I have previously written about how cities and universities are now cancelling conservative speakers in order to protect public safety. I recently discussed this rising rationale for barring speakers, a way for officials to claim that they are still being content neutral while achieving the same result of censoring speakers. The latest such example occurred in Canada at Ryerson University where the school canceled a free speech panel after some groups criticized the appearance of conservative speakers. The school gave them what they demanded in the name of protecting public safety.
The August 22nd panel was entitled prophetically as “The Stifling of Free Speech on University Campuses” and was to include University of Toronto psychology professor Jordan Peterson and journalist Faith Goldy. Peterson has been at the heart of the pronoun controversy after he refused to use students’ preferred pronouns. Goldy is part of Rebel Media, a conservative outlet. They were to be joined by Behavioural scientist Gad Saad and psychologist Oren Amitay scheduled to join them.
Of course, the university could not say that it was yielding to the “heckler’s veto” and barring the conservatives from speaking. Instead, Ryerson Communications Director Michael Forbes cited the now mantra like safety concerns for cancelling the event.
“After a thorough security review, the University has concluded that Ryerson is not equipped to provide the necessary level of public safety for the event to go forward . . . In light of recent events, Ryerson University is prioritizing campus safety.”
One of the protest organizers, Christeen Elizabeth, said that they inundated the Ryerson with demands for cancelation under the rallying cry “No Fascists in Our City!”
In fairness to the school, the panel sponsors were considering changes in light of the intense rhetoric inflaming people on campus. However, that still raises the perverse incentive of these decisions. Protesters now routinely organize to stop speakers from appearing on campus by either intimidating the school officials or blocking the speakers. The end result is that the heckler’s veto is controlling our public discourse.
Reblogged this on necltr and commented:
NWO/UN/EU Globalists, regardless of nation or party, will use any excuse to silence voices of freedom no matter how thoughtfully and peaceably uttered.
Balderdash.
Goons win another one.
Didn’t Dubya have free speech zones for the protesters?
I don’t know. He likes riding bicycles and speaks with a Texas twang. What does any of that have to do with this university canceling this free speech panel?
He set a precedent. After secret service roped or pened protesters sometimes a mile away, it seems to be the answer for protection for Dubya. As we wrote about before, Free speech, as in art, it seems to be in the eye of the beholder.
He set a precedent? For how the Secret Service protects the President? And again, that has what to do with this Free Speech Panel? Maybe one of the agenda items was to discuss how Bush II’s Secret Service roped off protesters.
Come on, you’re desperately trying to tie this somewhere that has nothing whatsoever to do with it.
Olly, This happened in Canada, Their rules for free speech are not known to Americans , hell they don’t have “FOX NEWS” My tie in was just the point that what one country says is free speech is not another’s free speech. One can make a fool of himself in one and not another. America is not the leader in the free world in free speech any more.
My tie in was just the point that what one country says is free speech is not another’s free speech.
No. One country’s positive law differs from another country’s positive law. With some areas of ambiguity around the edges, ‘free speech’ means the same thing everywhere. Some places value it and some do not.
Well said. I was going to go with the My Cousin Vinny, grits boil differently on different stoves approach, but decided to just beat my head against a wall. 🙂
The Secret Service was not protecting the president, the president was protecting the NWO Globalists and Republican Party in Boston at the time. He arrogantly and unConstitutionally declared a small, penned-in area a “free speech zone.” The United States is a free s speech zone, but t he creators of the Project for a New American Century want us at war, silent, and submissive while they strive to attain the goals of global tyranny. If you didn’t know, the rulers of the UK are working towards the same objective.
the president was protecting the NWO Globalists and Republican Party in Boston at the time.
We gonna hear that fire don’t melt steel from you too>?
Because you asked, yes. For those who don’t know but should, jet fuel is a form of kerosene and burns at a temperature far too low to melt steel, especially that in the WTC buildings.
If fantasy helps you feel better.
“Based on its comprehensive investigation, NIST concluded that the WTC towers collapsed because: (1) the impact of the planes severed and damaged support columns, dislodged fireproofing insulation coating the steel floor trusses and steel columns, and widely dispersed jet fuel over multiple floors; and (2) the subsequent unusually large number of jet-fuel ignited multi-floor fires (which reached temperatures as high as 1,000 degrees Celsius, or 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit) significantly weakened the floors and columns with dislodged fireproofing to the point where floors sagged and pulled inward on the perimeter columns. This led to the inward bowing of the perimeter columns and failure of the south face of WTC 1 and the east face of WTC 2, initiating the collapse of each of the towers. Both photographic and video evidence—as well as accounts from the New York City Police Department aviation unit during a half-hour period prior to collapse—support this sequence for each tower.”
https://www.nist.gov/el/faqs-nist-wtc-towers-investigation
The NIST Report has all the credibility of the Warren Commission Report. I prefer the statement of American Architects and Engineers (over two thousand members), other reports, testimony of those present, evidence left after the collapse and what was done with it, circumstantial evidence, common sense, and Building 7.
The NIST Report has all the credibility of the Warren Commission Report.
That it does. Highly credible and very inconvenient to the self-aggrandizing twits who trade in conspiracy fantasy.
You can’t get close enough to him to shoot him. Boo hoo.
I never support the assassination of our president no matter who he is and regardless of party. Self-aggrandizing twit? You seem to be running from relative facts by running for personal attacks, true or false. For Susan’s sake, I hope you never find her.
This seeker of facts in a world of reality never had and never will have a desire to shoot any president. You can not say the same about about the very many in government and out of government who disgracefully, criminally, and treasonously encourage the killing of President Trump. Late night, morning, afternoon, evening, night, whenever and wherever, such desires are way beneath contempt.
W was a gentleman, taught by Barbara Bush. Great memories!
These kids won’t be kids forever, and collectively, the rest of us still outnumber them. Hopefully an already abysmal enrollment rate will continue to decline. If I had kids, they would not be attending any of these universities. The faculty could very well end up losing what they have anyway, so why not stand up and do the right thing now? They are all cowards, as far as I’m concerned.
Not any more.
Goldy was fired after her sympathetic coverage of the neo-Nazis in Charlottesville was coupled with her doing a podcast on The Daily Stormer.
The Rebel itself has some serious problems after “many” of its best known contributors quit in disgust after its Charlottesville coverage. E.g. Many conservatives quit Rebel because of its pathetically low standards; Goldy was fired because she couldn’t live up to them.
http://www.canadalandshow.com/faith-goldy-gone-rebel/
http://nationalpost.com/news/canada/politicians-contributors-distance-themselves-as-rebel-medias-meltdown-continues/wcm/23597cc0-4c97-4e64-bea4-999bd870f1f1
“Security” is the new “shut up”. Mark Steyn:
“The problem is that for Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s bravery to be effective depends on the tour promoters’ bravery. And the tour promoters’ bravery depends on whichever hotel group she’s booked with to be brave. And the hotel group’s bravery depends on whichever corporate entity owns the event venues to be brave. And the corporate entity’s bravery depends on the insurers’ bravery. And the insurers’ bravery depends on someone ponying up an extra gazillion dollars for security costs.”
Weren’t there some people on about how “money isn’t speech?”
Huh.
Mr. Kowal, just to point out that ‘civility’ is the other new shut up. There’s a reason Tom Van Dyke was banned by the smarmy crew you used to work with, and a reason I was eventually banned as well. Didn’t have to do with anything my grandmother would have called ‘manners’.
Memo to Darren Smith: did you know the phrase “and diet***” triggers your spam filter?
purchasing,
physical plant,
the career services office,
the registrar’s office,
the treasury apparat,
and administrators employed in the comptroller’s office,
The people of good character in higher ed are faculty members who have nothing to do with inner-rings
The pretense incorporated in your remarks is that the administrators act in good faith. They do not.