If the debacle over a speaker invited to appear at the University of North Texas is any indication, places of higher education and the future of our children’s ability to understand multiple views are in trouble.
The Young Conservatives of Texas UNT chapter invited Jeffrey Younger to speak on Wednesday. Younger is a state House candidate, but he’s better known as a Dallas father who lost custody of his child and contends it’s because he he contested his ex-wife’s transgender diagnosis of his child, while a court ruled it was because he did not pay child support or medical payments on time. Younger came to discuss the role of transgender issues in public policy and culture.
UNT students would have none of it. While sitting in a classroom in front of Younger, they devolved into a loud mass, disrupting Younger’s attempt to speak, pounding on the tables, bellowing “[Expletive] you fascists,” for several minutes. One self-identified transgender student is shown on camera screeching and shouting expletives.
Younger was eventually forced to evacuate, as was the founder of the Young Conservatives chapter and event organizer Kelly Neidert. Police had to escort Younger away, and Neidert sought shelter in a locked janitor’s closet in another building, afraid for her life.
“I’ve received a lot of threats. I’ve never been scared until last night in that janitor’s closet. I think the officer did have the handle on his holster,” she told National Review. “I didn’t know if I would make it out of there.”
For students who are transgender or who advocate for a child’s right to medically transition, it might be disturbing to hear Younger’s viewpoint. Even if he lost custody for failing to pay child support, this could have angered students. (There’s no indication from the videos that the students were concerned about Younger’s parenting abilities; they focused on his message that repudiates the concept of transgenderism.)
Universities should be avenues for learning multiple viewpoints, yet students chose to scream and shout down a guest who differs from them. Beyond mere manners, what this response demonstrates about the state of higher learning and about listening and understanding others’ opinions and experiences is devastating.
We have already reached a point where only progressive experiences and views on certain topics are considered valid. Now, other views are not only marginal but so infuriating they cannot even be heard. With every pound of their fists, these students demonstrate that their views are so fragile, so precious, they cannot even bear the sound of an opposing idea without breaking down into a toddler-esque tantrum.
Whatever preceded the protest — and again, let’s acknowledge that Younger is a controversial figure — little could justify an eruption like this, a cacophony of chaos designed to shut down Younger’s speech while claiming he’s a fascist.
Perhaps these students need a history class to understand true fascism. As writer Mark Hemingway tweeted glibly, “I hate to break it to these kids, but if you’re shouting people down in unison — you’re the fascists.”
The transgender issue is fraught with controversy: Conservatives believe there are two sides while many liberals believe even asking questions is blasphemy. But universities, of all places, should resolve to welcome an array of ideas and include all viewpoints.
Showcasing only concepts that students eagerly embrace while allowing them to frantically shut down different views is not a good look for any institution of higher learning, let alone the rest of the country.
*story by Fort Worth Star-Telegram
(*) www.WhitePrideHomeSchool.com
