Submission: Students should practice civil discourse, not suppress opposing views

Young Americans for Freedom at UCLA condemns the protesters from Refuse Fascism Los Angeles who temporarily suspended the question-and-answer portion of the panel titled “What Is Civil Discourse? Challenging Hate Speech In A Free Society” hosted Tuesday evening by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and UCLA.

The turn of events were ironic, to say the least. “What is Civil Discourse” was intended to inform students about what a civil, courteous discussion entails. Instead, it turned disturbinglyuncivil when protesters shouted over speakers, blocked aisles and disrupted the event to the point where the remnants of the event were moved to another room. Consequently, the majority of the audience left and few were able to ask questions.

The form of protest seen during the event is not only counterproductive and insulting to the speakers, one of whom is a child of Holocaust survivors, but antithetical to the purpose of the university. By shouting, rather than discoursing, the student protesters demonstrated they disdain discussion, discourage conversation and reject dialogue. A lecture dedicated to promoting civil discourse is not a place to scream and yell for a perceived “righteous cause.” While shouted protests have a place, a lecture intended to show what a calm conversation looks like is not the venue.

Political discussion need not degenerate into shouting matches, but rather should be polite, in-depth and civil. Granted, politics has often not been civil itself, but we need not hold to the model of the past. Let us be adults and talk about our differences using our experiences, perspectives and knowledge. Let us learn from each other and those who have the wisdom of years. And let us proudly enshrine each other’s right to free speech, especially when we disagree.

We at YAF invite Refuse Fascism members to civil discourse and hope all of us can have a reasonable debate with the free exchange of ideas. If Refuse Fascism honestly wishes to convince and educate, rather than merely raise tensions, it can participate in the great conversation of thought.

Fascists tend to shut down free speech, just like Refuse Fascism, who only allowed their speech to be heard, shouting down and drowning out speakers they disagreed with. In a twist worthy of Shakespeare, these protesters have adopted the very tactics and methodology they claim to detest. Refuse Fascism’s protests derailed productive conversation about actual history for political gain regarding hyperbolic claims about today’s politics.

As the panel eloquently presented, we are at UCLA to learn, not here to silence speech that Refuse Fascism dislikes. Our university motto is “Fiat Lux – Let There Be Light.” We should keep that light shining. Let’s have a conversation, not a shouting match.

Schneider is a first-year political science and economics student.