Joy Villa
Imagine this: a dystopian
world where speech is highly regulated by a controlling “Big Brother” who
teaches and curates young minds, but only allows one train of thought to run on
its track, forcing people to go into hiding and to withdraw their viewpoints.
Imagine there are angry
dilettantes-turned-anarchists who violently attack anyone who disagrees with
this Big Brother and are given full access to do so.
No, this is not George
Orwell’s “1984,” a fiction novel written in 1949. This is Berkeley, California,
and the year is 2017.
Saturday was meant to kick off
“Free Speech Week” organized by gay, conservative activist Milo Yiannopoulos
and was to feature a diverse array of speakers and performances including Steve
Bannon, Ann Coulter, street artist Sabo, Mike Cernovich, former Pussycat Doll
Kaya Jones and myself.
I was set to perform a rousing
“God Bless America” to introduce Bannon and Milo to the stage, but had to
cancel because of the numerous death threats against my life and that of my
family. Now, the event has been cancelled for similar reasons.
Every day it feels like the
only people being allowed to speak up on campus are the violent group of thugs
known as “Antifa.” Ironically, this stands for “Anti-Fascists.” The irony that
limiting free speech is what fascists do, is apparently lost on them.
This marks another
conservative event set to be at the University of California Berkeley that had
to be cancelled due to violent protests and the flat out non-cooperation of the
Berkeley administration.
A few weeks ago conservative
speaker Ben Shapiro was almost shut down from speaking at Berkeley but barely
made it by. The cost of his security detail? $600,000. The biggest reason for
the protests? “He’s a Trump Nazi.” Shapiro is Jewish and speaks wearing a
yarmulke. He’s never uttered anything remotely racist and isn’t even a Trump
supporter.
Every day it feels like the
only people being allowed to speak up on campus are the violent group of thugs
known as “Antifa.” Ironically, this stands for “Anti-Fascists.” The irony
that limiting free speech is what fascists do, is apparently lost on them.
Antifa's slogan is “Punch a
Nazi!” Anyone who is conservative, pro-America, or right-leaning
politically, including myself, a bi-racial black, Choctaw and Italian woman,
qualifies as a “Nazi.”
Video after video online shows
black-masked Antifa members attacking Trump supporters for simply wearing red
“Make America Great Again” hats.
As a woman of mixed racial
heritage I find the very idea of being forced to withdraw from an event based
on threats both embarrassing and horrifying.
I didn't expect to be facing
this in 2017. This happened to my ancestors not that long ago, Martin Luther
King Jr. fought for civil rights so I could use my voice, so all of us could.
Isn’t that why our founding
fathers fought so hard for us to have our Constitutional First Amendment?
Campuses already have a long
and torrid history of not admitting women, African American or Native American
students for years.
Their choice to constantly
shut down Republicans, Independents, conservatives, and other right-leaning
voices, many of them of all colors, sexualities and backgrounds, frightens me.
This isn’t just anybody, this is a highly established institution of higher
learning where America sends their brightest and best young minds to be curated
and educated and sent out into the world.
What hope do we have when our
schools have shut down our right to speak or think differently than what they
tell us? What hope do the kids of Berkeley have? Are these the places where our
future leaders, artists and dreamers will be crushed into silence leaving us a
grey and muted future filled with an enforced "Group Think?"
As I look around at more and
more young conservative voices being stifled by Hollywood, the press and now
universities I can't help but think perhaps 1984 wasn't just a fictional story
after all.
Free Speech isn't just dying,
it's dead. The question now is, what are we going to do about it?
The left has completely missed
the point of Orwell's 1984 (which happens to be on the bestseller list again).
As long as they are the ones who get to be in charge, to be Big Brother
and dictate the terms of debate, our youth and our freedom are gone.
Berkeley was once the shining
beacon of free speech. Now, they are the oppressors of anyone who disagrees.
Tearing apart the fabric of our nation weakens us all.
It's time we took back our
right to speak up.
Joy Villa is an iTunes, Amazon
and Billboard recording artist. Her release "Make America Great Again!"hit #1 on Amazon
Music. You can find her at www.joyvilla.com.
Via Fox News, September 26, 2017
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