Conservative social scientist Charles Murray spoke at Middlebury on Thursday evening, but angry protesters disrupted the event.
That is the description of what happened according to the mainstream media. What actually happened is that Murray was invited to speak at the campus and accepted. When he came to the venue, there were many angry people who shouted, screamed and threatened violence if Murray spoke. As a result, the university had Murray go to a studio and videotape his lecture so that those who want could later view what he had to say. When Murray was then leaving the campus accompanied by a professor and some university security people, the group was attacked by a number of masked protesters who physically assaulted the professor, attempted to smash the car windows after Murray got into the car and generally threatened and did some major violence. No one was arrested, not even after the professor was taken to the hospital.
After this intolerable assault on free speech, the mainstream media is treating it as if nothing much happened other than some peaceful protests. In fact, many outlets blame Murray for the attack on him.
Now imagine this: Let's say that the Peace Now club at a large university (let's say Cornell) invites a spokesman for the Iranian government to come and speak to students on the merits of the Iranian nuclear deal. Now let's assume further that when the guy gets to the campus venue, he is met by 200 people in the audience including 100 who start chanting "hey, hey, ho, ho, this terrorist has got to go!" The Iranian guy tries to speak by the people chanting never stop and the event ends with no speech. Then suppose that on the way out of the building, the Iranian and the people accompanying him are physically attacked by protesters wearing masks.
Imagine the coverage of that event. How many times would we hear how hatred triumphed over free speech and how dangerous that is?
Now let's assume that the speaker was not Iranian, but instead was a transgendered woman who wanted to a bill proposed in the state legislature that would require students to use bathrooms and locker rooms, etc. for the gender on the student's birth certificate. If that person were shouted down and attacked, imagine what the media would say. No doubt, we would have a week or more of national self-criticism because "hatred" had won over "human rights".
The point is that all three of these incidents are the same thing. As a society we either respect the right of others to free speech or we don't. No one, not the media, the Democrats/leftists, the university administrations, or the federal government gets to decide who can speak and who can't. Otherwise, we no longer have free speech, just propaganda approved by one group or another.
The people who attacked Murray and his group need to be tracked down and arrested. They weren't "protesting". They were behaving like thugs and criminals. Actually they were being thugs and criminals, and now they should pay the price for such behavior.
That is the description of what happened according to the mainstream media. What actually happened is that Murray was invited to speak at the campus and accepted. When he came to the venue, there were many angry people who shouted, screamed and threatened violence if Murray spoke. As a result, the university had Murray go to a studio and videotape his lecture so that those who want could later view what he had to say. When Murray was then leaving the campus accompanied by a professor and some university security people, the group was attacked by a number of masked protesters who physically assaulted the professor, attempted to smash the car windows after Murray got into the car and generally threatened and did some major violence. No one was arrested, not even after the professor was taken to the hospital.
After this intolerable assault on free speech, the mainstream media is treating it as if nothing much happened other than some peaceful protests. In fact, many outlets blame Murray for the attack on him.
Now imagine this: Let's say that the Peace Now club at a large university (let's say Cornell) invites a spokesman for the Iranian government to come and speak to students on the merits of the Iranian nuclear deal. Now let's assume further that when the guy gets to the campus venue, he is met by 200 people in the audience including 100 who start chanting "hey, hey, ho, ho, this terrorist has got to go!" The Iranian guy tries to speak by the people chanting never stop and the event ends with no speech. Then suppose that on the way out of the building, the Iranian and the people accompanying him are physically attacked by protesters wearing masks.
Imagine the coverage of that event. How many times would we hear how hatred triumphed over free speech and how dangerous that is?
Now let's assume that the speaker was not Iranian, but instead was a transgendered woman who wanted to a bill proposed in the state legislature that would require students to use bathrooms and locker rooms, etc. for the gender on the student's birth certificate. If that person were shouted down and attacked, imagine what the media would say. No doubt, we would have a week or more of national self-criticism because "hatred" had won over "human rights".
The point is that all three of these incidents are the same thing. As a society we either respect the right of others to free speech or we don't. No one, not the media, the Democrats/leftists, the university administrations, or the federal government gets to decide who can speak and who can't. Otherwise, we no longer have free speech, just propaganda approved by one group or another.
The people who attacked Murray and his group need to be tracked down and arrested. They weren't "protesting". They were behaving like thugs and criminals. Actually they were being thugs and criminals, and now they should pay the price for such behavior.
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