This
past February, at UC Berkeley, there was a riot that broke out after
students began protesting a speech at the University by former Breitbart News
senior editor, Milo Yiannopoulos. I view Milo as
the ultimate troll, having the ability to get under people’s skin with his
outrageous, controversial views. Rather than allow people like this to incite
such violent reactions, we must be responsible for shutting his ideas down
through rational, well thought out arguments. While speech may be offensive and
vulgar, people have the right to their opinion and to express it nonviolently.
In an op-ed for The Daily Californian, undocumented student Juan Prieto backed the violence by saying, “I’m here to thank the radical measures the AntiFas took to ensure my safety.” Antifa, the anti-fascism movement, was responsible for the damage that occurred to people and businesses in the town of Berkeley. Juan stood by the actions of violence that had taken place and also recommended imposing limits on hate speech. Limiting speech to prevent giving someone the opportunity to hear ideas is the wrong approach; you are under-estimating your fellow student's capacity for disseminating information. It would be an arrogant claim to say that you knew what should or should not be heard on campus. In defense of the violence, Juan claims, “Only the destruction of glass and shooting of fireworks did that. The so-called ‘violence’ against private property that the media seems so concerned with stopped white supremacy from organizing itself against my community.” It is sad that someone could imagine violence on his or her community as justifiable to keep an individual from speaking. Juan fails to grasp the importance of the first amendment, allowing fear and ignorance to control his justification for limiting speech on campus.
Are we censoring ourselves? These
limitations on speech are occurring more and more frequently at universities
across the world. A poll by McLaughlin &
Associates shows that nearly sixty percent of college students believe that
universities should restrict expression. This is an alarming number of students
in favor of forcing the university into a position where it must concern itself
with each individual’s happiness. Juan clearly is in favor of policies that protect his "safe-space" at any cost, selfish of his views about speech and clearly values his opinions above others. We are confusing the role universities play
in our society, which is a place to understand the terrifying universe, determine our beliefs
and have an open, honest environment.
Prieto, Juan. "Violence helped ensure safety of students." The Daily Californian. N.p., 07 Feb. 2017. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.
Soave, Robby. "You've been warned: speech under fire." Reason, Feb. 2016, p. 6. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, frccwc.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A439682486/OVIC?u=west59484&xid=dcd170db. Accessed 6 Apr. 2017.
Stableford, Dylan. "Trump threatens to defund Berkeley after violent protests force cancellation of Breitbart editor's speech." Yahoo! News. Yahoo!, 02 Feb. 2017. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.
Hello Patrick,
ReplyDeleteYour post was very interesting. I don’t understand how people can endorse using violence to stop the freedom of speech. Your statement about restricting dialog would be “under-estimating” our classmate’s ability to make their own decisions. How do children learn how to make good decisions? By making bad ones so they can learn from their mistakes, right? I am curious how “hate speech” is defined? I was taken back by the results you shared from the poll where sixty percent of college students are in favor of controlled speech. How many universities were included in that poll? Was it done nationwide, or in certain geographical areas, or at Ivy League schools? Isn’t college supposed to be the perfect place to explore, and to be challenged, and where learning is a fundamental value? I look forward to reading your future posts.
Hello Patrick,
ReplyDeleteThe one thing I would like to know more about is Milo Yiannopoulos you go into detail about him but I would like to know a little bit more about him. So, I can relate to how he gets under your skin. What I did find interesting about this post is how you did put in your opinion on this and showed emotion with your anger towards this individual. I do agree with Juan in protecting your safe-space where we can feel free to express are option without feeling like we are going to get attacked is how I took that. I am excited to see what other information you will be sharing with us.
Hi April,
DeleteI probably should have started with a little more background on Milo. While appearing much different than the traditional republican, he uses the persona he has created for himself to create controversy and gain a platform to push hardcore conservative values. I understand why people do not agree with him, but to silence him is wrong. His outrageous claims have eventually caught up with him and ended his run of popularity. He doesn't necessarily get under my skin, but the fact that he is able to create such hysteria is really bothersome to me. I wasn't trying to come off as angry at either individual, maybe frustrated would better describe my feelings.
With Juan and safe spaces, I believe that safe spaces shouldn't have to exist. The entire universe should be a place to share and express ideas without fear of retribution. Unfortunately, we currently live in a society that does not practice that value. I believe that placing ourselves in safe spaces only decreases communication and continues to increase the us versus them mentality. We need to have open, honest dialogue everywhere to figure out the true issues we are facing.