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Left's culture of intolerance creating a new generation of conservatives


Student demands for censorship get a lot of coverage. Spiked Online’s Free Speech University Rankings, now in its third annual edition, argues that there is a “crisis of free speech on campus”.

By analysing the censorious policies and actions that have taken place on British campuses, Spiked concluded that 63.5 per cent of universities actively censor speech and 30.5 per cent stifle speech through excessive regulation. You can barely go a few days without encountering a new op-ed covering censorship on campus.

Maajid Nawaz describes the students demanding censorship as members of the “regressive left”. Milo Yiannopoulos calls them “snowflakes”.

With all of this book-burning and platform-denying madness sweeping up much of the media’s interest in campus culture, the gradual rise of another group of students has gone under-reported. British and American millennials and post-millennials – also known as ‘Gen Z’ – are warming to conservatism.


To understand why this is happening, it is important to consider the vast changes that have taken place in Western student politics over the last fifty years.

Students were once in favour of free speech. In the mid-1960s, students of the University of California, Berkeley undertook a mass-movement for free speech. Under the leadership of Leftist heroes like Jack Weinberg, Bettina Aptheker and Jackie Goldberg, students demanded that the university administration retracted their on-campus ban of political activities. They demanded their freedom of speech.

Under the leadership of Leftist heroes like Jack Weinberg, Bettina Aptheker and Jackie Goldberg, students demanded that the university administration retracted their on-campus ban of political activities. They demanded their freedom of speech. Mario Savio delivered what is generally recognised as the iconic speech of the University of California, Berkeley's (UCB) free speech movement. Here is the speech’s most powerful section:


“There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part. You can't even passively take part! And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop! And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it — that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!”


Savio’s speech helped push the movement towards success. Berkeley students won their full rights. Students, now liberated from the “machine” of university censorship, were able to create the anti-Vietnam student movement, another famous campus protest.

Nowadays, the student Left are unwilling to honour Savio’s legacy. On the 2nd of February, violent protests at Berkeley shut down a talk by popular conservative speaker Milo Yiannopoulos. Instead of maintaining a liberal and free atmosphere for speech and argument, Berkeley students have become the gears, wheels and levers of the machine that Savio wanted to stop.




http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2017/02/17/student-lefts-culture-intolereance-creating-new-generation-ofconservatives


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It's too bad, Mario Savio died so young-- 20 years ago at 53 of a heart attack. It would be interesting to hear his commentary on the state of free speech in America today.


"You only have power over people so long as you don't take everything away from them." Solzhenitsyn

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It would be interesting to hear his commentary on the state of free speech in America today.

You already know what would happen.

The left would call him a "white mansplainer" when he inevitably sided with Milo.



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That's true. He was Italian. And if he had been Mexican, they would say he was an "Uncle Tomas" or something unprintable.

"You only have power over people so long as you don't take everything away from them." Solzhenitsyn

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Instead of maintaining a liberal and free atmosphere for speech and argument, Berkeley students have become the gears, wheels and levers of the machine that Savio wanted to stop.

Exactly. The "antifa" are the fascists of the future.


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The left isn't even hiding it anymore.

They claim to be against sexism, but then use blatantly sexist terms like "mansplaining".

They've become a bunch of pro corporate, globalist sheep, unable to form opinions.


The Republicans have some dastardly members, but mainly because they welcome more opinions then the Democrats do. Heck, they rigged their own primary because one candidate dared to speak out against corporate money funding Hillary's campaign and the wars she started.

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Just as you said.

If there was one word that describes "Liberal" or "Left wing" or "Democrat" ideology today, it would be "hypocrisy".

"You only have power over people so long as you don't take everything away from them." Solzhenitsyn

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I wish the left were for what they claim. But they're not.


I'm a pragmatist. I realize they aren't for protecting the environment, because they want more immigration. The Republicans aren't pro environment either, but at least they're open about it and want a better standard of living for Americans.

I love free speech, but the "antifa" does not.

I hate citizens United, but Clinton loooooooves getting those campaign funds.

I'm all for title IX but libs want men to be eligible to play women's sports.

I'm glad Jim Webb and Bernie Sanders left that sorry excuse of a party and I wish Lincoln Chafee would too.

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I wish the left were for what they claim. But they're not.

Agreed. I would vote for FDR, Truman, Ike, JFK or LBJ today, if there were here. All were more for American workers MORE than the actions and phony speak of today's "Democrats".


I'm a pragmatist. I realize they aren't for protecting the environment, because they want more immigration. The Republicans aren't pro environment either, but at least they're open about it and want a better standard of living for Americans.

Agreed. I don't believe "Drill baby Drill" is the answer to "jobs" or anything else other than can Exxon Mobil et all continue to make more money than any corporations in the history of forever. So you weigh the pros and the cons. And as you said, the Dems are not really going to do anything for the "environment" since they want limitless immigration. And I can tell you, there is no one more "unenlightened" about environmental "footprint" than a family of illegals and 4 or 5 anchors. I've seen it for 35 years.

I love free speech, but the "antifa" does not.

Same here.

I hate citizens United, but Clinton loooooooves getting those campaign funds.

Double, double, same here with a cherry on top. Like I said, "hypocrisy", or what they call "Neoliberalism".

I'm all for title IX but libs want men to be eligible to play women's sports.

I was okay with LGBT. They've gone overboard with adding new letters. There is a difference among the sexes for the vast majority of humans. The ones they call "cis". At some point, it has passed common sense and biological reality and become like a bad vanity license plate. When activists are howling that girls be allowed to join the Boy Scouts, or vice versa, it's jumped the shark.

I'm glad Jim Webb and Bernie Sanders left that sorry excuse of a party and I wish Lincoln Chafee would too.

I respect them both. Bernie less since he sold out to Hillary. If the Democrats had run Jim Webb, I'd vote for him. Same with Lincoln Chaffee. The Dems seem to be doubling down on why they drove guys like you and me from their party. Pelosi and Schumer, will telling Tim Ryan to go to hell.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2016/11/29/five-things-know-rep-tim-ryan/94619986/

When a political party essentially says that an entire demographic of LEGAL citizens has no place in it, other than to repeat "mea culpa" and get flogged, then it should come as no surprise that said demographic tells them to "go to hell" at the election booth.

"You only have power over people so long as you don't take everything away from them." Solzhenitsyn

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