Violence against words?

So this is where it leads.

Watching the news about the Berkeley riots in response to the speaking engagement of Milo Yiannopoulos, I saw one of the rioters interviewed. She stated, “We have a right to defend ourselves against his speech.”  She did not see the behavior as unlawful or destructive, but rather the violent and destructive demonstration was just their defense – to words!  Is this, then, the ultimate result of safe spaces and the right to be protected from micro-aggressions? That people can silence with violence those words that upset them?

Where, oh where are the adults?  Those we often look to – our national heroes and leaders - are in large part encouraging this behavior.  Please Stop!  Violence will not stop people from having views that differ.  But, listening and having a dialog might stop the hate for those differing views and the people who espouse them.

For the record, I really know very little about Milo.  My impression is that he is an entertainer who spouts forth some pretty obnoxious words.  But they are just words and he has the right to say them.  I remember many years ago when one of the examples given of the importance of our right to free speech was that the ACLU fought for the right of the Nazi party to march through a Jewish neighborhood that housed many Holocaust survivors. It is not that the ACLU didn’t understand how upsetting this march would be to those Jews.  It was not that the ACLU believed in or agreed with the Nazi views.  But the ACLU did believe in the U.S. Constitution and the sacred right to free speech of everyone, even those with hateful or offensive words.  But now, it seems that at least some people think that freedom of speech only applies to certain views – views with which they agree.  And, they seem to think that they have a right to silence, in any way possible, those who speak words that they find repugnant. 

This is not the United States that the Constitution and its first Amendment right to free speech envisioned.  Such beliefs are more appropriate for a totalitarian regime where only certain thoughts, views, and words are permitted.  Please do not accept this type of behavior because where it leads is likely not the country that any of us really want.

Let’s once again teach our children to be tolerant of views with which we do not agree.  Quietly and peacefully protest speech that you find repugnant, but let that speech be heard, just as you want speech with which you do agree to be heard.  You do not have the right to silence words just because they offend you, and certainly do not have the right to do so with violence.