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this post was submitted on 21 Mar 2024
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Antifascism
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Even taken in good faith, what value is a university supposed to get out of a lecture from some loser kid who's only accolades come from a controversial trial?
What could he possibly have to say of any significance or importance?
Not the university, a student club. Students have first amendment rights here.
Clubs need to get permission from the University to invite people onto campus grounds and speak at campus facilities. Someone who actually works for and represents the facility had to sign off on that little fascist coming to speak.
Public universities are legally not allowed to ban controversial speakers, even if they are racist. It is a constitutional right, and banning free speech at a public institution amounts to government censorship. This article from the ACLU is relevant: https://www.aclu.org/documents/speech-campus
But it's not even about him being controversial -- just pointless. What educational value does a boring, loser kid have to offer?
Public discourse is an educational experience. Universities aren't there to just teach you mathematics and basket weaving, it's there to challenge your viewpoint and make you question your assumptions. That comes from being exposed to differing, even extreme, viewpoints.
So we're just calling anything "education" these days.
You don't like Kyle Rittenhouse. I don't like Kyle Rittenhouse. He's a horrible human being and a terrible role model.
This falls under the "I will fight to the death for your right to speak" philosophy.
Again, not challenging his right to speak. Challenging the value of what he has to say.