Last night a Trump campaign rally in Chicago was cancelled when protesters threatened violence against those coming to the event. To be fair, some of those going to the event threatened violence back at the protesters. To say the least, the whole thing was moronic.
First of all, it is just plain wrong for anyone to be silenced by idiots who disrupt a speech or other sort of event. This is doubly true when the speaker is a candidate for president, but it applies no matter who is talking. We are supposed to be a land with freedom of speech. The way to beat bad ideas is with good ideas, not with violence or intimidation. Those people protesting last night had every right to stand outside the event and wave signs or tell the people going into the event that Trump is wrong. They did not have the right to stop Trump from speaking.
Second, there cannot be a double standard for which speech is allowed; it has to be all speech. This is a lesson that seems unlearnable by many on the left. Many of the media reported last night's events with a sort of chuckle in their voice; it's just so funny that Trump is getting this treatment. Some blamed Trump for the outcome. But consider what would happen if 1000 people came to a Bernie Sanders rally and disrupted it. It happened last fall when the Black Lives Matter people stopped a Sanders rally, but that was the really far left stopping an event by the far left. It was all in the family, so to speak, but Sanders was still denied the chance to speak. Now think what would happen if 1000 Trump supporters were to go to the Sanders rally and just scream and shout so that no one could hear the candidate. The media would go crazy about the assault on free speech. If it were a Hillary rally and the protesters were military families angry about Hillary calling the families of the Benghazi victims liars, the media would still go crazy. But it doesn't matter which way the protests are going; they are just WRONG if they stop the rights of others to speak.
America has seen this sort of mess before. In 1968, there were enormous protests because of the War in Vietnam. President Johnson couldn't give a speech anywhere other than on a military base, or so it seemed. The Democrat convention was torn apart by angry protesters. The end result was that the American people were appalled by the protests and we got Richard Nixon elected president.
Right now, TODAY, the Democrats and the Republicans other than Trump need to come forward and denounce protests that stop others from speaking. Sure, there's a lot of anger in the country. So what! If we give up the ability to let others speak, it won't be long until we ourselves lose the right to speak when our opponents take office. Our freedoms are the most important thing about America. Most of the American people know that. The protesters better be careful or their moves will backfire and there will be a major wave against them.
First of all, it is just plain wrong for anyone to be silenced by idiots who disrupt a speech or other sort of event. This is doubly true when the speaker is a candidate for president, but it applies no matter who is talking. We are supposed to be a land with freedom of speech. The way to beat bad ideas is with good ideas, not with violence or intimidation. Those people protesting last night had every right to stand outside the event and wave signs or tell the people going into the event that Trump is wrong. They did not have the right to stop Trump from speaking.
Second, there cannot be a double standard for which speech is allowed; it has to be all speech. This is a lesson that seems unlearnable by many on the left. Many of the media reported last night's events with a sort of chuckle in their voice; it's just so funny that Trump is getting this treatment. Some blamed Trump for the outcome. But consider what would happen if 1000 people came to a Bernie Sanders rally and disrupted it. It happened last fall when the Black Lives Matter people stopped a Sanders rally, but that was the really far left stopping an event by the far left. It was all in the family, so to speak, but Sanders was still denied the chance to speak. Now think what would happen if 1000 Trump supporters were to go to the Sanders rally and just scream and shout so that no one could hear the candidate. The media would go crazy about the assault on free speech. If it were a Hillary rally and the protesters were military families angry about Hillary calling the families of the Benghazi victims liars, the media would still go crazy. But it doesn't matter which way the protests are going; they are just WRONG if they stop the rights of others to speak.
America has seen this sort of mess before. In 1968, there were enormous protests because of the War in Vietnam. President Johnson couldn't give a speech anywhere other than on a military base, or so it seemed. The Democrat convention was torn apart by angry protesters. The end result was that the American people were appalled by the protests and we got Richard Nixon elected president.
Right now, TODAY, the Democrats and the Republicans other than Trump need to come forward and denounce protests that stop others from speaking. Sure, there's a lot of anger in the country. So what! If we give up the ability to let others speak, it won't be long until we ourselves lose the right to speak when our opponents take office. Our freedoms are the most important thing about America. Most of the American people know that. The protesters better be careful or their moves will backfire and there will be a major wave against them.
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