Students at the University of British Columbia are trying to get conservative author Ben Shapiro banned from campus, according to The Ubyssey.
Fifth-year UBC arts student Reid Marcus wants the school to cancel the event, saying “Shapiro is neither a scholar nor an activist.” Ahhh so because Ben isn’t involved in either the production or distribution of BS indoctrination, his opinion is invalid. I see. Marcus cited Shapiro’s views on Islam, by which he probably means his refutation of what he calls the “myth of the tiny radical Muslim minority.” He also cites Ben’s views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and gender identity.
Angelo tells me his club has hosted Jordan Peterson 5 times with no protesters. “Yet the moment we invite a pro-Israel speaker like Ben Shapiro, it’s chaos. Jewish students feel completely silenced by the campus culture and this campaign to shut down the event is proof of this. The opposition is comprised [of] SJWs who hate any opinion that isn’t their own, and raging anti-Semites who openly talk about violence towards Israeli Jews.”
Marcus doesn’t even want to engage with Shapiro in what he called “performative debate,” where he gets to ask a question and Ben gets to respond. Marcus said “I think that the debate is over. We, as a civilization, have kind of decided that you shouldn’t go around dehumanizing people.”
Ten students sent UBC letters trying to get Shapiro banned. The school has sent each of them statements defending UBC’s commitment to free speech, but who’s to say that as the event draws closer and Antifa groups begin mobilizing, they won’t change their minds? Who’s to say they won’t suddenly slam the group sponsoring Shapiro with an insanely high “security fee”? Only time will tell.
