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Today’s blacklisted American: Students condemn UConn student president for defending free speech

The cancelled Bill of Rights

They’re coming for you next: The Undergraduate Student Government (USG) Governing Board at the University of Connecticut has condemned its student president, Mike Hernández, because he is supporting campus legislation that would protect the free speech rights of students.

The bill, which was introduced by sixth semester junior political science and economics double major Isadore Johnson, aims to protect students and their right to freely express their opinions within student government and also at UConn as a whole.

Opponents of the bill, however, have argued the legislation gives students a free pass to express casual racism, homophobia and misogyny without consequence, and have expressed concern over Hernández’s support of the bill.

The board is using as its trigger to condemn Hernández a single comment he supposedly made privately to another student, where he allegedly said that affirmative action legislation as well as rules forbidding anyone from saying anything offensive about minorities is equivalent “to treating minorities like children.” From that board’s statement, which was approved by this board by a vote of 8-1, with one abstention:

Over the past several weeks, President Hernández has acted in a manner unbecoming of the office he holds, which has manifested in an apparent inability to understand the impact that his actions have and a disregard for the concerns repeatedly brought to him by those he leads.

We specifically reject the assertion that protecting minorities is akin to treating them like children, as President Hernández put it in a recent message to a student. We reaffirm our sentiment that the best way to promote inclusion is to condemn racism, antisemitism, sexism, and all other forms of bias and discrimination

The USG Governing Board denounces these actions and with this statement declares that we do not agree with or condone the behavior of President Hernández.

First, as far as I can tell the statement is unconfirmed. Assuming he did say it however so what? It was during a private conversation, he was stating an actual truth, and even if you don’t like his opinion he has the right to speak his mind, assuming we still believe in free speech and the First Amendment to the Bill of Rights.

Second but far more important, note that this condemnation and the opposition to the free speech bill is coming from the student body, not their teachers or the university’s administration. It appears that a large percentage of the students at UConn, maybe a majority, clearly do not believe in free speech and the First Amendment to the Bill of Rights. If anything, they despise it, and believe it is their right to use any and all means to crush anyone who disagrees with them.

The future of United States, and the world, is very grim indeed if this is the attitude and world view of the coming generation. Prepare for far more evils of oppression as this fascist generation begins to take control of society and begins implementing its despotic view of society.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 

The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

14 comments

  • eddie willers

    Defending speech everybody approves of is easy.

    It is when speech is HARD that it should be defended even more rigorously.

    We are becoming a nation of cowards and bullies.

  • eddie willers wrote, “We are becoming a nation of cowards and bullies.”

    No, in this you are very wrong. The whole point of my post, as well as hundreds I have written in the past six years, is that we already ARE a nation of cowards and bullies.

    I was at the post office today. I was the only one not wearing a mask. One woman cringed from me and asked me to move another few feet away out of terror. I told her I am not sick and I am not going to kill her just by standing there. She cringed away out of a fear now of all other people.

    This is typical. A nation of free and brave people does not act this way. And it didn’t suddenly become so in the last year.

  • “Opponents of the bill, however, have argued the legislation gives students a free pass to express casual racism, homophobia and misogyny without consequence, . . . ”

    Here we have a naked example of the Left’s attitude toward people: you are children, and cannot be trusted.

    No negative consequences? What about societal mores? If I went into a public space and started talking smack about anyone but White males, the reception would likely be chilly, indeed. I’ve noted that when a society lives by agreed-upon rules, what used to be called cultural norms, you don’t need a lot of rules. Especially not excruciatingly specific ones. People know what is expected of them, and act accordingly.

    But the Left has spent the better part of the last century disrupting and eliminating cultural norms in Western society, and with them the social shame that kept baser urges in check. It is a damning indictment of Progressivism that they feel they have to spell things out for people. All you really need are a few rules that establish social boundaries. You don’t mess with me, and I don’t mess with you. Simple. But ‘simple’ doesn’t create opportunities for division and complication. And the Left loves them some process.

    Robert wrote: “I was the only one not wearing a mask. One woman cringed from me and asked me to move another few feet away out of terror.”

    Goes to the point. You cannot be trusted to stay home if sick. I noted about this time last year that simply not wearing a mask gives you power over others. What until very recently was normal, is now seen as offensive and aggressive.

  • Cotour

    Students GPA is essentially 0.

    https://youtu.be/bHfcz6Vv2wY

    Now this IS racism, a kind of racism crafted by the Democrats and the Left where the children are both the victims of 1. their parents and their broken home also crafted by the Democrat party, and 2. The teacher unions.

    Free Speech? These kids can not even spell “Free Speech”.

    Everything in America having to do with politics on both sides of the aisle is fraudulent and is based in LIES. And then they tell you that you are the racists. People have to get mad, and they have to get mad on both sides of the political aisle.

  • Sayomara

    Charlie CW Cook made the point 6-7 years ago the bill of rights would never pass today. Its only gotten worse

  • No group has uttered more hateful speech of a racial nature more than African-Americans, many of them in prominent positions, publicly and loudly, without consequence. A close second group are self-hating whites who blame themselves (and America) for all the world’s problems. I’m done listening to both of them.

  • Col Beausabre

    ”Opponents of the bill, however, have argued the legislation gives students a free pass to express casual racism, homophobia and misogyny without consequence, ”

    They say that as if it is a bad thing

  • I was going to submit a “Dream Police” (Cheap Trick 1979) parody, but don’t have to. Just put ‘thought’ in place of ‘dream’, and done.

  • Steve White

    So the students don’t believe in the Bill of Rights and free speech?

    Good. Tell them to sit down and shut up. And when they look stunned, tell them that they brought it upon themselves.

  • Mitchell Rapoport

    The future of America is uncertain. The future of Connecticut, however, is pretty clear.

  • Bite Me

    Hilarious considering the fact that Connecticut is the “Constitution State.”

  • Tim McDonald

    “free pass to express casual racism, homophobia and misogyny without consequence,” Is exactly what we mean when we refer to free speech. “Hate speech” is the only speech that needs protection, because speech that does not offend anyone anywhere does not need protection. The bigger issue is, in 40 years, these student will be the leader….and free speech will be gone forever.

  • Cotour

    THINK PATRIOTISM IS CORNY? TAKE MY TEST

    You watch this little video, its only 6 minutes and 48 seconds long. That is the test, simple.

    https://pinearts.smugmug.com/The-Boy-on-the-Beach-Omaha-Beach-2014/i-vPVMh5F/A

    If after you watch this video and you do not have at least a tear in your eye then you have passed the test. You are not weighed down with any silly, “corny” ideas of patriotism and being an American. You are “WOKE” and are free to allow yourself to believe what ever you wish about what America is and is not.

    You let me know how it goes, let me know the results. Pass, or Fail?

    Good luck.

  • Edward

    Tim McDonald wrote: “The bigger issue is, in 40 years, these student will be the leader….and free speech will be gone forever.

    This phenomenon is why we are where we are today. The hippy generation grew up into leadership positions and brought their failed policies with them. They thought that they were smarter than centuries of people, but it turned out that their hubris proves them to be not so smart after all.

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