Spineless Cowards

AP Photo/Charles Krupa

Let's face it: academic institutions (and many Blue cities) are run by spineless cowards. 

They are willing to see conservatives shouted down, harassed, driven off campuses, and persecuted. But when it comes to students who are engaged in planned takeovers and assaults on individuals and police officers, they cower in fear. They mumble nostrums about "free speech," ignoring that there are time place and manner restrictions. 

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They will hold tribunals and silence anybody who knows what a woman is, but students "dearresting" their vile compatriots who have committed actual crimes is A-OK. 

Some of their fear is driven by a desire to show solidarity with Leftists, regardless of their acts. But much of it is because they created these monsters and know that they are on the edge of actual riots, and riots on prestigious campuses are a really bad look especially if lots of people get hurt. 

These students are following instructions that explicitly describe how to assault police and get away with it. They celebrate the effectiveness of mob action. They have "occupied" places and make demands. And administrators are negotiating with them instead of treating them like adults in a civilized society. 

Of course, universities don't believe in civilization, which is a problem for them. As with all these elites, they expect they will be exempt from the consequences of their ideology. All this unrest is supposed to be directed outward, not at themselves. 

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In one of my few disagreements with FIRE, whom I admire greatly, I strongly approve of UT-Austin's use of (very minor) force against student protesters on campus. I agree wholeheartedly with freedom of speech on campuses, and even the vile sentiments expressed by the protesters should be tolerated and rebutted, not silenced. 

But don't confuse what is happening on campuses and in the streets of our cities with speech. Marches require permits. Campuses have rules, and they don't only apply when you want them to. There is no leftist-violence or occupation exception to the laws and rules. Free speech is protected speech; assaulting and harassing people is not. 

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FIRE rightly is concerned about the incident in which a journalist got caught up in a melee between police and the protesters, but I haven't seen them get outraged about student protesters blocking journalists from entering the encampments. Perhaps I missed that, but you get the point. The students aren't interested in free speech; they only have tantrums and expect everybody to treat those tantrums as persuasion. And journalists in the midst of a riot should be aware that being there is risky. 

And what of the freedom of the students who actually want to get an education at these institutions? They have paid for the privilege, and yet the universities are denying it to them because they give in to people who have no right to be there or to disrupt the campus. 

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We live in a world where a person saying something that annoys a liberal gets censored and driven out of polite society. And we live in a world we our elite cede the streets to violent people protesting in support of terrorists. 

These students have a right to be stupid, ignorant, hateful, and to express their antisemitism. I don't believe they should be censored, despite the fact that they and their liberal allies work tirelessly to silence me and mine. 

But don't expect me to sympathize with them as they violate laws, make life a living hell for the people they come in contact with, and spread hatred against others. If they break the law, arrest them. Prosecute them. Jail them. 

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And if they resist, they deserve what they get. Police should use only enough force as is necessary to disperse the crowd, but they should use no less either. 

Of course, school administrators are spineless cowards, so don't expect the police to be invited to many campuses--especially not the Ivy League schools which sell themselves as spas and prestige factories. 

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John Stossel 8:30 AM | December 22, 2024
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