Judith Butler and the hazards of higher learning

To my shame, I was ignorant of professor Butler's existence, so you will have to bear with me through some quotes from her Wiki bio:

Judith Butler (born 24 February 1956) is an American post-structuralist philosopher, who has contributed to the fields of feminism, queer theory, political philosophy, and ethics. She is currently the Maxine Elliott professor in the Rhetoric and Comparative Literature departments at the University of California, Berkeley.

I confess to understanding most words in the above, if not some of the constructs ("queer theory"?). In any case, it's clear that we are looking at an extraordinary gifted person, and the (partial) list of honors and awards only strengthens this impression:

• 2008: Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Distinguished Achievement Award, University of California, Berkeley
• 2007: Elected a Member of the American Philosophical Society
• 2004: Brudner Prize, Yale University
• 2001: Rockefeller Fellowship
• 1999: Guggenheim Fellowship

One should be honored to receive his measure of oxygen from the same atmosphere, I would say. And be happy that our kids' brains and futures are being molded by such capable hands.

Then one encounters a quote from the professor's body of work:

Yes, understanding Hamas, Hezbollah as social movements that are progressive, that are on the Left, that are part of a global Left, is extremely important.

And one starts wondering. Not about the possible fate of the esteemed professor (awards and honors included), would the esteemed professor have been born in one of the Hezbollah enclaves. And not really about the "progressive social movements". And not even about the "global Left".

It's our kids that I am concerned about, you see...

Via Contested Terrain.