Spare_change
Gold Member
- Jun 27, 2011
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On today’s college campus, there are two types of speech; that which is deemed acceptable by liberal administrators, faculty, and students -- and everything else. It is this rigid standard of so-called “free speech” that conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos encountered last week when attempting to deliver a speech at U.C. Berkeley. Instead of being greeted by non-violent protesting and intellectual “counter-speech” -- both constitutionally protected and acceptable means by which to address content others may find objectionable -- Yiannopoulos had to be rushed to safety as violent thugs began destroying campus property in hopes of canceling his speech, in full view of campus police who refused to intervene in the chaos.
U.C. Berkeley once was a model of free speech and expression; now it serves as a disgraceful reminder of how low the First Amendment has fallen in Higher Education. And, liberal professors and administrators, like those at U.C. Berkeley, have only themselves to blame.
For decades, higher education has been the refuge of aging hippies and radical liberals lured by the prospect of shaping young minds, hopefully after their own; and, thanks to tenure, free from the risk of being fired for overstepping their bounds. Under the guise of academic freedom -- a once-sacred centerpiece for classical education -- these prima donnas were given a long leash, and allowed to inject a blatant liberal bias into their curriculum. Many of these Leftist professors then moved into administrative roles, where they went to work just as they did in the classroom to shape school policies – restrictive speech codes, sexual harassment policies with no due process, so-called “free speech zones” – in pursuit of the idyllic liberal campus filled with harmony, diversity, and tolerance. Except something went terribly wrong.
Beneath this thin veneer of campus unity was a system deliberately engineered to oppress intellectual content. In the early years, this primarily targeted traditional liberal bugaboos: conservatism, Christianity, and free market economics. Today, however, the toxic influence of identity politics has greatly expanded the “verboten” list, with demands that “trigger warnings” be given to any content that might make students uncomfortable; and speech seen as overly “white,” “straight,” or “patriarchal” is derided as “privileged,” and not worthy of debate, much less First Amendment protection.
Bob Barr - Campus Liberals Have Lost Control of the Frankenstein They Created
U.C. Berkeley once was a model of free speech and expression; now it serves as a disgraceful reminder of how low the First Amendment has fallen in Higher Education. And, liberal professors and administrators, like those at U.C. Berkeley, have only themselves to blame.
For decades, higher education has been the refuge of aging hippies and radical liberals lured by the prospect of shaping young minds, hopefully after their own; and, thanks to tenure, free from the risk of being fired for overstepping their bounds. Under the guise of academic freedom -- a once-sacred centerpiece for classical education -- these prima donnas were given a long leash, and allowed to inject a blatant liberal bias into their curriculum. Many of these Leftist professors then moved into administrative roles, where they went to work just as they did in the classroom to shape school policies – restrictive speech codes, sexual harassment policies with no due process, so-called “free speech zones” – in pursuit of the idyllic liberal campus filled with harmony, diversity, and tolerance. Except something went terribly wrong.
Beneath this thin veneer of campus unity was a system deliberately engineered to oppress intellectual content. In the early years, this primarily targeted traditional liberal bugaboos: conservatism, Christianity, and free market economics. Today, however, the toxic influence of identity politics has greatly expanded the “verboten” list, with demands that “trigger warnings” be given to any content that might make students uncomfortable; and speech seen as overly “white,” “straight,” or “patriarchal” is derided as “privileged,” and not worthy of debate, much less First Amendment protection.
Bob Barr - Campus Liberals Have Lost Control of the Frankenstein They Created