A few days ago, students and staff of the prestigious Emory University in Georgia awoke to a horrifying sight. A small cabal of undergraduates, likely supported by some shadowy outside group, had invaded the normally-quiet college in the dead of night and utterly transformed it. By the time the sun’s rays crept over Atlanta, the deed was done.
What terror had been wreaked upon Emory you ask? Well, these midnight marauders had done the unthinkable – they had used sidewalk chalk to write pro-Donald Trump messages all across campus. I’ll just let the full gravity of this abominable act sink in for a moment.
Understandably, many of Emory’s students – after they recovered from an undoubtedly traumatizing experience – were appalled that their university would allow such disgusting acts to take place on campus. They gathered in protest to demand that the administration rectify…
Sorry, I had just had to step away from my laptop for a moment so I could stop laughing.
Are you serious, people? No, I mean, are you really serious? For such a renowned institution of learning, Emory has apparently failed to impart even the most basic understanding of the First Amendment to its students. When these…let’s call them “activists” descended upon the administration building, the university president could have lectured them on freedom of speech or discussed how different viewpoints – even if you don’t agree with or like them – must be permitted. You know, things you typically learn in fourth grade. Instead, the administration used university funds to provide counseling for students who suffered psychological damage from this “incident.” Dr. Ajay Nair, the Dean of Campus Life at Emory, wrote a barely-comprehensible article in which he tried to argue that the messages were targeted because they had been written “in unacceptable locations,” not because of content, yet also said the messages “take a profound toll on students.”
Look, I’m not a fan of Donald Trump. I think he’s a demagogic opportunist with no sense of true conservative ideology who possesses a moral compass that is shaky at best. The man is a liar, a hypocrite and a racist. I’m not writing this article to support his campaign or to blast those who oppose him.
I’m writing this article to help expose the widespread hypocrisy and absolute absurdity of so many liberal activists on college campuses. From Oberlin students outraged over General Tso’s chicken being improperly prepared and demanding that student protesters be paid by the university to Missouri undergraduates assaulting a reporter that had the temerity to try taking pictures of a protest, there is a highly-visible segment of college-aged liberals that seem to have no sense of self-awareness.
This isn’t activism. This isn’t effecting change. This is merely pathetic. The idea that some of my peers demand that their universities censor conservatives or anyone else they happen to disagree with is disheartening. The fact that many of these universities acquiesce to these absurd demands is disgusting.
For some reason, many of these college left-wingers can’t seem to grasp the most basic tenets of freedom of speech. So let me try to put it in plain words.
You are not entitled to be “safe” from opinions that diverge from yours.
You are not entitled to special treatment because you claim your views are being
“marginalized.”
You are not the arbiter of what constitutes racism.
You are not special for your views.
We live in a country that is made strong by opposing opinions. Democratic or Republican, liberal or conservative, pro-Trump or feeling the Bern, we all have a right to express our views. These students that seek to silence their political opposites are engaging in outright censorship.
Grow up. The world isn’t some big happy-go-lucky College Democrats meeting. You’re going to meet people that think your views are patently ridiculous and won’t hesitate to tell you that (incidentally, allow me to introduce myself – my name’s Adam and I think you’re being absurd). You’re going to encounter opinions that you might find offensive. Get over it. Fight them with logic and debate – don’t claim some right to be protected from their ideas.
The real world isn’t a “safe space” – and it never will be.
