Saturday, May 27, 2017

Free Speech on Campus? It Happened Again!

In a protest that turned violent, conservatives demonstrated. against a commencement speech by Linda Sarsour. A leader of the protest (who did not himself encourage violence) was right-wing speaker Milo Yiannopoulos, who has himself been the target of campus protests. Sarsour, a Muslim, is considered to be a progressive speaker who believes that Sharia law is misunderstood. Prior to her speech, she was the subject of an opinion column by Sterling Beard on the Fox News website objecting to her speech.

Now, I do disagree with a number of Sarsour's views. Apparently, however, fabricated conspiracy theories have made Sarsour seem to be quite evil.

College, as conservatives like to remind us, should encourage diverse viewpoints. That you disagree with a speaker is no reason to avoid that speaker.

This has to stop. Let people speak. Listen to one another. You can listen to people with whom you disagree. If you think they are wrong, give a better speech in response. If you are a liberal, listen to conservatives. If you are a conservative, listen to liberals.

See my earlier post about free speech on campus here, here, here, and here.

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