Free speech: feminist and LGBT groups run scared of University of North Carolina abortion debate
Campus life is an intoletant place. Kaitlyn Schallhorn looks at the story of one female Pro Life student’s dealing with feminist and LGBT organizations at the University of North Carolina – Wilmington.
Madison Marston invited UNCW’s National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL), PRIDE, and the Women’s and Gender Studies Student Association (WSSA) to join the debate on Ratio Christi’s chat “Abortion and Human Equality: A Pro Life Defense of the Unborn”.
All the groups declined.
Fair enough. You don’t have to speak. But their response said much about how intolerance and the exchange of ideas is taboo.
An email to Martson told her:
“If you continue toattempt to contact any of us, we will take further action. Each of the leaders of PRIDE, NARAL and WSSA ask that you no longer contact us directly. As a student organization, your events are on the CAIC calendar, part of Hawk e-News, and disseminated in a variety of other ways, which is sufficient for us to be aware of them. We do not need, nor want, these invitations. If you continue to attempt to contact any of us, we will take further action.”
We don’t know what form that action will take, but we can’t rule out emails and other lengthy replies.
“… we have no desire to debate them with you or your organization. We have no desire to hear from Mike Adams who has routinely mocked us and engaged in hostile and belittling behavior towards our organizations and beliefs. We have no desire to attend any event sponsored by your organization and its narrow beliefs steeped in religious bigotry and intolerance.”
Isn’t taking on the bigoted and intolerant what the enlightened and tolerant should be doing?
Martson agrees:
“I had naively thought UNCW’s pro-choice student organizations would jump at any and every opportunity to participate in events on the topic of abortion. Or at least, I thought they would be somewhat interested in having a platform to defend their views. If they believe so strongly that abortion is a woman’s right—why are they afraid to defend their belief?..
“If Ratio Christi is the intolerant party, why will NARAL, PRIDE, and the WSSA not tolerate our personal invitations?” she said. “Why will they not tolerate our attempt to engage with them on a topic of mutual interest?”
UNCW’s College Democrats will not attend because – get this – “our party’s views do not align with the views of the speaker.”
And those are the thrusting students, those youthful agents of change and dynamism.
Adams then nails them:
“They simply cannot survive in a free and open marketplace of ideas. That is why they demand to remain undisturbed inside protective wombs like the safe zone and the campus diversity center. That is also why they threaten to abort free speech by prosecuting those who seek to openly debate controversial ideas.”
“If this is not intolerance I don’t know what is.”
Intolerance will not be tolerated!
Posted: 18th, February 2015 | In: Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
