Most of us free-speech advocates meet the challenge of having somebody with whom we disagree on the same planet with us by engaging in civil argument or not attending his or her lectures. But that is not the Berkeley Way.
This is what happened when Milo Yiannopoulos, who writes for Breitbart News Network, was invited by college Republicans to speak on campus:
Officials at the University of California, Berkeley canceled the appearance of a right-wing speaker on Wednesday after protesters swarmed campus, lighting fires and smashing windows.
University police placed the campus on lockdown and ordered protesters to disperse, but crowds remained—some dancing in celebration of the cancellation, others wearing masks and destroying property. As of 8 p.m. local time, there were no reports of arrests.
Campus officials said about 1,500 people had gathered for the protest. Officials said in a statement they canceled Wednesday’s event “amid violence, destruction of property, and out of concern for public safety.”
The campus police told students to leave the area immediately and said additional outside resources were being brought in to deal with the “violent demonstration that has been taking place.”
Fifteen hundred people gathered to protest a speaker, some engaging in violence, some destroying property. Think about that. I've noticed that more and more the left refuses to engage in conversation (or simply boycott an event, if they don't want to talk it over). All arguments are reduced to emotions or virtue signaling.
The college administration did put out a statement saying that, though they did not support Yiannopoulos' views, they regretted the outbreak of violence on a campus that had a history of upholding the right of free speech.
Shouldn't the college also make it a goal to educate students so that they can argue with those holding diverse views rather than expressing their "opinions" through rioting?