In a complete disregard for free speech yesterday, protesters at the University of California, Berkeley, rioted in response to a scheduled speech by Milo Yiannopoulos. The event was cancelled.
Violent protesters shot fireworks at buildings, threw Molotov cocktails, trashed the student union and forced police riot units to disband the demonstration, and all of this was because a political figure wanted to come to Berkeley and say words in an auditorium.
It pains me how far college campuses have fallen.
Yiannopoulos is a notorious editor of the even-more-notorious Breitbart news, and he often expresses his views extremely bluntly.
Many people vilify him as the face of the “alt-right,” a propaganda term for a perceived white-supremicist group. He often responds to criticism with trolling and doubling down on his controversial rhetoric.
In short, he’s a pretty unlikable guy to a lot of Americans — especially liberal Americans. Just Google “Milo Yiannopoulos views,” and you’ll find plenty of articles denouncing him.
Despite whether or not we agree with the views of people like Yiannopoulos, we must all look at the violent protesters with nothing but disdain.
We live in a world where people are so terrified of opposing viewpoints that rioting is more appropriate than allowing dissent.
Berkeley, once a bastion for free speech, has regressed to the point that most students interviewed by CNN expressed relief rather than outrage at the cancellation of Yiannopoulos’ speech.
This is the same school that started the Free Speech Movement in 1964, a response to administrators limiting political activism on campus.
This movement originated as a push for more freedom of speech and academic freedom, reaching its goals through peaceful protest.
Fast forward more than 50 years, and we have a completely backwards movement on the exact same campus. People taking this protest and turning it into a full-blown riot is downright horrifying.
It feels like we’ve gone back in time, not forward.
The historical liberals, the ones who marched with Martin Luther King Jr. and sang Bob Dylan’s folk songs with all their might, are gone. We now have a leftist movement that has become the academic establishment. They want to strip away freedoms and sweep those who disagree under the rug.
People who support violent left-wing rioters and cowards who sucker-punch political figures in the face need to understand one thing: you’re supporting the establishment now.
It’s an establishment that we bred on our college campuses that tells us we don’t have to let people speak if they don’t agree with us.
People who advocate for free speech and expression on college campuses are becoming increasingly rare.
Let’s look at another college – Syracuse University.
There, students are now encouraged by the administration to report anyone making jokes about sensitive topics, avoiding other people or posting on social media about race, gender, age, etc.
They want students to report one another for free association and expressing opinions. Give me a break.
I don’t understand why anyone would stand up and say “I’m in!” when the establishment wants to strip us of our rights. In fact, I’m calling for IU to invite Milo Yiannopoulos to speak on our campus.
We can’t let anything — person or institution — take away our voices.
dylmoore@umail.iu.edu
