UC Berkeley orders cancellation of Ann Coulter speech

by freemindfade 115 Replies latest social current

• 

  jp1692

  The lack of viewpoint diversity and the suppression of free speech at many American universities is a growing problem as some of the above commenters have observed.

  There is a groundswell of committed professionals that are trying to reverse this unhealthy trend. The other day I was directed by a colleague to this website created by some of these people:

  • Heterodox Academy

  Here is a snippet from their welcome page:

  We are a politically diverse group of social scientists, natural scientists, humanists, and other scholars who want to improve our academic disciplines and universities.
  
  We share a concern about a growing problem: the loss or lack of “viewpoint diversity.” When nearly everyone in a field shares the same political orientation, certain ideas become orthodoxy, dissent is discouraged, and errors can go unchallenged.
  
  To reverse this process, we have come together to advocate for a more intellectually diverse and heterodox academy.
  
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  nancy drew

  We've experienced what it's like when free thought is forbidden in the organization and we didn't like it. The trend today is to suppress and label everything as politically incorrect and everyone's offended and that's not a healthy direction. We have to let people speak even if we don't like what they say.
  
• 

  redvip2000

  Shameful!

  The University should be taking a stand on this and showing a strong hand. If the University sent a memo to all staff and students and put them on notice that any people arrested for violence would be immediately fired and expelled from school, this would not happen. This sense of impunity is empowering.
• 

  Bw500

  Free speech means the government can't arrest you for what you say. It doesn't mean everyone is under obligation to listen to you or provide you with a venue. Berkeley was within its rights. They are not forcing Coulter to be silent, they are just choosing not to give her a venue.
• 

  Village Idiot

  We have to come to the realization that people like Ann Coulter have been insulting and demonizing those who are on the other side of the divide for decades. While I believe in free speech for everyone in the public arena I would not invite Coulter into my home, business or school. I might reconsider an invitation to the school if there were somebody else representing what those student's political identity is (Liberals?) in a debate framework.

  One like for Bw500 on the lack of obligation to include anyone like Coulter. That doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with inviting a conservative who doesn't share the views of most students but that would have to be someone who's been known to be respectful of others. Coulter definitely is not one of those persons.
  
• 

  bohm

  I am against deplatforming people because of "unpopular" views, but I can easily understand this from Berkley's perspective.

  The past demonstrations have turned Berkley into a retard magnet and made Berkley and the community the focus of fascists and neo-nazis from across the US who organize and travel to Berkley for streetfighting. Look at the hashtags #basedsticks (instructions for smuggling concealed weapons to demonstrations) and #magamilitia as well as the various right-wing groups who (proud boys, identity evropa [sic] and oathkeepers) who reside somewhere on the fascist spectrum and showed up in force and riot gear for the last demonstration. The radical left (antifa) are certainly not innocent, however, you don't have to be a marketing genius to understand that connecting Berkley with heiling, fascist loons in riot gear is not good.

  Death threats have been issued on Twitter in connection with the last demonstration and it is clear future demonstrations are going to turn violent... From Berkeley's perspective, I think there is a moral concern to host events that are so likely to turn violent (nevermind the image problem and responsibility to the community!), and potentially a legal problem if/when someone gets seriously hurt.
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  freemindfade

  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2017/04/26/ann-coulter-speech-canceled-at-uc-berkeley-amid-fears-for-safety/?utm_term=.f5ca1a205a57

  Ann Coulter speech at UC Berkeley canceled, again, amid fears for safety

  The fascist anti-fascist movement wins again for now

  Also, people keep blaming Berkley, Berkley is just the battleground, the fight is between leftist shitheads AntiFa and free speech. It would be nice for Berkley to stick up for it, but they aren't the catalyst to the problem
  
  
• 

  Village Idiot

  Freemindfade,
  

  The fascist anti-fascist movement wins again for now
  

  It is silly how words and titles are thrown about willy-nilly.
  
• 

  Simon

  HA! When the left start complaining about names ...

  Interesting how so many on the left say "I defend free speech BUT ..."

  There is no but. It's Easy to defend rights you agree with. The test is whether you defend the right of those you vehemently disagree with.

  If you don't then you are an utter hypocritical fake and a disgrace to any ideals you claim to uphold.
• 

  freemindfade

  VI have you listened to any of these AntiFa maniacs? They are so far out of their damn minds it's actually hard to believe sometimes.