Steve Forbes was attending a party in New York City Wednesday celebrating the book “Stolen Youth: How Radicals Are Erasing Innocence and Indoctrinating a Generation” when the exact type of radicals described in the new release attacked him, grabbing his drink and emptying it on him, pushing over piles of books and yelling about “fascism!” and “Black lives Matter!”
Such class.
George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley can always be counted on to weigh in with something smart:
The age of rage shows no signs of abating as protesters assaulted Steve Forbes and conservative authors at a book signing. https://t.co/rIVJ2c0CiF Some believe they have license to silence others by simply labeling opponents "fascists." In reality, such attacks are very hallmark… https://t.co/ARo8vNSX6e
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) March 10, 2023
“In reality, such attacks are the very hallmark of fascism,” Turley tweeted.
Forbes, the 75-year-old CEO of Forbes Media and two-time Republican presidential candidate, described what happened as he was talking to one of the book’s authors:
“I was talking to co-author Bethany Mandel near the counter where the books were on display. Suddenly a woman seemingly out of nowhere was angrily yelling almost incoherently about matters that weren’t related to the subject of the book,” Forbes recounted to Fox News Digital
“The books themselves were pushed off the counter loudly landing on the floor while simultaneously she tossed a drink our way,” he said, noting the drink covered him and Mandel.
I’ll give Forbes credit where credit is due, though—he certainly kept his humor about him:
“I joked that a dark suit was an advantage in a situation like this,” he said.
Ironically enough, the event was to publicize the March 7 launch of the tome by Mandel and NY Post writer Karol Markowicz which “reveal[s] the tenets of the ideological war waged against America’s youth, designed to exploit, terrify, and, ultimately, indoctrinate them.”
Talk about art imitating life.
Mandel, a conservative contributor at Deseret News and the mother of six, noted the irony:
“Wokeism is poisoning young brains. It’s the thesis of the book, and the young deranged women who protested the party are exactly what we warn about in our book: angry, irrational and uninformed.
“They parroted the approved chants about black and trans lives mattering. They didn’t know what they were protesting, just that we were dissidents,” she said.
“They are exactly what our readers don’t want their kids turning into.” [Emphasis mine.]
Markowicz and Mandel described their version of the encounter:
Markowicz told the conservative news outlet Daily Wire News, that she saw “two wild-eyed young White women run up to our party and scream ‘Black lives matter!’”
“They threw their drinking glasses at the wall where our books were displayed and ran off,” she said.
“Suddenly I heard screaming, had books thrown at me, and I was soaking wet,” Mandel told the outlet. “I realized young women with short, dyed blue hair were screaming at us ‘Black lives matter, trans lives matter!’ I tried to talk to them, but they ran off.”
3 cities, much media, what appears to be 2 separate protests of our launch party, such a crazy wk. @bethanyshondark is right, now would be a good time for me to start keep Shabbat. If you've bought our book, review it! Happy weekend! https://t.co/boj0dYmeLC
— Karol Markowicz (@karol) March 10, 2023
The irony is dripping here as the protesters’ actions prove the book’s thesis—that our youth are being radicalized and turned into thoughtless outrage machines that know very little about life but think they’re experts in professional victimhood.
Good for these authors for writing this book—I hope these whacko protesters only help publicize it and sell more copies.
I am disheartened to see our youth behaving in such an uncivilized and uninformed manner, I do not believe, however, that the majority of our young folks are like these demonstrators. I don’t like to hear name-calling, which is never productive, uncivil, and can be very divisive and detrimental to our youth, More and more young people are starting, or continuing, to think for themselves. I wish that all facets of the political spectrum would present them with the truth, not demonization of those who think differently, I may think your beliefs are wrong and vice versa. But if we are willing to let go of the propaganda and teach our values, young people will decide for themselves. Don’t believe they can’t. They are not all misguided and easily led.