Paul Gottfried writes for the Martin Center about his recent encounter with college protesters.
[L]ast October 25 and 26, I was invited by the Alexander Hamilton Institute and its director, history professor Robert Paquette, to deliver two classroom lectures on fascism and conservatism at Hamilton College, to be followed by an appearance at Bob’s institute. Since I have written on both subjects voluminously, asking me to speak on them should not have caused any waves.
Or so Bob and I thought.
To our surprise, we were greeted by protesters on our way to each of the classes where I was to speak, first on American conservatism and the second on fascism and Nazism. The protesting students and their campus advisers were appalled that I had been allowed onto campus before the administration obtained their permission. From their shouts and taunts, I gathered that they were angry because I supposedly advocate white supremacy (which I never have) and because I don’t think all cultures are equally good (which I do). Those students didn’t find my presence acceptable and accused me of “hate speech.”
Each of my two talks went off without any trouble. The professors allowed students who were not enrolled to sit in on the classes and some of the protesters did so. …
… Within a few days of my departure, I learned that my visit to Hamilton had stirred up quite a disruption. The Government Department saw fit to send around a statement to the Hamilton community. It said that the faculty members were concerned over “multiple complaints from students about racist remarks allegedly made by Gottfried” in his talks. Nothing I had said could be regarded as “racist” except in that “racist” has become a universal smear for any disagreement with leftist thinking. The statement went on to “unequivocally condemn any and all such racist remarks, written or spoken.”
