U. Virginia Newspaper: ‘Dangerous Rhetoric’ Doesn’t Get a Platform
People are dying in Ukraine but Mike Pence is a threat to lives at the University of Virginia. Give me a break.
My goodness. If I majored in journalism like my dad wanted me to I might still be a socialist.
The Cavalier Daily‘s editorial board, the student newspaper at The University of Virginia, doesn’t want “dangerous rhetoric” to have a platform.
Tell me, all-knowing kids at Virginia, what is dangerous rhetoric? The sub-headline says, “Speech that threatens the lives of those on Grounds is unjustifiable.”
Did someone invite members of the Manson Family to speak? Literal members of the KKK? ISIS? Vladimir Putin?
Nope. Mike Pence:
A student organization recently announced its plans to host former vice president Mike Pence this April to speak in Old Cabell Hall. For Pence, gay couples signify a “societal collapse,” Black lives do not matter, transgender individuals and immigrants do not deserve protection and the pandemic should not be taken seriously. Nevertheless, the University has accepted Pence’s visit as an “opportunity to hear from, and engage with, leaders and experts from a wide variety of fields and perspectives.” So-called “perspectives” should not be welcomed when they spread rhetoric that directly threatens the presence and lives of our community members. The LGBTQ+ individuals Pence has attacked, the Black lives he refuses to value and the successful stories of immigration he and the former president hope to prevent — these very people are our peers, our neighbors and our community members. We refuse to condone platforming Pence.
The University’s silence is deafening. Do not mistake this for neutrality, however. To be silent in the face of those like Pence is a choice — in this case, a choice to fail to protect the lives of those on Grounds who Pence blatantly threatens through his rhetoric and policies. To hide behind a sentiment that celebrates engaging with “leaders and experts from a wide variety of fields and perspectives” is to actively undermine the values of diversity, honor, integrity, trust and respect that the University purports to celebrate. Silence in the face of a homophobic, racist and transphobic politician only makes room for such “perspectives” at our University.
The board spews out the lie that Trump called the Charlottesville white supremacists “very fine people,” which has been proven false so many times.
Facts don’t matter, though. It’s all about narrative:
Let us be clear — we must seriously consider the environment we wish to tolerate. Let us not forget that for four years, Pence served alongside the man who called those same white supremacists “very fine people.” Pence’s presence on Grounds signifies a tolerance of rhetoric that has already harmed our community — in fact, the very building that Pence will speak in was constructed to hide Black citizens so as not to disrupt the landscape of Grounds. Though Pence’s language may not be as overt as the white supremacy expressed during the events of Aug. 11 and 12, we must all be concerned about the message his rhetoric could imply we accept.
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Comments
“Though Pence’s language may not be as overt as the white supremacy expressed during the events of Aug. 11 and 12, we must all be concerned about the message his rhetoric could imply we accept.”
This is the rhetoric of self-important leftists with poor diction.
Censorship is the norm and dissidents tend to vanish in the world these students seek to create in the United States. They have no idea that ‘they’ are the ones that will vanish and end up in manual labor camps, along with eveyone else they despise.
The ‘elite’ is a very small number, and the students pulling this kaka are NOT the elite. They are the ‘to be discarded’ once their usefulness is done.
I’m so old, I remember when there as a draft, and we knew what speech that really threatened the lives of those on campus sounded like.
“Dangerous Rhetoric” has the same definition as “hate speech.” It includes any thoughts and ideas that the people in power don’t like.
In Russia, “dangerous rhetoric” includes calling an invasion an invasion. In America, it includes anything and anyone that doesn’t conform to the left-wing party line.
All Rhetoric is dangerous…to someone. And Censorship is Fascism. These poor kids just do not understand that they are advocating for a future akin to Russia, China, Cuba, etc.