The effort of any and all groups to eliminate opposing ideas is not new. It's as old as mankind itself. The United States, however, was founded on the exact opposite principle: FREE and OPEN exchange of ideas, political points of view and opposing thoughts. In our relatively short history the exchange of ideas has been robust and often firey.
But the Progressives now have a new weapon to eliminate debate and stop all opposing speech without crossing the hallowed "free speech" line. It's called "you hurt my feelings" gambit, also known as the "safe space" demand.
Curiously, in demanding a "safe space where the supposed victim can avoid having their feelings hurt, the progressives wantonly destroy their opponent's entire lives. They don't just "hurt their opponent's feelings" they cause the opponent to lose their job, perhaps their entire career, be removed or expelled from school, and ruin their reputation. And they do this without any proof that this opponent ever caused the slightest harm to any one.
The bottom line is you damned well better keep your mouth shut or you will be ruined forever. Of course you still have your blessed "freedom of speech" provided you never use it.
There have been dozens of horrific examples of these assaults in recent weeks. One of the most egregious however is the attack by the progressive citizens of Revere, Massachusetts of a local high school cheerleading captain, Caley Godino. Godino's offense? She actually took an interest in local politics instead of spending her time on SnapChat or watching One Direction videos.
God knows we cannot let our children have any opinions. And we certainly can't let them Tweet those opinions on their own Twitter page. Those opinions might hurt someone's feelings. Those opinions might threaten someone's "safe space." Note the word "might" in my analysis. No one actually ever said they were harmed in any way.
Godino sent out one Tweet in response to her high school teacher's Tweet about the poor turnout in a recent election.
"When only 10 percent of Revere votes for mayor cause the other 90 percent isn't legal," Godino replied sarcastically, maybe even a little snarkily, in her tweet.
Of course all hell rained down on Godino after she dared to voice her opinion. Some other unnamed and protected students complained to the school "authorities" and, in order to shelter and protect these unnamed students, the mighty forces of the school district stepped in to make certain Godino would never, ever voice her opinions again.
Revere Superintendent Dianne Kelly says the district believes in freedom of speech, but cannot support what she calls insensitive language. "If you're going to stand up and say something that other people will find offensive, then you need to be prepare to deal with the ramifications of that," Kelly said. The ramifications? Kelly kicked Godino off the cheerleading squad for the rest of the year.
Allow me to translate. What Ms. Kelly means is she will never allow any free speech on her watch. Debate is forbidden. Opposing ideas are never to be allowed. If you dare to voice your opinion, you high school career is over and your life will be a living hell. Thank you for molding America's future leaders, Ms. Kelly.
Caley Godino's opponents never had to name themselves. They were and are anonymous. They never had to defend their political positions or engage in debate. They never were forced to tell Godino why her opinions were wrong or why their's were right. The very debate upon which America was founded was never allowed to happen. That might have violated someone's "safe space. "
ULTIMATE IRONY: The mascot of the Revere High School is the "Patriots."
