Media mogul Ted Turner drew a packed house and a whole lot of controversy during a recent speech at Brown University.
Turner’s description of the Sept. 11 hijackers as "brave" touched off criticism nationally. The AOL Time Warner vice chairman later said his comments on Feb. 11, reported by local media and picked up by the Associated Press, were taken out of context.
Turner’s views on the terrorist attackers were part of a wide-ranging speech delivered to a standing-room-only crowd at the Salomon Center for Teaching. The event was part of the Ogden Lecture Series, which for 35 years has been dedicated to presenting lectures on current world topics.
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Turner also took the opportunity to criticize President Bush’s so-called "axis of evil" and to make light of his sometimes rocky relationship with his alma mater, which kicked out the member of the class of 1960 before he could graduate.
However, what captured headlines was his thoughts concerning Sept. 11.
He said the attacks were a direct result of the conditions in which some people of the world are forced to live. Turner said the attackers were brave in that they were willing to die for a cause.
"The reason the World Trade Center got hit is because there are people in this world living in abject poverty with no hope of getting out," he said. "Half of humanity is already living in abject conditions . . . and we’re not doing very much to help them, either. We bomb them occasionally, with our high tech bombs."
In explaining his desire for world peace, Turner threw a few jabs at the current administration, especially at President Bush’s recent description of North Korea, Iran and Iraq as "the axis of evil."
"If you want to start a fight with somebody, the best way to do it is to call them names," he said. "If I saw Mike Tyson, I wouldn’t insult him . . . I know this administration has no intention of doing away with their nuclear arsenals."
Turner read an excerpt from the Nuclear Disarmament Act, dated 1968, which calls for the gradual disablement of nuclear warheads, which he said has still not been carried out.
"We lied," he said. "People talk about the lying communists, but what about the lying capitalists?"
Turner bristled at a student’s mention of a missile defense plan.
"We don’t need more sophisticated weapons – we need to get rid of the ones we have," he said. "Then we can fight with our fists and everybody can go home without getting hurt too bad."
Turner co-chairs the Nuclear Threat Initiative, which is dedicated to increasing public awareness and reducing the danger from nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. The organization was founded last year.
Turner reflected on his time spent at Brown, making it clear he was always headstrong.
"The campus didn’t know what to do with me," he shrugged. So, Turner was thrown out of school.
Then, about 15 years ago, former Brown President Vartan Gregorian visited Turner in Atlanta.
"He said, ‘We would like to see the university make peace with you, and we’re going to start by giving you your degree,’" said Turner.
Since then, Turner has made several visits to the campus, and is a member of the board of trustees for the Brown University Corporation.
In 1963, Turner inherited his father’s Atlanta advertising agency and went on to become a cable television pioneer. In the 1970s his Turner Broadcasting System was among the first to transmit using a communications satellite; Turner is also the creator of CNN and other cable television stations.
In 1995, Turner sold Turner Broadcasting to Time Warner, becoming vice chairman of the company, and later, vice chairman and senior advisor at AOL Time Warner when the companies merged in 2000.
When a student asked the best way for him and his classmates to make a difference in the world, Turner said he feels that communication on important issues, ultimately, is the key to settling differences.
"Talk it up with everybody," he said. "The way you vote is important too. A few more votes in Florida, and we would have had the greatest environmental warrior we’ve ever had."
