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America is not a college campus and it won't become one

Reader comment on item: De-platforming in Daily Life

Submitted by Dave (United States), Jun 2, 2020 at 10:44

Social justice warriors are trying to remake America into a college campus. Undoubtedly, the great majority of them are college educated members of the middle class. During their formative years, even before they hit college, they were taught to conform dogmatically to a certain set of ideas identified with virtue, and that any deviation from those ideas is heresy.

By those lights, heretics are usually characterized as racists. Racists are people who have the temerity to criticize anything or anyone deemed to be a victim of racism, such as blacks, Islam, Muslims, etc. Since America is racist, being pro-American or pro-military is racist. The West is racist. Third World people are never racist since they were victims of Western imperialism and racism. As David Horowitz has observed, accusing someone of racism nowadays is analogous to accusing someone of being a Communist in the 1950s; it's the virtuous slander. Racists have no freedom of speech, or any other freedoms.

The result of this thinking is not that opposing ideas should be refuted through debate, but that heresy must be rooted out. Unfortunately for the social justice warriors, burning at the stake is no longer acceptable.

There are two major points of vulnerability in this thinking. First, it is unrealistic. Sure, real racism certainly
exists, but prejudice is hardly confined to white Americans: few people can hold a candle to the Islamists when it comes to abuse of women and minorities, to offer but one example. Second, there are far too many people who did not attend college, who did attend but were not brainwashed, or who simply resent being told what to think. After all,this is America, a country with a strong tradition of free thinking.

One constructive suggestion is to foster more competition among social media providers. Another is to elect assertive politicians who understand the problem. The worst outcome is to make people feel cornered and intimidated, and that their only alternative is to resort to violence. It could happen here.

Submitting....

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Reader comments (20) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
I'm another Nextdoor Refusenik [216 words]LeslieJan 6, 2022 11:24278027
How I wish never to see the juxtaposition of these two terms "verbal" and "assault". [55 words]AnonJul 18, 2020 20:02259667
The Greater Loss of De-platforming Globally [330 words]M ToveyJun 10, 2020 18:05259246
Death of Social Skills and Malaise of Civility Now at the Threshold of Human Existence [344 words]M ToveyDec 17, 2021 11:58259246
1The most terrifying trend [125 words]JohnJun 3, 2020 03:54259105
Seeds of Sedition Planted Long Ago - Have Ancient Roots [378 words]M ToveyJun 3, 2020 15:02259105
On accepting the situation [212 words]AristarkhosJun 2, 2020 17:24259103
Do as I say - Not as You Want - Not as I Do [220 words]M ToveyJun 3, 2020 19:33259103
2Conservatives need "our" Israel [81 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Matt ParkerJun 2, 2020 16:09259101
2America is not a college campus and it won't become one [332 words]DaveJun 2, 2020 10:44259098
2Twitter v Speakers' Corner! Publisher v Platform! [305 words]dhimmi no moreJun 2, 2020 10:37259097
You seem to be unfamiliar with the 1st Amendment [83 words]Constitutional ScholarJun 2, 2020 14:27259097
1Boys and girls we have a legal scholar here no other than our dear "Constitutional Scholar" [188 words]dhimmi no moreJun 3, 2020 16:35259097
Our dear "Constitutional Scholar" and wedding cakes! This time Muslim bakers! [96 words]dhimmi no moreJun 4, 2020 06:29259097
Antifa and the Muslim Brotherhood! [79 words]dhimmi no moreJun 4, 2020 07:24259097
You didn't answer the question. [9 words]Constitutional ScholarJun 4, 2020 14:44259097
Response to Our dear "Constitutional Scholar" and wedding cakes! This time Muslim bakers! [96 words] [381 words]Constitutional ScholarJun 4, 2020 17:02259097
Our dear Constitutional Scholar nuggets of wisdom! [65 words]dhimmi no moreJun 5, 2020 06:32259097
Guiding the perplexed: The genius "Constitutional Scholar" and apples and oranges! [69 words]dhimmi no moreJun 5, 2020 10:19259097
The Babylon Bee? [26 words]dhimmi no moreJun 5, 2020 15:11259097

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