Utah college student leads Ben Shapiro protest, Constitution not ‘a relevant document’
A student leader leading the protest against the speech by conservative commentator Ben Shapiro says that the First Amendment right to free speech is not relevant to modern times, adding that the U.S. Constitution is not “a relevant document right now.”
In an interview with ABC News, a University of Utah student and organizer of the anti-Shapiro demonstration said that the conservative pundit should not speak on campus.
“I don’t think he should speak,” the unnamed student said. When the interviewer pointed out that such a position is not in line with the First Amendment, the protester replied, “I don’t care.”
“I don’t care…I don’t think that’s, like, a relevant document right now,” the student demonstrator added.
Shapiro has been a target of numerous protests in recent months, with college students frequently accusing the Jewish commentator of fueling fascist rhetoric, discrimination, and systematic racism.
The so-called “Antifa” movement also frequently opposes the First Amendment right to free expression, arguing that the fascist rhetoric ought to be prohibited.
“At the heart of the anti-fascist outlook is a rejection of the classical liberal phrase incorrectly ascribed to Voltaire that ‘I disapprove of what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it,’” Dartmouth College Professor Mark Bray writes in the “Anti-Fascist Handbook.”
“After Auschwitz and Treblinka, anti-fascists committed themselves to fighting to the death the ability of organized Nazis to say anything,” he maintains.
Shapiro, however, remains optimistic about the future, telling ABC that he expects a public backlash against those who oppose freedom of speech.
“I think there is going to be a backlash,” he said. “I think there is going to be a strong backlash for people who are tired of it and want to stand up for basic right that we can all agree on.”