Right Wingers Attacking Campus Speech Aren't Hypocrites. They're Fascists.

They never believed in free speech — only for themselves.

By now you’re probably aware of the pro-Palestine student protests popping up at universities across the country. You’re probably also equally aware of the disingenuous backlash to these protests. (If you’re not I suggest

Joshua P. Hill

‘s recent essay on the matter.) Everyone from Joe Biden to Jake Tapper has tried to slander the protestors as “antisemitic,” an Orwellian claim given the flagship Columbia protest (and many others) are disproportionately Jewish and held Passover celebrations.

One of many Passover celebrations at the campus protests. (Source)

In addition to these hollow accusations of bigotry, the location of these protests — college campuses — has exposed a different contradiction in the worldview of the political elite.

For the last decade, right-wingers and media figures have joined hands in chastising the “woke mobs” of college campuses, who, according to them, “oppose speech.” Conservative pundits such as Ben Shapiro and Bret Weinstein have made careers out of going to colleges and crying when they’re protested. Establishment media has elevated their claims with pearl-clutching magazine columns and TV hits chastising young Americans for “shouting down those they disagree with,” even if the speaker in question is overtly racist. Such essays are so commonplace, that I wouldn’t be surprised if The Atlantic has made a ready-to-go template for these occasions. All the writer needs to do is input the university name and protested speaker, and voila! Another “Free Speech Under Attack!” article is ready for the press. If you don’t believe me, check out the profile of The Atlantic writer Caitlin Flanagan. lecturing college kids about the supposed importance of listening to “race realist speakers” is her bread and butter.

America’s Fire Sale: Get Some Free Speech While You Can, by Caitlin Flanagan (Source)

As the pet projects of conservative media tend to be, the campus cause has been adopted by Republican politicians. Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton introduced a bill to “protect free speech on college campuses,” and the conservative organization FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression) was resurrected to “proactively and systematically challenge campus policies that violate college students’ and faculty members’ free speech rights.”

Now, this might shock you, but this rightist “free speech” alliance is actively trying to get the government to suppress the ongoing pro-Palestine college protests. I know, it’s so weird — Almost like their claims of valuing free speech were bullshit, designed to bully college administrators into amplifying their reactionary ideas then turning around and silencing those they disagree with.

Sarcasm aside, it’s important to diagnose the true intent of these former “free speech absolutists.” While many have accused this cadre of unabashed hypocrisy, I think this is the wrong diagnosis. People like Ben Shapiro, Tom Cotton, and Caitlin Flanagan aren’t hypocrites. They’re fascists. 

Hypocrisy vs. Fascism