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Is Cal Poly president all talk and no walk?

December 4, 2016
Allan Cooper

Allan Cooper

OPINION by ALLAN COOPER

I was horrified to read that Milo Yiannopoulos has been invited by the Cal Poly College Republicans to speak at the Spanos Theater on January 31. This self-described “alt-right” conservative has engaged in hate speech against Muslims, minorities, immigrants and women.

Cal Poly Public Relations Director Matt Lazier stated in response to this invitation that Cal Poly is an “open environment where opinions, ideas and thoughts are freely shared…” Does this so-called “open environment” include hate speech?

Cal Poly’s President Jeffrey D. Armstrong has repeatedly spoken out against hate and bigotry.

As recently as Nov. 2015, Cal Poly students protested anti-Islamic and anti-gender fluidity statements written on a “Free Speech Wall” erected annually by the Cal Poly College Republicans on the Dexter Lawn to commemorate the toppling of the Berlin Wall. President Armstrong, in a letter to students, touted the university’s efforts to curb such incidents and improve the campus environment for all students.

Unless President Armstrong is “all talk and no walk,” I expect the president and Cal Poly’s recently established Office of University Diversity and Inclusivity to intervene and bar this bigot from speaking on-campus.


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Just don’t burn a flag, you might loose your citizen ship or spend a year in jail- Donald Trump


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So… Mr. Cooper… diversity of opinion is okay as long as it agrees with your opinion??


Diversity should be applied literally, not as a buzz word employed by fuzzy headed academics as a way to make their own views seem “mainstream.”


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Perhaps the good Professor might like to consider this:


http://www.nationalreview.com/article/442812/people-who-flip-out-over-milo-are-why-milo-has-career


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It is not my need or job to have an opinion on the Cal Poly president but since he is being discussed, who is he? No not his name, who is he? Work history, family person, personal accomplishments?


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Is there a sensitive nerve in this inquiry?


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I am guessing that retired prof. Cooper is afraid. Afraid that there will be more like Yiannopoulos who take delight at eloquently skewering the easy targets of group think such as Cooper and his thought police ilk. Sorry Prof., your days of forced propaganda are over now. You are limited to tired socialist whining on internet sites and coffee and laxatives with the long hairs at McDonalds.


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Well I’m guessing South that speaking out against hate and bigotry is your definition of “group think”. How sad that you cannot make a distinction between this form of “group think” and the role civil discourse and common decorum play in our society. How sad that you cannot see the link between hate speech and incitement to violence. This form of speech is just as illegal as crying “fire” in a packed movie house. Or perhaps you are also condoning mayhem, violence and persecution of minorities. In any event, by condoning hate speech, you will be taking full ownership of its consequences and they are sure to follow.


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I can only hope acooper that you are well into your dotterage and that you didn’t impose this bilge disguised as an argument to your college students. Yiannopoulos entire gig is based on the discrimination of conservatives, the snowflake mentality of minorities and LGBTQs (he is openly and flamboyantly gay) and the open season on any religion except for Islam which they cherish as if it was a delicate orchid. Thats it. He spews no hate, but is a bigot. He is bigoted against Islamists want to cut off his head or throw him from a building and he isn’t afraid to say it. He also thinks that a religion that blames rape victims, forces women into servitude and doesn’t believe they should vote belongs in the 7th. Century. Yep he is a bigot.


How you, acooper, place that in the same argument as crying “fire” in a movie house is beyond weak, it’s stupid.


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South…at least I’m not so far into my dotage to know that “dotterage” is not a word!


But without spewing insults (as is your style), I would like to remind the many “Milo fans” out there that the “fire” analogy is well-grounded in fact. Though I know you all may prefer to be living in a “post-truth” bubble, here are the facts.


It is well-known that Yiannopoulos’s “Dangerous Faggot” college tours have been deliberately inflammatory and have left in their wake hordes of angry young right-wingers and a multitude of very shaken minority students.


Queerphobia, xenophobia, racism against Muslims and other brown people can be a disruptive influence on any campus…including Cal Poly’s. Here are only a few of Milo’s choice quotes which are not only bigoted and untrue but can also be considered incendiary:


“…lesbians are raping each other at unprecedented rates”


“There is no basis in science to suppose that gay people were born that way”


“The number one killer of black men is black men”


“We [white people] invented all the good shit”


“Of all these groups, Islam is the most inherently hilarious. Is there anything more comically sinister than the sight of a herd of women swathed in black bedsheets?”


“I think birth control was a mistake and women are happier in the kitchen”


“Islam is more insular and hostile to outside thinking than a gender studies department. If you give them an inch, they’ll take a mile, and rape everything inside it. And they won’t stop spreading”


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First – I apologize for typos and rudeness. I should have been more measured. That being said, your examples are those one should expect from a person who makes his living by making people laugh at sacred cows. This is satire much like Mort Sahl in the 60s and Bill Mahr currently. These lions of the left are heralded but Milo is selling hate speech? Come on Allan. Grow a sense of humor. Does any rational person believe that Milo actually believes that birth control is a mistake and that women are happier in the kitchen?


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I think you’re a sore loser. Come on — your side has the presidency, the congress, the senate, and you still complain that there’s “discrimination” against conservatives? Get real. You own the whole enchilada.


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Who gets to decide what constitutes “hate speech?” The minority speaker of the democratic party? The person with the lowest threshold for being offended? You? You’re going down a slippery slope, Alan. When a person or group that gets to decide what opinions are expressed sounds frighteningly close to an oligarchy. Or perhaps that’s exactly what you desire.


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The United States IS an oligarchy. A government which is led by only a few, rich elite who get to make decisions for everyone. How did the recent elections not prove this?


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Please provide the names of the “few, rich elite who get to make decisions for everyone,” and describe how they are able to usurp the separation of powers.


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From what I have seen and heard, Mr. Yiannopoulos is an attention whore who plays fast and loose with the facts and lives for the effect that his nasty words have on others. (Like Trump, but worse.) However, that doesn’t mean he has no right to speak.


Censoring him using a vague concept like “hate speech” is contrary to the principals in the First Amendment and opens the door to abuse by people on any side when they come to power. Protest loudly (though peaceably) if you want, but let him speak. Cal Poly is a government institution and free speech applies to it.


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author:


regarding your question,


<>


Yes.


It isn’t “open” if you only let people you agree with speak.


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Honest question because I don’t know… Mr. Cooper were you as upset when Ahmadinejad spoke at Columbia University a few years back? I believe “Hate Speech” is a dangerous concept that has made it into our legal landscape. But, if you’re going to call anything “Hate Speech” wouldn’t the the anti-semitic propaganda from him qualify? How about when the the precious kids march through UCLA wearing Hamas gear?


Wimp culture is upon us.


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You were ” Horrified” that some kid pokes fun at everyone as part of an act. I’m “Horrified” that you are so weak minded that you can’t handle an opposing view to your own. Here is an idea snowflake just don’t go to the show and find your safe place.


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