As many of us are aware, a group of people came together to protest an event featuring controversial far-right political figure Milo Yiannopolous that was being held at the University of California at Berkely. These people engaged in what can only be described as a riot. They destroyed a large amount of property, both on the campus and in the surrounding area. According to Mercury News, a press release from campus police described, "fires that were deliberately set, one outside the campus Amazon outlet; Molotov cocktails that caused generator-powered spotlights to catch fire; commercial-grade fireworks thrown at police officers; barricades pushed into windows and skirmishes within the crowd were among the evening’s violent acts.”
I find it painfully ironic that the birthplace of the Free Speech movement was involved in a free speech controversy. As Mercury News puts it, "The riots left many wondering if free speech had hit a roadblock on the liberal campus ."
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The university, in of itself, detested the riots that transpired on their campus. The Berkely College Republicans, the event hosts, were beyond disappointed in the actions of the rioters, "Last night, the Berkeley College Republicans’ constitutional right to free speech was silenced by criminals and thugs seeking to cancel Milo Yiannopoulos’ tour. Their success is a defeat for civilized society and the free exchange of ideas on college campuses across America.”
Unsurprisingly, President Trump wasted no time in responding to the events that transpired at UC Berkeley. Trump tweeted, "If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view — NO FEDERAL FUNDS?”
Allow me to respond to Trump's incredibly reactionary tweet. First of all, it's not within the President's "jurisdiction" to diminish or entirely eliminate a public university's funding. Secondly, if Trump were able to this, he would be punishing the thousands upon thousands of current and prospective UC Berkeley students for the actions of a few hundred people, most of them not being UC Berkeley students.
However, allow me also to respond to the people that are cheering this on. This is not what you want. If events like this repeat themselves across the country, the false narrative of "the oppressive and hypocritical left" will continue to spread like wildfire until it becomes the stereotype of liberals as a whole.
In summary, no matter what side of the politcal spectrum you're on if you support and love your right to free speech, you absolutely cannot and should not support the UC Berkely riots.
