Quote of the Day: Academic Freedom and Holocaust Denial

The Chronicle of Higher Education recently had a bit about a professor of English literature who claims that the Holocaust is a hoax. (I know, I know.  *Sigh.*  This and other similar types of crackpot conspiracy theorists drive me crazy.)  The reader comments are of varying quality, but I rather like this anonymous one (#36):

Academic freedom protects academics' ability to conduct research, ask questions, form conclusions, and espouse opinions without fear of political or other reprisals. It does not, in my understanding, give anyone license to deny historical fact for the sake of drawing attention to themselves, or for the promotion of irrational, unjust, and fundamentally dangerous ideologies. The historical existence of the Holocaust is not a matter of opinion. 

No, it's not. It's a matter of fact.  We're all entitled to our own opinions, but not to our own facts.  On a related note, take a look at Rachel Lucas's account of her visit to Auschwitz if you've not had a chance to do so.