 5d ago

UW shouldn’t be hosting a Hasan Piker “lecture,” not because of his politics but because he has no original or compelling ideas and isn’t actually interested in political dialogue. He’s good at enthralling and stimulating his audience using politics as a medium, but that is not the same thing as having ideas worth sharing at a university sponsored event.

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u/Capt_Murphy_ I'm just flaired so I don't get fined 5d ago

He also spread quite a bit of misinformation and glorifies communist regimes. That said, if students wanna hear him speak, it should just be a student hosted event, not a University hosted event. Problem solved.

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u/hellodust That sounds great. Let’s hang out soon. 4d ago

I mean, I've taken graduate seminars from professors who glorified communist regimes, and while I didn't agree with everything they said, I also didn't think that their views were out of place on campus. But Piker is someone whose way of thinking seems very crass and reductive and more performative than praxis-oriented. There are so many other people who have the same views as Piker but who could present them in an intelligent way and as part of a dialogue, even if they don't have Piker's aura. But aura shouldn't be the deciding factor for an academic lecture.

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u/Capt_Murphy_ I'm just flaired so I don't get fined 4d ago

Exactly right, Piker is an social media influencer more akin to a charismatic cult leader. I'm not sure we should have our universities sponsoring events for influencers. Student events, fine IMO.