Dr. Fernandez argues that, since coaches don't receive tenure, faculty don't need it either. Other critics of tenure compare professors to doctors and lawyers. But professors are in a uniquely vulnerable position. Few people care what a doctor or lawyer thinks about homosexuality, or immigration, or the heritability of intelligence. But in academe, every cultural topic is grounds for war.
Flexibility is a perilous convenience.
Thank God it does. Without tenure, departments could be axed overnight. A correct line of teaching could be imposed on those remaining. Administrators want the flexibility of corporations. General Motors, could, if it wished, abandon cars and make toasters.