Here is a good interview Larry Elder had with Jim Gilchrist and Marvin Stewert from the Minutemen today.
[audio:https://floppingaces.net/Audio/elderminutemen.mp3]As I’m sure your heard by now they attempted to give a speech at Columbia university a week ago and two minutes into it members of the audience rushed the stage unfurling a banner and prevented the two from giving the speech. The video is up on YouTube:
During the interview they tell Larry that they are consulting with a lawfirm about a suit against the University and the protestors. Marvin, who is black, and was called a “house nigger” amongst other names, believes it boils down to a hate crime.
Whether its a crime or not, it is dispicable that an opposing viewpoint cannot be shared at our colleges today. This is what it has come down to now. You either spout the party line (that being a leftist/socialist/communist line in colleges today) or you are prevented from speaking. A former Nazi youth states it sounds alot like Nazism: (via Gateway Pundit)
Hilmar Von Campe: Well, I did see (the Columbia University Minuteman attack video) before. I did see the video about the event before. That was no surprise for me. We had, we called them “storm troopers”. Hitler had storm troopers who would shut up the opposition. And, that is what these people were trying to do, the same thing.
Isn’t it interesting that a sign was held up with Arabic writing? People have been warning for sometime that the fanatical Islam elements inside our universities are aligning themselves with the leftists to further their agenda, and now they stand with a militant Hispanic group to stop free speech. Recall what is going on in Europe where the Muslim segment of those countries are becoming violent against their governments, and all in the name of protesting “immigration” policies.
But probably the best round-up of this event and others in recent history is Peggy Noonan’s:
At Columbia University, members of the Minutemen, the group that patrols the U.S. border with Mexico and reports illegal crossings, were asked to address a forum on immigration policy. As Jim Gilchrist, the founder, spoke, angry students stormed the stage, shouting and knocking over chairs and tables. “Having wreaked havoc,” said the New York Sun, they unfurled a banner in Arabic and English that said, “No one is ever illegal.” The auditorium was cleared, the Minutemen silenced.
[…]On Oct. 2, on Katie Couric’s “CBS Evening News,” in the segment called “Free Speech,” the father of a boy killed at Columbine shared his views on the deeper causes of the recent shootings in Amish country.[…]Mr. Rohrbough was quickly informed he was not part of the legitimate debate, either. Howard Kurtz in the Washington Post: “The decision . . . to air his views prompted a storm of criticism, some of it within the ranks of CBS News.” A blog critic: Grief makes people say “stupid” things, but “what made them put this man on television?” Good question. How did they neglect to silence him?
[…]It is not only about rage and resentment, and how some have come to see them as virtues, as an emblem of rightness. I feel so much, therefore my views are correct and must prevail. It is about something so obvious it is almost embarrassing to state. Free speech means hearing things you like and agree with, and it means allowing others to speak whose views you do not like or agree with.
We all know this, at least in the abstract. Why are so many forgetting it in the particular?
Let us be more pointed. Students, stars, media movers, academics: They are always saying they want debate, but they don’t. They want their vision imposed. They want to win. And if the win doesn’t come quickly, they’ll rush the stage, curse you out, attempt to intimidate.
And they don’t always recognize themselves to be bullying. So full of their righteousness are they that they have lost the ability to judge themselves and their manner.
And all this continues to come more from the left than the right in America.
Meanwhile, the group that prevented free speech from occurring has put up an online petition here that states:
On October 4, the College Republicans at Columbia University hosted Minuteman Project founder Jim Gilchrist. The Minutemen are known for inciting racist violence against immigrants. In an exercise of free speech, students unfurled a banner on the stage reading “No One is Illegal”, prompting audience members to join them on the stage with another banner with the message, “No to Racism”. These peaceful protesters were violently assaulted. We fully support these students’ courageous stand against racism and violence and demand that no reprisals are taken against them.
Watch this video and show me the protestors being assaulted, I mean come on, it was 300 to 2.
Here is an article that describes the press conference given by the protestors, all part of the Chicano Caucus and the International Socialist Organization, where they try to explain that preventing these two from speaking was not an assault on free speech, and they fail miserably at explaining that. This blog has more on the conference.
Anyways, here is the counter petition that everyone should sign:
On October 4, the College Republicans at Columbia University hosted Minuteman Project founder Jim Gilchrist. Rather than respect the rights of the College Republicans and Minuteman to express their opinions in an academic setting, a group of students rushed the stage in a violent manner and prevented Mr. Gilchrist from making his speech.
The spirit of academic freedom, as well as freedom of speech, requires that all views be allowed and encouraged to express themselves. We the undersigned hereby call on Columbia University to discipline the students involved in disrupting Mr. Gilchrist’s speech by suspending the participants for a period of not less than six weeks, and expelling the leaders of the group, from all university activities.
Go sign it now, it only takes a moment.
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My comments about Gilchrist have absolutely nothing to do with the spoiled, obnoxious, and rude behavior exhibited by the Columbia students. Frankly, knowning that age group as well as I do, I am surprised at the shock people are displaying over their behavior. They are a generation of little monsters who have no respect for others. I blame their parents and the entire day care system where they were raised. That is another story.
What they did was disgusting, but not unexpected. They have a history of this behavior at Columbia. I have a feeling the college GOP club who sponsored Gilchrist knew exactly what was going to happen. If they could not gage the temperature of the crowd simply by their attire and earlier behavior, they are as guilty as the little monsters.
Gilchrist has a pattern of behavior for which he is given a pass, constantly, from the anti-immigration group. I am tired of Gilchrist getting a pass from people who are so determined that his message be true they are not examining the messenger or his associates.
Back in LA about a year ago, during another of his appearences gone bad, two anti-Gilchrist protesters were seriously injured when one of the minutemen ran them down in a car.
I am also concerned that because the behavior is deplorable and the problem people “left” their side of the story isn’t fit for examination. I watched the video, repeatedly. I watched several versions. If Gilchrist and his little bunch of merry minutemen had kept their cool, and behaved like adults things might not have occured the way the way they did.
The man in the white t-shirt and baseball cap is the one throwing punches and kicking people. He is clearly on the side of Gilchrist.
SJ Reidhead