Posted on 09/16/2017 9:51:49 AM PDT by Kaslin
The city of Berkeley was on alert. Barriers were erected to stop violent protesters. Bank of America boarded up windows. Police were authorized to use pepper spray if merited. Traumatized UC Berkeley students were offered counseling if needed. A campus crowd chanted, “Hey, hey, ho, ho, white supremacists have got to go.” And a large sign read, “We say no to white supremacist b-s.”
What was causing this disturbance? Why the massive disruption? As tweeted by Tariq Nasheed, “Suspected white supremacist Ben Shapiro, who tries to mask his racist rhetoric by claiming to be jewish, is in Berkeley now #BenAtBerkeley.”
Suspected white supremacist Ben Shapiro, who tries to mask his racist rhetoric by claiming to be jewish, is in Berkeley now #BenAtBerkeley— Tariq Nasheed (@tariqnasheed) September 14, 2017
Yes, the well-known, physically intimidating, white supremacist, Ben Shapiro, had invaded the formerly safe confines of Berkeley to deliver a hate-filled, Trump-lauding, neo-Nazi, racist screed that would doubtless lead to an orgy of on-campus violence. Oh, the thought of it! And those poor, terrified students! What did they do to deserve such a fate?
Unfortunately for the radical left, none of this is true – except that Ben Shapiro gave a talk at Berkeley on Thursday night, speaking against “campus thuggery” and violence in political discourse. Everything else in this description is complete fantasy – oh yes, other than that many students were no doubt traumatized by Ben’s presence, having been whipped into hysteria by the lies and propaganda of the radical-left misinformation machine.
To be sure, I enhanced some of the anti-Shapiro rhetoric a little, just to round out the picture. But the substance of it is what many now believe. And that is a scary thought.
A brilliant, articulate, and fair-minded conservative millennial has been turned into a monster by the hate-spewing, violence-inciting left. Who will be next on their list? Who will be the next target of radical-left hysteria? And does this hysteria have even the slightest interest in truth?
For the record, Ben Shapiro is an Orthodox Jewish, 33-year-old, very-well-accomplished, lawyer, journalist, radio host, and New York Times bestselling author. He’s the editor-in-chief of the Daily Wire, and to my knowledge, he has never uttered a racist, white-supremacist syllable in his life. He has been one of Donald Trump’s consistent critics, and he abhors everything neo-Nazis and the alt-right stand for.
But in the realm of radical-left fantasy, articulated so well in the Tariq Nasheed tweet, Ben is a “suspected white supremacist” who “claims” to be Jewish. How nefarious indeed. Not only is he dangerous, but he is deceitful as well, cloaking his racism in a bogus claim to be Jewish.
And people actually believe this drivel, to the point of sparking protests and mass upheaval.
Does it matter that Ben is a constant target of the alt-right? Does it matter that he exposes the bankruptcy of both Antifa and White Supremacists? Does it matter that even a New York Times op-ed spoke up in his defense? And does it matter that he gave a talk at UC Berkeley on April 2016, without major incident? What changed between then and now?
Not Ben Shapiro. Not the facts.
What changed was the atmosphere at Berkeley, an atmosphere charged with hostility, intolerance, and hatred, the vast majority of it coming from the radical left.
Is it true that, across the country, a dangerous spirit of white nationalism is on the rise? Absolutely, and it has helped trigger an equally ugly response from the left (along with a dangerous black nationalism). Again, all of these are ugly and to be denounced.
Is it true that Ben’s rhetoric can sometimes be acerbic, as he ridicules his ideological opponents in strongly derogatory terms? Yes, that is certainly his style, which I do not defend.
But that is not the primary reason he is being attacked. Rather, it is his ideas that pose such a threat – his conservative, sometimes even-biblically inspired ideas. And he is right to expose the “snowflake” mentality of many of our college students today.
How did we reach this extremely low point? How did the older generation fail to prepare the younger generation for handling the challenges of life and the diversity of worldviews? How did we create such a self-centered, “You hurt my feelings!” mindset? How did “tolerance” become so intolerant and “inclusivism” become so exclusive? How did “love” become so hateful?
I took a long hard look at these questions when writing Saving a Sick America: A Prescription for Moral and Cultural Transformation, with chapters including, “Reclaiming Our Schools and Learning How to Think Again” and “Putting an End to the Blame Game and Saying Goodbye to the Entitlement Mentality.”
And as I prayerfully analyzed some of our nation’s biggest problems, problems that cut across generational lines, it became clear that our greatest challenges are not just abortion and pornography and extreme debt and social injustice and family breakdown and compromise in the church. Instead, some of our greatest challenges are internal, many of them traced back to the mindset that, “It’s all about me.”
That’s why the second to last chapter of the book is titled, “The Universe Does Not Revolve Around Me.” And that’s why I also address the culpability of Christian leaders who have fed into this self-exalting mentality by preaching a “What’s in it for me?” gospel message – which is no gospel at all.
Put another way, what we saw at Berkeley last night is just a symptom of a much bigger cultural ill, one that infects both the right and the left. But as I argue in Saving a Sick America, offering specific details and guidelines, the cure for this ill is found in the Bible, in particular, in the words and example of Jesus.
That’s the good news.
The bad news – or should I say, the sobering news – is that the cure is quite radical. How many will dare even try it?
I personally hope that many millions of Americans will make an effort to “taste and see” that God’s ways are best. Yes, the radical, Jesus-based cure to our self-centered, narcissistic mentality is life-giving, liberating, and even culture-transforming.
Can we afford not to fill the prescription?
Typo.....We know it’s lefties when they chant “hey hey ho ho.”
Traumatized UC Berkeley students were offered counseling if needed.
Define plantation voters.
I listened to his talk, up until the barely intelligible question period.
He is smart, articulate, and an asset to conservatism.
It is through younger people like him, that conservatism can once again be taught, instead of resting on laurels since Reagan’s time.
I note the professional left just realized their Antifa associations were harming, not helping them, so they broke the ties, at least officially.
“...as if he’s Godzilla...”
Good. They should.
“White Supremacy” Jeans Fasten at His Waist ! !
do your jeans hang low, doe your undies billow too and fro, can you tie your hoodie strings in a knot can you tie them in a bow?
Absolute total B.S.
I'd say a MAJOR PROBLEM in the United States these days, is that when people try to defend the right, for some stupid (...and ignorant, and misguided, and betraying, and undercutting, and destructive) reason(s), they stipulate Leftist ideological propagandist tenets to be true when they aren't, thus reinforcing their big lies.
White nationalist racism is not on the rise. Please, where is the evidence? There isn't a smidgen of it.
This is like saying banks are evil for hiring more security guards when there's a very large increase in bank robberies in an area. Whites could easily be expected to react to racist/xenophobic actions against them. In truth, this happens entirely too infrequently even now. It almost never happens in a meaningful way.
This guy bought the Charlotte chicanery. The Left hoodwinked him.
Read that last part there. "It helped trigger..." NO IT DIDN'T! This is tantamount to putting the blame on the woman who was raped. She caused it. No, there is no excuse for rape, and in this instance Whites didn't cause a thing. The left started the BLM efforts and Whites did nothing to instigate it. Where is the White movement that resembles this? Crickets! Where is the corresponding Conservative movement to equal ANTIFA? Crickets!
Please author, tell us how we're guilty for cause ANTIFA too while you're at it. Good freakin grief!
A White officer was beaten by a Black man, and when the Black man returned to the scene to finish the job (a very reasonable fear of the officer), the officer shot him dead.
Whites did not cause any of this.
If people are gong to piecemeal reinforce Leftist lies in their otherwise reasoned articles, I'd really appreciate it if they'd go fishing instead of publishing.
Where has your loud voice from the bully pulpit of media whores, been for calling out the thugs, anarchists, commnists and black nationalists before now?
There are white supremacists but Shapiro is not one of them.
More likely a liberal, a leftist or Democrat.
Great Post!
He’s kind of cute.
Thanks, GraceG...will rerun Wed.
I like him too, most of the time, but like most whites in the public eye (including conservatives), he has succumbed to the fear of being labeled a racist and so he gets cause and effect backwards.
Also his diagnosis of the problem is way off the mark. He states...
“Instead, some of our greatest challenges are internal, many of them traced back to the mindset that, “It’s all about me.””
No, the problem is not people watching out for their self interest. The problem is just the opposite.
Too many whites have been guilted into a sick sense of suicidal compassion, giving those undeserving of that compassion license and a sense of entitlement that allows them to shirk their responsibilities to the point of justifying even violence against the very people shoveling out compassion for not being compassionate enough!
I agree with him that we are a sick society, but we differ on its cause and thus solutions. We don’t need more compassion, we need some very tough love and a forceful restoration of PERSONAL responsibility.
The “Egads!” Flag.
The article states that the spirit of white nationalism is on the rise. I really don’t see it.
I see a spirit of whites not wanting to be oppressed by non-white supremacists and their Leftist overlords. Is this hyperbole? I really, desperately wish it were.
They (Antifa) are stupid but violent sheep. ISIS wannabees they are and they need watched.
Wasn’t it Beck who got all kinds of heat for doing that with Soros?
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