Hate speech by Ron Jacobs
"Right wing bigots full of hate convince witless College Republicans to pay fascist speakers to speak at the college of their choice. Of course, the right wing bigots know that any speaking engagement featuring their hate-filled tirades will provoke a backlash against that engagement. Faculty and students will call for the cancellation of the speech and, when the speech is cancelled, the wannabe fascist will whine about the loss of their right to speak.
This moment is when the liberals weigh in. The sanctity of the right to free speech will be pulled from the trashbin where it was thrown decades ago by the Justice Department; liberals and right-wingers alike will wave their limp and meaningless flag of freedom in the face of those who oppose Hitler’s acolytes speaking on their campus. The liberals base their opposition to the protesters on a pretense that civil discourse is possible with people who champion the denial of human rights to most of humanity (if not their actual existence.)
It’s not like the fascist wannabes don’t have plenty of places to spread their swill. Their bank accounts indicate that they have an audience. Nor are they particularly interested in defending any right to free speech, real or imagined. They–like their undergraduate hosts–just want to stir up trouble and watch the liberals beat up on those to their political left. In instances where college administrators don’t back down and rescind those invitations to speak, the right-wingers hope for a protest. They hope that the protest will get out of hand when it is attacked by well-armed cops who have never given a shit about anyone’s rights, if they even think about such things," writes Ron Jacobs.
As an ex-student of University of California, I can relate to Ron's statement very well when I was a grad student more than three decades ago. Ron continues, "Freedom of speech is a given for those in power and those who protect the powerful. It is also seems to be a given for most of those whose views represent the most reactionary elements of the powerful. This becomes clear when one considers the role police play in protecting nazis, klansmen, and other fascists when these individuals hold rallies and marches."
Ron's is an interesting piece, which can be read by clicking here.
This moment is when the liberals weigh in. The sanctity of the right to free speech will be pulled from the trashbin where it was thrown decades ago by the Justice Department; liberals and right-wingers alike will wave their limp and meaningless flag of freedom in the face of those who oppose Hitler’s acolytes speaking on their campus. The liberals base their opposition to the protesters on a pretense that civil discourse is possible with people who champion the denial of human rights to most of humanity (if not their actual existence.)
It’s not like the fascist wannabes don’t have plenty of places to spread their swill. Their bank accounts indicate that they have an audience. Nor are they particularly interested in defending any right to free speech, real or imagined. They–like their undergraduate hosts–just want to stir up trouble and watch the liberals beat up on those to their political left. In instances where college administrators don’t back down and rescind those invitations to speak, the right-wingers hope for a protest. They hope that the protest will get out of hand when it is attacked by well-armed cops who have never given a shit about anyone’s rights, if they even think about such things," writes Ron Jacobs.
As an ex-student of University of California, I can relate to Ron's statement very well when I was a grad student more than three decades ago. Ron continues, "Freedom of speech is a given for those in power and those who protect the powerful. It is also seems to be a given for most of those whose views represent the most reactionary elements of the powerful. This becomes clear when one considers the role police play in protecting nazis, klansmen, and other fascists when these individuals hold rallies and marches."
Ron's is an interesting piece, which can be read by clicking here.
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