Ann Coulter was scheduled to speak at Cornell University Wednesday night. She was invited by the local chapter of the Network of Enlightened Women. Of course, a segment of the student body was horrified that someone might utter an unapproved thought, and a posse of these vigilantes showed up for the event to shut it down. And they succeeded. According to Campus Reform, Coulter tried to speak over the din for 27 minutes before walking off the stage.
Eight of these people were escorted from the event. Cornell issued an apology. Joel M. Malina, vice president for University Relations, told Campus Reform he was disappointed and that the behavior of the ersatz protestors was rude. He also said they will be referred for conduct violations. I suppose that means losing WIFI privileges at the student union for a day. It is also worth noting that it took 27 minutes for anyone to take action. Fear can be a great de-motivator.
I interviewed Coulter once, and she is opinionated and frank. She got right in my face about a few issues, which was hard to do since it was a phone interview. I didn’t mind because 1) that makes for good radio and 2) ideas need to be exchanged. Even ideas with which I might disagree. Beyond being an exercise in First Amendment rights, it is how a civilized society moves forward.
Watch the video again. I couldn’t find any vestiges of civilization. These days, college protests, which are comprised of privileged white kids, are bearing more than a passing resemblance to the opening sequences of 2001 A Space Odyssey, minus the obelisk and space station.
Did you catch the phrases “Words are violence” and “We don’t want your ideas here”? This is more than a group of overindulged children who are emotional toddlers. What you are seeing is a group of young adults who suffer not only from seared consciences but from seared intellects.
What is so frightening about these students is not that they don’t like Anne Coulter. Coulter can be acerbic and brusque, which is just her style. What is frightening is the willful ignorance, the desire to not hear or engage in any ideas other than their own. They have ceded control not just of their brains, but their souls. Whoever indoctrinated them has done an astounding job. These people are not just spoiled, immature, and self-centered. As open-minded as they think they are, they are incapable of independent thought. While they probably cannot spell “Machiavellian,” they have mastered the basic precepts of the philosophy.
And they will become lawyers, legislators, and activist investors intent on bringing down anything they do not understand, or that they are instructed to destroy. And that is if they finish college. They may become forever-students, majoring in Tantrums 101, creating nothing, improving nothing, helping no one, and angry for reasons even they don’t understand. They cannot be reasoned with, and in their minds, they cannot be stopped. And they have shown in the past that they are not averse to using violence.
This has happened before in the history of the world. It never ends well, even for the activists. Imagine their surprise when after the socialist utopia has been established, these young “ungovernables” find themselves in the same cells or on the same lists in and on which they put others. Imagine their shock when they are told to shut up.
I would pity them, but they have willingly surrendered themselves to forces and causes that they will not, and cannot, understand. And are perfectly happy to sacrifice you in the process.
