Posted on 04/13/2005 9:18:54 AM PDT by hinterlander
"
though liberals do a great deal of talking about hearing other points of view, it sometimes shocks them to learn that there are other points of view."
--William F. Buckley, National Review, Jan 11, 1956.
On March 31, 900 students, faculty and community members gathered in a Western Michigan University lecture hall to hear Pat Buchanan talk about immigration and the culture war. The conservatives on campus, led by Young America's Foundation (YAF) supporter Matt Hall, had worked tirelessly to bring Buchanan to their campus. They had a track record of hosting and organizing many successful events featuring YAF speakers and convinced the school to provide them with a substantial portion of Buchanan's honorarium. As in most cases though, YAF underwrote a portion of the fee because the school didn't cover his entire honorarium.
As the event approached, many leftists complained of the timing because it was scheduled on a day to "celebrate" Cesar Chavez. A city commissioner, faculty members and others all expressed their outrage that the conservatives would dare schedule a counter program to their events. This is a typical tactic of campus leftists. They always create an excuse in an attempt to cancel an event or silence ideas they dislike. They purport our events' promotional materials to be "offensive" or that the event is held on the wrong date. These complaints only underscore the left's insecurities. On most college campuses, liberal speakers and events dominate campus life and they want to keep their monopoly even if they trample on students' free speech rights.
When conservative speakers and their ideas are rarely heard on college campuses, why would the left claim to be threatened? After all, freedom of speech is supposedly embraced, valued, and taught in the halls of higher education! The left's vitriolic response only indicates they want to indoctrinate, not educate.
Every indication suggests students were eager to hear Buchanan's ideas. Prior to the start of the speech, Hall and the other organizers brought in more chairs to meet the demand. There was an open question-and-answer session, but the left didn't want "questions answered." They want to intimidate and silence speakers. As Buchanan was answering a question describing neo-conservatives, a lone leftist ran up to the front of the hall and as he reached the podium, he doused him with salad dressing (see photos below). This attack caused Mr. Buchanan to cut the event short.
This latest incident is included in a list of attacks on David Horowitz at Butler University, Bill Kristol at Earlham College and Ann Coulter at the University of Arizona. Campus security was present at both YAF lectures by Buchanan and Coulter, but in each case they refused to properly protect our speakers. At the Buchanan lecture at WMU, student organizers approached security asking them to move toward the front of the hall so they would be in a better position to react. Security refused. Following the attack, the conservative students restrained the protestor first, not campus security.
In addition, the response from WMU administrators has been lackluster at best. Several WMU administrators were at the event, including the vice president of finance, the dean of students and the director of student activities. Not one campus administrator approached Buchanan to ask if he was OK or to apologize for the attack.
The university president has yet to publicly apologize to Buchanan, although I am told a letter will be sent to his home. They have not made any calls for leftist professors and students to take free speech "sensitivity" training as they would if the same incident happened to a liberal speaker. They have helped create a climate of hostility to conservatives, and they refuse to take adequate steps to ensure this will not happen again.
This weak response from the school only emboldens other intolerant leftists when they realize there will be no strong repercussions from their actions. After all, the two who attacked Coulter at the University of Arizona had their charges dismissed. Conservative activists must expose the left's dirty tricks and demand leftist agitators receive the same punishments and penalties as any other criminal.
Mr. Coyle is director of campus programs for the Young Americas Foundation.
I hear the Hell's Angels have some experience in providing event security...
"There is a big to-do on Flynn's blog about some other trouble that occured that day at the college in a confrontation between the event coordinator and an liberal professor."
Please freep me a link to that discussion. I'm not sure what "Flynn's blog" is...
I really doubt there will be backpedaling. In the 60's, when people got hurt, the left's reaction was denial and, when that failed, whining about good causes. There has been no fundamental change in leftist thinking since then.
No real damage? He ruined a man's suit! I guess I'm a liberal, I would've kicked his butt and pressed charges.
"In the 60's, when people got hurt, the left's reaction was denial"
It still is. Everytime theres violence involving liberals they immediately claim the perp was a govt "plant". One of the DUmmies in the DUmmie FUnnies made the claim about the guy who attacked Buchanan.
"I guess I'm a liberal, I would've kicked his butt and pressed charges."
I don't think you're a liberal because I would have done the same as you.
Ok, that is a link that I would never have thought of! Good info; thanks for satisfying my curiosity!
http://www.flynnfiles.com/ top story
Right now that may be the case, but how long until one of these liberals throws something besides pies and salad dressing? Right after David Horowitz was attacked at Butler University, a poster at DU said he wanted to see people throwing sh!t pies at conservative speakers. What happens when one of them decides it's time to drain someone's car battery into a jar and throw that at an Ann Coulter or a Pat Buchanan? Hell, for that matter why not just take a gun? If they can smuggle a pie into these events, sneaking in a gun would be child's play.
I guarantee you it's going to happen. The media is either totally ignoring these attacks, or else they're tittering away about them and calling people like Buchanan and Horowitz crybabies and whiners who can't take what they dish out. There was a segment about this on Hannity & Colmes with Horowitz Monday night, and while Colmes mouthed the proper sympathetic words, you could tell they were about as sincere as Bubba's crocodile tears at Ron Brown's funeral.
All this is going to do is encourage these lunatics to keep pushing the envelope harder and harder by escalating the level of violence in their attacks. Especially when the universities these speakers have been invited to refuse to improve their security at these events , and refuse to punish the attackers that don't get away.
Campus security was present at both YAF lectures by Buchanan and Coulter, but in each case they refused to properly protect our speakers. At the Buchanan lecture at WMU, student organizers approached security asking them to move toward the front of the hall so they would be in a better position to react. Security refused. Following the attack, the conservative students restrained the protestor first, not campus security.
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For whom was Campus security concerned about? At football games, security ring the playing field. In a prison, security is posted at the primeter.
Has anyone targeted these student's for "falsely imprisoning" this guy yet? That's another standard MO for these leftists going after people who thwart their plans.
The guy who pied Horowitz Butler University got away, but apparently a black conservative professor was in the audience and attempted to catch this guy. A female student (leftist) then claimed that he shoved and attacked her, and has filed a complaint. Of course, the university is "investigating" it, but knowing the way these "investigations" go any more, this professor will probably end up losing his job, and his faculty colleagues, who would probably sell their mothers into slavery to get photographed standing next to Ward Churchill, will probably not lift a finger to help him.
Could be a good idea, until it got out of hand. I'm reminded of the Rolling Stones who posted Hell's Angels for security at a concert.
It was self-defense.
I was assaulted by a man with a mow-hawk years ago, and this triggered a repressed emotional reaction.
I thought the salad dressing was liquid anthrax.
I'm an oil and vinegar kind of guy.
The gun made me do it.
I've been appearing on Hardball too much recently and the stress got to me.
I was born in Mexico, and I'm just doing the job no American wants to do.
It's Bush's fault.
L
This is sick. The leaders of the Democratic Party need to publicly condemn this behavior.
Do you know the lecture hall that was used for this event?
If my memory serves me right, I think that is where career fairs are held. If so, your right, the audience entrance would have been at the "back" and the KVCC student would have had an easy escape just off of the left of the stage to the stairs.
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