“When a city places more stock in protecting illegal immigrants than defending the First Amendment rights of American citizens, something is dangerously wrong.”
The rising tension between UC Berkeley and Ann Coulter caused the organization sponsoring her speaking event to completely back out. Despite UC Berkeley rescheduling the event for a week when classes would not be in session, Ms. Coulter stood her ground and said that she would be showing up anyway–that is, until Young America’s Foundation said it would no longer participate. “Young America’s Foundation will not jeopardize the safety of its staff or students,” the group explained. Without support or security, Coulter was forced to cancel the event.
Law enforcement officials in Berkeley had previously warned that there would be an imminent threat of violence against Coulter if the event were allowed to take place. What I find most disturbing about this situation is the fact that Berkeley’s mayor didn’t stand up for free speech by assuring Ms. Coulter that she would have adequate protection. The Berkeley College Republicans—the group who invited Ms. Coulter to speak— also backed out amidst the growing hostile atmosphere. It’s appalling that riots over words are breaking out in 2017 throughout the United States–at Berkeley, no less!
The cancelation of this event speaks volumes of Berkeley’s discrimination against conservative speakers. When a city places more stock in protecting illegal immigrants than defending the First Amendment rights of American citizens, something is dangerously wrong. Ann Coulter can’t be expected to show up to Berkeley alone. Since her sponsors bailed on her, they should also take some of the heat for allowing threats and intimidation to guide their decision making. Extreme liberals argue that conservatives only choose to speak at Berkeley to provoke confrontations for publicity. How is that even an argument? They’re basically saying, “We don’t want your kind in these parts.” The last time I checked, California was still part of the United States.
By saying conservatives should be silenced in Berkeley, liberals are making a reckless choice to let violence and crime govern. No one should be silenced. All speech is protected speech. Ann Coulter isn’t the one out in the streets advocating for militant action against opposing political parties. Ann Coulter isn’t masking her face while she expresses her point of view and opinions. No, that would be Berkeley’s extremists.
In the wake of the news of Ann Coulter’s cancellation, conservative speaker Milo Yiannopoulos has vowed to follow through with a planned event dubbed MILO’s Free Speech Week. Scheduled for the fall, Yiannopoulos plans to bring various groups together—to include stops on UC Berkeley campus—for a weeklong celebration of free speech. I can imagine how that will go over. Nevertheless, he has vowed to “bring an army” if needed.
It’s unfortunate and discouraging that conservatives feel threatened in certain parts of the United States. UC Berkeley has turned into a dangerous battleground in its war on conservatives. Like Ms. Coulter herself has said, “It’s a sad day for free speech.”
