Watched a protest at my old campus and realized I was cheering for the wrong side

I saw a video from my alma mater, University of Michigan, where a speaker got shouted down by a group of students. I was all for the protesters until one of them said, 'We don't have to listen to you.' That line made me stop and think about what free speech actually means. Have you ever had a moment where a protest tactic made you question your own position?

4 comments

4 Comments

betty_carter3mo ago

Look at what actually happened. That speaker was invited to a campus that students pay to be at, a space that should feel safe. Free speech isn't some magic rule that means you have to stand there and listen to hateful ideas. Shouting down a bully isn't silencing debate, it's standing up for people who get hurt by those words. Sometimes the only way to be heard is to refuse to listen, because polite debate already failed. That student was right.

reesej273mo ago

Yeah, I read something about that kind of thing happening a lot lately. It's weird when the way people act makes you step back and rethink the whole issue. What side do you think you were really on before?

kaigibson3mo ago

Honestly, what if the side you were on was just the loudest one? Like with that whole debate about public park rules, I was totally against any restrictions. But then I saw videos of people leaving huge messes and blasting music all night. It made me realize my "freedom" stance was kinda selfish and ignored how it ruined the park for everyone else. Maybe I wasn't for freedom, I was just for what was easiest for me.

juliarodriguez2mo ago

That line would have made me stop too. The whole point of free speech is letting people talk, even when you hate what they're saying. Shouting someone down because you don't like their ideas just means you think your side should get to decide what everyone hears. It turns the campus into an echo chamber, not a place for learning. I get not wanting to listen to hate, but stopping the speech itself is a scary road to go down.