Posted on 03/12/2009 5:58:42 AM PDT by pabianice
Both sides wanted controversy, and both sides got it.
In the Cape Cod Lounge Wednesday night, conservative pundit Don Feder took the podium after University of Massachusetts Republican Club president Greg Collins introduced him to a swarm of boos.
The event devolved from there.
Shortly before the speech began, a large group of protesters carrying “anti-hate” signs assembled and filed into the room, where they were met at the door by UMass police.
From the start, the protesters made their voices heard.
“There’s absolutely no room for hate speech on this campus,” said winter 2008 graduate Natalia Tylim. Her friend, senior Katie Perry, concurred, adding “I think campuses are places for open-mindedness, and this is the opposite of that.”
As the room filled, Feder mingled with media, the Republican Club and security personnel, while the crowd buzzed with an eager pulse.
Before the speech began, the evening was marked by drama, as police removed one student holding a ferret before asking another audience member his plans regarding an orange he was holding.
Not all members of the audience were opposed to Feder’s appearance.
“I’m curious about why he has these views, they need to let him speak,” said freshman Cameron Abolfazli.
When Collins took the podium at just after 7 p.m. to introduce Feder, he added a warning to would-be disrupters of the event.
“Before I introduce Don Feder,” Collins said, “any sort of disruption during this event will not be tolerated, and this speech will not specifically address the Justice for Jason movement” (refers to a black undergrad who attacked two white students with a knife after they yelled insults at him -- entire campus is demanding that he not be prosecuted and the white guys be jailed).
As boos rained down from the gallery, Collins told the crowd that “this speech will address hate crimes,” and that “the Republican Club feels that issues surrounding race are frequently dictated by one side on this campus in an intolerant manner.”
From there, tensions only heightened, as Feder sternly redressed the crowd in his opening statement.
“You don’t stop someone from speaking who you disagree with,” he said, banging his hand on the lectern, “there’s something god-damn fascistic about people coming into a speech and deliberately trying to disrupt it.”
Feder several times referenced totalitarian political movements.
“Hate crime laws,” Feder said, “are fascism, fascism in the guise of protecting minorities.”
At 7:13, just minutes into the speech, the protesters turned their seats in defiance, to which Feder joked that “those people who’ve turned their chairs around are probably wise, I’m nothing special to look at.”
After a brief pause, Feder moved into what seemed to be the crux of his speech.
“Excepting laws against libel and slander, we have the freedom to spread lies and disinformation, the freedom to spread lies that are hurtful and even hateful, we have the freedom to say things that would enrage those who would suppress speech in the name of tolerance,” he said.
Feder proceeded to address the specifics of hate crime law. He read from the law: “a hate crime is one in which there is manifest evidence of prejudice based on race, religion, disability, sexual orientation or ethnicity.”
After Feder related that a 2007 statute meant to protect those targeted for their gender identity was “thankfully vetoed by President Bush,” one protester stood up and asked “what about Duanna Summers,” a transgendered person murdered in Memphis, TN.
Feder was notably peeved at the interruption, asking authorities to “please remove her, if you don’t remove her I’m going to stop speaking,” before chiding the audience with “you god-damned Nazis.”
From there, whatever order existed was lost.
“I’m in a time warp, I’m back at Boston University in 1969,” said Feder, as crowd members called back simply with “good.”
“I’ve spoken at college campuses all over the country,” said Feder. “I’ve never experienced anything like this before,” as the crowd cheered.
After a prolonged pause, Feder moved on to what would be the final part of his speech, citing statistics about hate crime in America.
Of violent crimes, 47.4 percent were intimidation, 31.4 percent simple assault, 20.6 aggravated assault and 0.2 percent were murder, adding to nine hate crime murders in 2007.
“Your chances of being the victim of a serious hate crime are comparable to being struck twice by lightning and being run over by a high speed train while skateboarding on a national holiday,” Feder quipped, before he was derailed for what would be the final time.
“I want to tell you this, Don Feder, fag to me is not only a word,” one protester shouted, as Feder remarked, “I won’t have to put up with this,” before leaving the stage.
After a sustained pause, the crowd chanted “speak, Don, speak!” but received no reply.
Several minutes later, at around 7:30 p.m. Collins again took the stage.
“I apologize to those who came to hear a speech,” he remarked, “but the event has been cancelled.”
“I’m too old and too tired to subject myself to this,” Feder bewilderedly said at the podium after he finished, “it would have been the longest speech of my life.”
“These people know there’s no consequences, the only place this can happen is on a college campus, anywhere else these people would be arrested for disorderly conduct,” he said.
Afterwards Feder said he was disappointed but not defeated.
“If these people want to think they won, that’s fine,” he said, “the Soviets thought they won until the Berlin Wall came down, the Nazis thought they won until 1945.”
Members of the Republican Club were similarly disappointed at the results.
“We intended for the event to be a forum for the expression of a conservative perspective on hate crime legislation, but also to provide a give and take with the audience, who we expected would disagree with his perspective,” said Republican Club vice president Brad DeFlumeri.
“With that being said,” Deflumeri added, “the leftists who did attend made it quite clear quite early that they intended for the event to be shut down, that they intended to infringe upon Don Feder’s first amendment free speech rights.”
Sam Butterfield can be reached at sjb09@hampshire.edu.
The Radical Student Union (formerly Students for a Democratic Society) can be reached at http://www.umass.edu/rso/rsu/
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Comments
8 comments
Bill Thu Mar 12 2009 08:44 Gotta love this radical segment of our student body, the same segment that had the laughable idea of a "student strike". Its absolutely hilarious that those who get outraged over what they perceive as suppression of views and encroachments on rights are all too comfortable doing it themselves. True democracy includes ALL views!
Your name Thu Mar 12 2009 07:35 Anyone who would compare peaceful college protesters to Fascists and call them "god-damned Nazis" is far from classy. Mr. Feder's blatant ignorance was intolerable and we couldn't give him enough respect to even let him finish. The students have spoken. Hate crimes and hate speech won't be defended on our campus, even when done so at an official forum by a so-called scholar.
L33to II, Scion of Arrakis Thu Mar 12 2009 02:28 "Her friend, senior Katie Perry, concurred, adding “I think campuses are places for open-mindedness, and this is the opposite of that.” HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, the irony.
You stay classy, UMass.
Margaret Thu Mar 12 2009 02:03 You don't have to agree with the opinions of others and what is being said, but the person saying it has a right to be heard and others have a right to be able to hear those opinions. This entire incident disgusts me and I am a progressive Democrat.
Mike Thu Mar 12 2009 01:15 This is absolutely pathetic and hypocritcial of the protesters. I find it disgusting that someones freedom of speech was constantly being bothered by these people. That is not the way you get things done. Its very childish and what was acomplished in the end? Nothing
Shane Adams Thu Mar 12 2009 01:07 People are coming from such different places and yet with similar hearts. I wish they could simply hear each other out heart to heart. I heard both sides tonight. I heard Feder after the event and went to the Coalition Against Hate at 9. I really wish we could talk it out. The Republicans come off badly to the liberals and the liberals come off badly to the Republicans. Everyone's media is so offensive to each other. So what do we do? Yell? Silence each other? Write more angry letters? How does that help?
Legislation is not the key, education is not the key, and more meetings are not the key. The world wouldn't be better if it was more Republican or more Liberal. It would be better if we "understood" each other and loved one another. But to love your enemy? That is a supernatural thing.
D. Thu Mar 12 2009 00:24 Best part: After Feder related that a 2007 statute meant to protect those targeted for their gender identity was “thankfully vetoed by President Bush,” one protester stood up and asked “what about Duanna Summers,” a transgendered person murdered in Memphis, TN.
Feder was notably peeved at the interruption, asking authorities to “please remove her, if you don’t remove her I’m going to stop speaking,” before chiding the audience with “you god-damned Nazis.”
Edward Thu Mar 12 2009 00:06 -- The protestors who came to the speech were obviously very ignorant people judging by their crude behavior, disheveled and shoeless manner of dress, and giddy hate they belched forth upon a man who having lectured at such universities as Cornell, Yale, and Harvard, claimed never to have seen before. Their unsolicited attacks validated Mr. Feder's arguments, but what can you expect from degenerates who laughed at astonishing hate crime statistics and cheered themselves when told that no other university would so shame itself. They've lowered the bar at this supposed institution of higher education. Maybe this is where they belong though, the University of Massachusetts did award the brutal Zimbawean dictator, Rober Mugame, with an honoray degree afterall.
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Must be nice for these worthless students to have all the time in the world to whine.
Leftists are FASCISTS.
Provably, demonstrably,
FASCISTS.
See Mr. Holder? THIS is why we cannot discuss race.
bttt
ZOOMASS, you don’t go there. You end up there.
Intolerant people simply must be expunged from public discourse. It’s so logical.
Obama and his droids are fascists.
More hate speech from college left-wingnuts.
“I think campuses are places for open-mindedness”
Since campuses have been run by the Left since the 1960’s, how would you expect any open-mindedness?
This was an organized effort to shut somebody up, typical of leftist tactics.
Seems like Katie is a perfect example of why someone should not attend UMass for education. She's a fool's idea of a fool.
“There’s absolutely no room for hate speech on this campus,” said winter 2008 graduate Natalia Tylim
Stated as the leftist show hate for everyone and everything not from the far left.
What a bunch of assclown....
Zero’s Brownshirts are getting more active. We haven’t seen anything yet. The First Amendment is being trampled by their dirty feet.
Agreed. The irony is they preach about diversity. Yeah, except diversity of opinion. Leftists fascists can’t abide disagreement on any issue. The left is bereft of integrity, intelligence and common decency.
It truly is time to stop calling leftists “liberals.” They are anything but liberal. I suggest that “illiberal” would be a better term.
What she said was: As long as you agree with our views.
These two women need more irony in their diets.
What did you expect from the PDRM (Peoples’ Democratic Republic of Massachusetts)?
These “students” are merely typical products of the Mass. Lower Education System. The poster who used the expression ZOOMASS was right spot on.
The sad part is nowhere do we hear of the thousands of HARD WORKING STUDENTS who are pursuing course of study that require actual STUDYING and LEARNING.
There are two kinds of campuses in this state. There is the noisy, tumultuous, rap music blaring one populated with Poli-Sci and Arts “Students”. There is also the quiet campus, whose students are fully occupied with STUDIES
that are really.....STUDIES.
More hate speech from college left-wing nuts.
Wait till they get a job, if they can, and have to pay the taxes. I they cannot find a job, they will continue to subsist with a tin cup in their hand.
my son was left thinking until he graduated and got a very good paying job. He became an instant conservative.
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