As a campus conservative, former chair of the Emory College Republicans and advocate for free speech, I condemn the crude and hateful rhetoric of Milo Yiannopoulos. Yiannopoulos does not speak for most Republicans, or for conservatives for that matter, and his obscene posturing is not representative of the substantive discourse that College Republicans have traditionally endorsed and promoted through their programming this year.
Though Yiannopoulos initially reached out to the Emory College Republicans after the Donald Trump chalking incident in March, the executive board refused to engage his appeals. An Emory Law student, in coordination with individual club members, organized and planned his speaking event using private funds. Many members of the executive board and of the club’s general body were neither aware of the event’s organization nor in favor of the event taking place at all.
Yiannopoulos specializes in stoking resentment, grievances and ugly passions. He praises offensiveness for its own sake. Traditionally, conservatives have taught that freedom is most fully realized through our actions with others and through the recognition of mutual rights and duties. Though we have the right to freedom of speech, we also have the duty to promote civil discourse and debate. Exalting crudity, offense, and cruel ad-hominem attacks as virtues only inhibits political discourse and undermines the very goal of free speech — the free exchange of ideas.
Though Yiannopoulos postures as a spokesman for “reasoned argument,” he also commands his audience to “be as offensive as possible.” This provocation exacerbates the fractionalized identity politics he claims to condemn. Championing incivility as the salvation of free speech disintegrates common language necessary for democracy to thrive. The very word, incivility, derives from the Latin word incivilis, which means “not of a citizen.” To be uncivil, then, is to act in a way that is contrary to responsible citizenship.
Provocateurs such as Yiannopoulos assume that civility is synonymous with lack of conviction, that to be a civilized individual means to be devoid of principles or passion and unwilling to fight for truth or great causes. But, of course, one can be a fervent and effective advocate for liberty, free speech and justice without being uncivil.
A person can be both civil and angry at injustice. Martin Luther King, Jr., in his letter from Birmingham City Jail, demonstrated that. Pro-life advocates such as Pope Francis argue that abortion is an injustice without dehumanizing his pro-choice opponents.
We can speak the truth, call things by their rightful name, reply to faulty arguments and still be civil. In fact, the act of arguing awakens reason. It sharpens the mind through exercise. Shutting down a political opponent with cruel jokes and ad-hominem attacks, however, prevents any argument at all.
Civility assumes that basic manners are what we owe others as fellow citizens and fellow human beings. Civility protects us against temptations to demonize and dehumanize those who hold views different from our own. Civility is, as Alexis de Tocqueville argues, a precondition for democratic dialogue. Living civilly in society entails having an awareness that our actions and words can have significant effects on the lives of others.
I write to assure the Emory community that last Wednesday’s event and the values it celebrated are not representative of most Republicans at Emory and are not indicative of what it means to be a conservative.
Conservatives seek to defend human dignity, ordered individual and economic liberty, personal responsibility, equality under the law, religious freedom and a commitment to American principles of federalism and the U.S. Constitution. We oppose outsourced, state imposed responsibility and favor involved, personal community responsibility, because we believe that our cherished customs and institutions have grown from below.
Conservatism seeks just laws and social arrangements that encourage individual moral progress while respecting human liberty and dignity. It emphasizes the importance of the mediating institutions of a free society — families, communities, civic and religious groups, markets and more — that stand between the individual and the state.
I am aware that not all people who identify as conservative hold these tenets, but they do represent the beliefs of a tradition that has been upheld in America intellectually, culturally and politically. I believe these principles are worth defending and articulating.
Being Republican does not presuppose the rude vulgarity of egotists like Yiannopoulos who condone violence and cruelty. This effort to turn conservatism into a bonfire of rage, a spectacle of insults, is a disservice to conservatism and to those who have represented it well on campus and over the centuries.
Amelia Sims is a College senior from Memphis, Tennessee.
Correction (4/20 at 9:48 p.m.): The headline was previously “Conservatives Against Milo Yiannopoulos.” The headline is “A Conservative Against Milo Yiannopoulos.”
Crude and hateful? Where do people come up with this stuff? I’ve asked this three times in as many days, but HAVE YOU LISTENED TO MILO? You should be thankful that he speaks for you as conservatives because you’d be overrun with millenial SJW sentiment if it weren’t for him.
I don’t think she would mind.
What you Conservatives all have not asked yourself is how this ALL came about? How did we let #SJW culture dominate media, academia and education with NO fight? It’s because the Conservatives also want this.
SJW culture dominates it because it’s the path of least resistance for low to middling intellects who are so mired in their own subjectivity that they fail to realize just how supremely retarded progressive leftism is.
Please look up where the neo-conservative movement comes from.
They tried in the 60’s to shop their internationalist, anti-worker agenda to the Democrats and failed miserably because they represented working class whites at the time, so they went to the Republican party and began a “march through the institutions” there. By the 80’s they had taken over and Reagan/Bush doctrines of open borders, constant world policing, and “free trade” were their brain-children.
They don’t oppose the left because they are the left.
Trump represents the working class and pro-sovereignty tea party coming together to push these elitists out.
Trump: because you can’t have a “conservative” movement if you have no nation to conserve.
Hateful rhetoric? I doubt you’ve listened to Milo
The Regressive Left clearly must be holding this girl hostage. The bernouts probably threatened to call her a racist if she didn’t denounce Milo- who is infinitely more funny, tolerant, and moral than the humorless, violent cult of SJW’s.
Good piece Amelia. I just think you could have either nixed ECR involvement with the event, or at least not publicize it, and lend your name. I do think this was antithetical to what you guys were trying to do the whole year.
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! What’s the difference between #SJW’s and Republican’s in college? No wonder your education is a MESS. You ARE them!
This is some really committed humorless inanity.
The weenie generations
Grow up. There’s no hate speech clause in the 1st Amendment, and I’m happy Milo was allowed to come. Milo engages his opposition at the level they engage him – except Milo’s arguments and insults tend to actually be correct. I’m also puzzled at what exactly you find “hateful” about Milo; the man speaks more like a comedian than a dictator. Milo is an entertainer. And when the other side is willing to call him a rape apologist, sexist, racist, evil bigoted self-hating homophobe without evidence, Milo should call those people idiots all day long. If you think he needs to be shut up because he’s too mean, you’re no Conservative.
No one is advocating for him to be muzzled. The author seems to be criticizing the histrionics he uses to rile up his base. Arguing that his rhetoric is imprudent for advancing conservatism hardly means she thinks he should be censored.
“crude and hateful rhetoric”
Cite some?
I’m glad for the conservative snowflakes on campus since it seems they also get safe spaces. Good for you guys, yay!
OH snap!! We have another gatekeeper of conservatism over here, only she knows the pure and beautiful untouched nature of our precious ideology.
“I write to assure the Emory community that last Wednesday’s event and the values it celebrated are not representative of most Republicans at Emory and are not indicative of what it means to be a conservative.”
She’s not pretending all conservatives agree with her dude. People have different ways of articulating conservatism and liberalism
“I am aware that not all people who identify as conservative hold these tenets, but they do represent the beliefs of a tradition that has been upheld in America intellectually, culturally and politically. I believe these principles are worth defending and articulating.”
“Exalting crudity, offense, and cruel ad-hominem attacks as virtues only inhibits political discourse and undermines the very goal of free speech ”
I am not accepting that this is what Milo does. But where is the evidence that this is true? Or the evidence that Milo has done anything other than create more debate?
Milo is exactly what conservatives need. A wake-up-call. Loud, obnoxious and fabulous.
More from this author:
“Why you should vote for a Democrat this November”
Representin the true Emory Republican community, I suppose.
No it doesnt? It says related articles.
The “Why you should vote for a Democrat this November” Is written Josh Niemtzow and Julia Skye Feldman.
Thanks for showing that you don’t even read.
Weird, it was under the heading more from this author for me
So-Called “neo-conservatives” like this are simply Democrats. You can tell because they champion open borders and tow the line on political correctness and “i know better than the voter so will ignore thier will” elitism like the author of this article.
I rest my case.
It’s time for the “neo-cons” who coopted this party in the late 80’s to get out and go back to the Democratic party where they belong. Given nose-holding and dismissive rhetoric like this, I think they’ll make good company with the SJW’s who whinge about their “safe spaces”, slap “bigot” stickers on everything that moves, and pretend theyre in Europe with their tiresome prattling about non-existent “hate speech”.
this author did not write “why you should vote democrat in november,” nor did she champion open borders or safe spaces..
dude, you are not a conservative and this article proves it.
This is what it looks like when a conservative embedded in extreme-leftwing safe-space culture develops Stockholm Syndrome… ^_^
Civility only works if the other side are playing by the rules too. If they ignore the rules, they’ll just win if you’re being nice.
This is basic game theory. Open your eyes.
“that to be a civilized individual means to be devoid of principles or passion and unwilling to fight for truth or great causes”
What “truth” and “great causes are you superboys and supergirls fighting for as you stare into your mirrors? –men using bathrooms with little girls? –the physical cleansing of the Trump name from campus?
Though Emory students have (misplaced) passion by the ton, they seem devoid of either principles, truth and great causes.
Now go pat yourselves on your backs for your ability to “coexist” with others so well, or your “unique” diversity–as if in thousands of years of human history, no one before you was able to coexist without your ridiculous histrionics.
Find a safe space well away from chalk and take a nap.
SJWs be like
http://i.giphy.com/kkciHW2KDb94c.gif