The heckler’s veto is alive and well. Using violence to stop people from saying things you don’t like is the Berkeley way.
Phil Matier and Andy Ross, San Francisco Chronicle:
In the aftermath of a right-wing rally Sunday that ended with anarchists chasing attendees from a downtown park, Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin urged UC Berkeley on Monday to cancel conservatives’ plans for a Free Speech Week next month to avoid making the city the center of more violent unrest.
“I don’t want Berkeley being used as a punching bag,” said Arreguin…
The mayor wants UC Berkeley to halt plans by a conservative campus group, the Berkeley Patriot, to host right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos during its scheduled Free Speech Week from Sept. 24-27…
“I obviously believe in freedom of speech, but there is a line between freedom of speech and then posing a risk to public safety,” the mayor said.
“Obviously.”
“But.”
The mayor wants to capitulate to the will of an angry mob, rather than allow people to say things that the angry mob doesn’t like. What he’s telling us is that he answers to Antifa. He doesn’t run Berkeley, they do.
It’s not the fault of those masked, black-clad thugs that this is happening. They’re just doing what Arreguin would like to do. No, this is all on account of those dirty Nazis. And “Nazi” means whatever it needs to mean.
That’s what gives them the right to do things like this:
Clip is from live chopper feed by @kcranews in #Berkeley. No cops seen, this is #Antifa. https://t.co/vQHUculNTX pic.twitter.com/AJvowKzbev
— Nick Short 🇺🇸 (@PoliticalShort) August 27, 2017
Free speech only applies to speech that doesn’t make you angry, spoken by people who don’t make you angry. And if anybody just happens to be in your way when you feel like beating someone up, too bad. That’s what this country is all about, right?
The only thing I like less than the alt-right is the suppression of free speech on American soil.
Ben Shapiro is also scheduled to speak in Berkeley soon, and he had this to say:
Re: Berkeley:
1. Berkeley has agreed to host us. They say they support free speech.
2. They required us to pay a $15K security fee. (1/)— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) August 28, 2017
3. That means the police should damn well do their jobs and stop violence. No excuses.
4. ATTENDEES, DO NOT SHOW UP FOR VIOLENCE. (2/)— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) August 28, 2017
5. If the police refuse to do their jobs, or are told not to be administration or government figures, Congress should act. (3/)
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) August 28, 2017
6. Those who engage in political violence break the covenant of civilized society. The police must enforce that covenant. (4/)
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) August 28, 2017
7. The alt-right is repulsive. Antifa is repulsive. We should all stand together against political violence. Join us, Berkeley. (5/)
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) August 28, 2017
8. To sign up for notification about attending our event, here's the link. https://t.co/CqQb8CjGey (6/)
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) August 28, 2017
9. I hope to see everyone there for a civilized discussions about issues. If you're there for violence, stay home or be arrested. (/END)
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) August 28, 2017
Ice-T called it almost 30 years ago:
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