BLM at William and Mary shut down ACLU forum chanting Liberalism is white supremacy

[RhodeIslandOne]

Flat Hat News is the William and Mary student paper.

http://flathatnews.com/2017/10/02/black-lives-matter-protests-american-civil-liberties-union/

Sept. 27, Black Lives Matter protestors at the College of William and Mary interrupted “Students and the First Amendment,” a scheduled event co-sponsored by AMP and the American Civil Liberties Union.

First Amendment rights have dominated national conversation in recent months, with opposing sides debating the extent to which hate speech counts as free speech. Following the Aug. 11-12 Charlottesville protests, the ACLU voiced a decisive stance on the issue by defending white nationalists’ right to free speech. The move attracted widespread backlash from ACLU supporters and detractors alike, as well as the College’s BLM chapter, which responded by staging its Sept. 27 protest.

The ACLU discussion never occurred because protesters took over the stage within five minutes of Executive Director of the ACLU of Virginia Claire Guthrie Gastañaga’s entrance. Signs in hand, the protesters shouted chants such as “liberalism is white supremacy” and “the revolution will not uphold the constitution.”

The most disturbing part of this article is this....

After the cancellation was announced, remaining students clustered around Gastañaga, hoping to ask questions and voice concerns. These students dispersed, however, when the protesters began circling around them, drowning out Gastañaga and chanting with increased volume.

This is not education. This is not how colleges and universities should be. Actually preventing students from having even an essentially private discussion with the speaker? Straight up bullying bullshit.

I noticed most of the students protesting in the picture appear to be white.

[JI7]

1. black lives matter is unorganized but yes, the people who are part of it are of all backgrounds

and there have been a number of protests where most or even all of them were white.

[WinkyDink]

2. the revolution will not uphold the constitution. W. T. HELL???

[NutmegYankee]

4. Authoritarianism has already swept the right, and now I see it pulling in more on the left.

It's really frightening to some like me who tends to be anti-authoritarian.

[Hortensis]

3. "Liberalism is white supremacy?" It should be no surprise to anyone that

any passionate activist group that springs up like this is going to draw people from across the political personality spectrum and for sure contain some extremists. Since extremists from both sides are passionately antagonistic to liberals, who strongly dominate the Democratic Party, I sure can't guess from this whether these chanters were lead from the right, far left, or both.

But in any case, what matter is that the movement itself continue and not drive its own members away. Hopefully, capable members of BLM will be able to get control away from extremists. If not, they may just have to organize and continue to fight for social justice under another name. Many groups have survived being swarmed by extremists at times, including the ACLU.

[TexasBushwhacker]

61. Swarmed with paid trolls too n/t

[Hortensis]

63. Yes! In my irritation in reading about this incident, I didn't

think of that, and I usually do. For sure. Lots of little incidents by a few are mischaracterized as big ones by many by trolls. And new trolls are always infiltrating DU, and banned ones returning under new names and IPSs.

I also didn't mention BLM conservatives, but it'd be perfectly natural if some of those were swept into an anti-liberal attack without really intending their demonstration to be about that. Actively resisting it would probably be too much to expect of most in this era.

[DFW]

5. Any movement that allows itself to be taken over by extremists deserves to wither and disappear

That went for Kerensky in St. Petersburg, it went for the anti-Shah students in 1979, it went for the Republican Party in 2016, and it goes for BLM. Shutting down an ACLU event by force is so counter-productive to a movement like BLM, I find it downright suspicious that they didn't see that. I have to wonder just how many of these people were really BLM and how many were using their banner in order to make BLM look bad, seeing as how BLM could have no greater natural ally than the ACLU.

[Achilleaze]

6. SussPissious

me 2

[get the red out]

26. I generally agree with canine expressions

Great pic.

[RhodeIslandOne]

7. I wonder as well. The optics are awful. n/m

[muriel_volestrangler]

9. A Facebook page for the college BLM chapter claimed the credit

From the article:

Although the protesters identified themselves as merely “concerned students,” the College’s BLM chapter took credit on its Facebook page through a livestream of the event, as well as a written post stating, “Tonight, we shut down an event at William & Mary where Claire Gastañaga, executive director of the ACLU of Virginia, was speaking. In contrast to the ACLU, we want to reaffirm our position of zero tolerance for white supremacy no matter what form it decides to masquerade in.”

Still up: https://www.facebook.com/builtonourbacks/videos/1734551936840965/ seems like a genuine page.

[yardwork]

14. That FB post reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of the First Amendment.

[DFW]

19. Tying the ACLU to white supremacy

That makes about as much sense as tying Thomas Jefferson to the British Monarchy.

[dbackjon]

29. I think they are upset that the ACLU supported the rights of the Neo-Nazis to march in Charlottesvil

[DFW]

30. Old hat, and not credible

The ALCU has always held its nose when standing up for free speech in the USA when it was the Nazis doing it. That has been a thorn in the ACLU's side for decades. Charlottesville was not a new policy of theirs. Therefore, no one, including BLM can claim this was the ACLU standing up for white supremacy, any more than the ACLU defending BLM means they stand for black supremacy. The ACLU has always believed in the supremacy of free speech, no matter how distasteful the speech, no matter who is doing the speaking. For anyone to claim the ACLU supports white supremacy is an outright lie so blatant, anyone saying it HAS to know they are lying.

[dbackjon]

32. Correct. People lose that nuance, that free speech means free speach

[ananda]

62. I know. Truly insane!

I despair for our world.

[Hekate]

52. I feel the same way about those who shouted down Nancy Pelosi and Dolores Huerta...

In the case of Pelosi they were allegedly DACA and in the case of Huerta they were allegedly Bernie supporters. I utterly doubt their sincerity -- hell, I utterly doubt they are who they say they are at all. This is insane.

[Not Ruth]

10. I think that protesting by kneeling is classier

[jcmaine72]

11. Though it may have been stated a bit overzealously, their message still needs to be heard.

We as liberals and progressives should not be above soul searching. While I would personally prefer such ideas to be expressed in a civil fashion, I definitely agree with the sentiment that it is high time for most white people in this nation (including some liberals) to simply be quiet for once and start listening to African-Americans. There are still far too many white people who immediately get defensive the instant African-Americans begin voicing their concerns and fears and never actually listen to what they're being told.

[brooklynite]

12. ..and who heard their message?

Did their behavior change the opinion (for the better) of anyone at the ACLU event? Did anyone reading about this on a blog somewhere change their point of view?

[ProfessorGAC]

13. There Is Preaching To The Choir. . .

. . .and there is telling the choir to shut the hell up. I think this is an example of the latter.

Slapping one's allies is easier, because they're closer. Still seems counterproductive, to me.

[Marengo]

21. Sometimes shit is just that, regardless the color of the mouth.

[sarisataka]

22. If you look at the picture

With the article, there are very, very few African-Americans among the protestors. Possibly none.

[Demsrule86]

33. The first amendment is for everyone...even speech we don't like. My Dad used to say... I

categorically deny what you are saying to have any resemblance to the truth...I hate every word, but I would defend your right to say it with my life.

[romanic]

36. Blah blah blah

Didn't you even watch the video? Like 98% of those fools were white. God white guilt is such a mental disease. Smh

[snooper2]

47. No, idiots like this don't need to be heard. They need to focus and get an education...

Otherwise they will be 40 years old with nothing, except a couple internet forums to post on so they can "blame it on the man"

[Not Ruth]

15. Insulting any group makes it challenging to win support from the majority of that group

[eShirl]

16. Sounds like an event meant to generate antipathy toward BLM.

Lots of shit-stirring and chaos in the world these days.

[Vinca]

17. Sounds fishy. Alt-right masquerading as BLM?

[still_one]

18. When CNN entertained the discussion topic, "Are Jews really human?", is that an exercise in first

amendment rights, or a way to legitimize the dehumanization of Jews?

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a50906/are-jews-people-was-a-real/

Isn't that what the BLM moving is saying by this protest?

Is allowing the public voicing of racism a way of legitimizing racism, or an expression of first amendment rights?

[Seeking Serenity]

20. Why does it surprise anyone that groups, or subgroups within groups,

that are (or are seen to be) aligned with "our side" (whatever the hell that really means) can be just as authoritarian and willing to exert dominance or control over others as anyone else? I can see a strain of that mindset from some here in the gun threads.

Authoritarianism in humankind is thousands upon thousands of years old and is ingrained. Enlightenment thinking in terms of individual rights, liberty, and freedom, by comparison, is only a few hundred years old, a mere babe in human thinking.

Left-wing groups can be just as authoritarian as right-wing ones (20th-century history is replete with examples). Liberals (people who believe in individual liberty and freedom) by definition cannot be.

[Spy Car]

23. We liberals make a serious mistake by not standing in firm opposition to anti-liberal populism...

on the left, in the same way we unequivocally (and rightly) oppose anti-liberal populism on the right.

Both variants of populism are antithetical to liberal values.

It is time for liberal Democrats to boldly defend our values.

[comradebillyboy]

53. Exactly so!

[rockfordfile]

24. Those people sound like idiot right-wingers.

It's like the Russian bs is still being used.

[DFW]

25. This from our friendly neighborhood "white supremacists:"

ACLU of Texas Facebook Twitter
Graphic of gerrymandered district in Texas.

Political parties in Texas have spent years manipulating the drawing of district maps. The result: the political influence of minority communities has been diluted.

Pledge to help reform redistricting in Texas.

When done properly, redistricting ensures each district fairly reflects population shifts and encourages policymakers to represent all their constituents’ values and interests. Unfair redistricting makes the votes of many Texans effectively meaningless.

The next round of redistricting will begin following the 2020 census, so now is the time to ensure the process is fair.

Support an independent redistricting commission.

Sincerely,

ACLU of Texas
Defend liberty, equality & justice. Become a member »

If you forward, the links will open to a page with your personal information.

© ACLU of Texas • P.O. Box 8306 • Houston, TX 77288

[yodermon]

27. This smells like infiltration/co-opting/agent-provacateur type behavior.

Russian agents or James O'Keefe himself couldn't have scripted a more self-destructive type of protest.

[tblue37]

38. +1. nt

[GoCubsGo]

39. Yep.

[tenderfoot]

44. Yep.

eom

[Dr. Strange]

48. It is tempting to believe that.

The problem is, we've seen similar ridiculous behavior from students at Evergreen, etc. I don't think this is indicative of BLM as much as it is indicative of the authoritarian streak that has become hip among some college students.

[romanic]

59. I wouldn't say its "hip" to act in such a way.

It seems like it's a combo of radical indoctrination, helicopter parents, a want to be "apart of something" and a lack of maturity/growth from hs to college that leads to student protestors like these.

[JNelson6563]

28. Some lefties hate the left more than Trumpets.

Oh yes, go after the ACLU, those fuckers. lol

[JHB]

45. The only people we hate more than the Romans..."

[JNelson6563]

49. Spot on!

[Shrike47]

31. To me this stinks of a false flag operation. The words echo right-wing talking points.

[kentuck]

34. More and more, it seems that the BLM and the Antifa...

are part of the Russian influence in our politics.

Something is not right.

[GoCubsGo]

40. BLM started out as a legitimate group with legitimate concerns.

It appears they have been co-opted. As for Antifa, I would not be at all surprised if they're just another Russian front group.

[yodermon]

43. what's infuriating is that the MSM just accepts it straight, doesn't question.

The idea of infiltration/agent-provacateur behavior is just completely foreign to them.

[Dr. Strange]

35. On the bright side, Fox is now paying attention to BLM.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/10/05/black-lives-matter-shouts-down-aclu-protect-hitler-too.html

[romanic]

37. BLM is a joke, a parody of it's original goal.

Stick a fork in it.

[Delphinus]

42. I find this

very disconcerting. For the most part - or maybe in concept - I support the Black Lives Matter movement, but this, to me, was not well thought out.

[mfcorey1]

46. It seems they have been infiltrated by trolls!

[Doremus]

50. As so many outlets have been (including DU) nt

[SummerSnow]

51. Is that you Russia?

[guillaumeb]

54. The revolution against free speech? eom

[Downtown Hound]

58. More like a statement against threatening speech.

Neither of which are protected by the first amendment.

[Roland99]

55. Fake BLMers??

[XRubicon]

56. Astroturf.

[Downtown Hound]

57. Although I don't agree with the statement about liberalism

I do agree that the ACLU has fucked up hugely by choosing to defend Nazi's so-called right to free speech. Hate speech and threatening speech are not free speech. And Heather Heyer paid the price for their very bad choice. The ACLU has blood on its hands.

[Blue_true]

60. Was there a Black protester?

I could not make out one. At the best, these were passionate but misdirected White kids from the left. At the worst, they are righties trying to throw shade on a legitimate movement.