Do College Students Hate Free Speech?

[Trinity]

Do College Students Hate Free Speech? Let's Ask Them:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_4-BqSIUD8

Is Political Correctness something endemic to Millenials? Is there something we can do to reverse it?

[Steve B]

I will say this.  College campuses are privately owned, just like this forum is, so they do get to have some say into what speech they will allow and what speech they will not allow.

But they also receive tax payer money. . . so I really think they need to enforce full first amendment rights on college campuses.

Colleges are sometimes scared of this because people get so upset and this can ruin a learning environment.  I understand that concern, but the solution is to indoctrinate them into understanding the actual concept of the first amendment.

Millenials are notorious for not understanding the boundaries of the first amendment and how it works.  And, as a result, we are raising a lot of hyper-sensitive cry babies who aren't learning how to refute ideas with actual reason.  A lot of these college campuses don't seem to understand the difference between freedom of speech and freedom from speech.

More freedom means the people have to practice greater self-restraint.

It's like these Muhammad drawing contests.  It's your right to make fun of Muhammad, but its extremely distasteful and disrespectful and leads to nothing fruitful.  Colleges are failing to instill the first amendment's ethos into students-- and, as a result, they have switched to more authoritarian policies.

This is only setting them up to not be able to handle speech that they disagree with when they get out of college.

[bdsimon]

Of course they do. Or at least some of them do. This is why they organized to shut down the Trump rally in Chicago. Because they did not want him to be able to exercise his freedom of speech. They want public speech to conform to leftist ideals because they are taught that way in college.

[Trinity]

Agreed. I think the Millenial problem is a leftist problem. The Millenial generation has been taught leftist ideals without being challenged by opposing views. In fact, any opposing views are considered intolerant and hate speech. I think Millenialism is a major problem, because they are going to grow up to become the teachers and leaders of the next generation of people. If they get their way, then that would be the end of freedom of expression and freedom of conscience.

[HIJ]

No, they're (i.e. we're) just idiots.

[Trinity]

That is politically incorrect to say though.

[Hawke123]

Agreed. I think the Millenial problem is a leftist problem. The Millenial generation has been taught leftist ideals without being challenged by opposing views. In fact, any opposing views are considered intolerant and hate speech. I think Millenialism is a major problem, because they are going to grow up to become the teachers and leaders of the next generation of people. If they get their way, then that would be the end of freedom of expression and freedom of conscience.

Not all of us Millennials are echo chamber advocating leftists.

[Herman the german]

I'd say people just don't like hearing people spout stuff they disagree with.   Go to a church function and spout gay rights, or about another religion and you'll most likely be told off.      Go to a war rally and spout anti-war sentiments and you'll probably be told off etc etc.. 

Hell just publicly admitting to being socialist in the 50-60's in the U.S. could get you in trouble.     

People generally only like free speech as long as it doesn't support someone saying stuff they hate.  It just seems like instead of colleges having it be a social taboo they're making it a real rule.

[Trinity]

Not all of us Millennials are echo chamber advocating leftists.

Of course, and I hope Millenials don't feel that they have to go along to get along. The problem is that peer pressure is not easy to ignore and many Millenials and non-Millenials fall for that pressure even if they disagree with PC.

[Steve B]

Not all of us Millennials are echo chamber advocating leftists.

Of course, and I hope Millenials don't feel that they have to go along to get along. The problem is that peer pressure is not easy to ignore and many Millenials and non-Millenials fall for that pressure even if they disagree with PC.

Exactly.  I think we need to become a bit thicker skinned as voters.  American politics has always been a nasty business.  Voters walk away jaded by this.  Your jadedness only benefits the people whose positions you disagree with.

[Nunovalente]

Surely the best way to defeat and argument, is with an argument? If the free speech claims outline false or wrong thinking, then debate and show that speech and thinking to be wrong. University of all places should be the place for such.
Hate speech is often an excuse to silence, not by argument and debate, but simply shutting down opposition.
In dictatorships, dictators silence opposition by killing them. In democratic dictatorships, they just call it Hate speech and punish those who even think differently, denying them a voice, education, or employment. Confirm, or else.

 A more sophisticated dictatorship exists. It may not literally kill the body, it merely renders opposition silent. And we know that for evil to flourish, it only takes the good to be silent. They don't need to be killed. Just silenced.