‘Not every opinion is valid:’ Carleton University free speech wall torn down within hours

telnet_reddit_80 · 2013-01-23T15:33:38+00:00

“In organizing the ‘free speech wall,’ the Students for Liberty have forgotten that liberty requires liberation, and this liberation is prevented by providing space … for the expression of hate,”

Orwell is spinning in his grave.

kznlol · 2013-01-23T15:25:10+00:00

A SEVENTH YEAR student?

fucking lol

[edit] I'm going to use this to say that technically no opinion can be valid, as valid is a logical term that applies only to arguments.

That said, in the common use of the term, all opinions are valid, and indeed must be.

RedditBlueit · 2013-01-23T16:55:17+00:00

Best comment so far:

From the look of it, the colours and squiggly lines confused him, so he attacked it.

SuperUppercut · 2013-01-23T15:26:47+00:00

It was torn down by an activist who claimed the wall was an “act of violence."

I lol'd. He goes on to call it a "warzone."

electriophile · 2013-01-23T17:20:22+00:00

Belongs here because:

It shows how our institution are priming our kids to censor anything they don't want or like to hear.

It belongs here because fighting for men's rights goes against the status quo and indoctrination of our youth.

It belongs here because if you are trying to speak about men's rights, this is what you can expect.

It belongs here because it shows what happened at U of T is not an outlier.

It belongs here because it demonstrates how 'victims' dominate discourse to the exclusion of everyone else.

It belongs here because one day, talking about men's rights, will be considered a hate crime on campuses.

Grandy12 · 2013-01-23T16:01:20+00:00

Remember this is what many groups including feminists believe. That free speech means you can say whatever you like as long I'm not "offended" by it. We all know how easily offended they are.

kaliwraith · 2013-01-23T17:18:00+00:00

This should be front page material, but we all know reddit does not treat all opinions equally, either. It's amazing that there was controversy over "traditional marriage is awesome" and "abortion is murder". The idea here is that in a liberal community, it is okay to view the opposite opinion as not only immoral, but publicly repugnant or even illegal. But think about it, if everyone thought we should have gay marriage and abortions in all terms, then these wouldn't be controversial issues. Controversy = valid opinions on both sides.

Crimson_D82 · 2013-01-23T15:56:09+00:00

Clearly no clue what an act of violence is.

theskepticalidealist · 2013-01-23T16:20:32+00:00

“not every opinion is valid

lol, she doesn't understand what free speech means. Free speech isnt about having valid opinions, its about the right to express opinions whether they are right OR wrong.

dkrypt · 2013-01-23T17:50:37+00:00

There is no place outside North Korea which has more restricted speech than a Western university.

Taliesen · 2013-01-23T17:16:12+00:00

"human rights student Arun Smith" ?? Methinks he's gonna fail that course, as he doesn't understand one of it's basic tenets.

5th_Law_of_Robotics · 2013-01-23T18:46:23+00:00

Only hours after students installed a “Free Speech Wall” at Carleton University to prove that campus free speech was alive and well, it was torn down by an activist who claimed the wall was an “act of violence,” against the gay community.

Well there you go.

Free speech is something colleges like to brag about, but rarely practice.

It's the free speech North Koreans would be totally familiar with.

You're free to praise the state. Or Dear Leader. Or to condemn the South. Or the US. See? There are lot's of things you can talk freely about.

Just so long as you stay on topic on dedicate your expression towards amplifying the official doctrine you are free to say whatever you want.

Ma99ie · 2013-01-23T16:19:32+00:00

The left are totalitarians at heart. That's why I believe in the right of self defense, even if one is left no other choice but to use violence in defense of liberty. "Let me remind you, extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue."

telnet_reddit_80 · 2013-01-23T15:08:11+00:00

How is this a men's rights issue?

PartTimeBadman · 2013-01-23T19:08:07+00:00

by seventh-year human rights student Arun Smith.

There's the fucking problem. Nearly a decade of his life, utterly, utterly wasted in the name of empty-headed academic pursuits.

LoneRanger21 · 2013-01-23T16:20:23+00:00

Nice to see the bit about mens rights on the 2nd edition of the wall. I'm curious to see if it gets challenged as time goes on.

Also: tearing it down was just foolish.

DefineThyne · 2013-01-23T17:14:34+00:00

Ugh. My gosh.

As a former student of this school, this disgusts me, but I'm not surprised. The school has three flagship programs (Eng., Journalism, Comp. Sci.) and the rest just feel tacked on and generic, so it's no wonder our learned friend Mr. Smith was unaware of the idiocy of his actions. Having mingled and dealt with some of the humanities students there, you can easily conclude how deeply permeated this incorrect line of 'not all opinions are valid' thinking is and the disservice these people are doing in terms of free speech.

Mr5306 · 2013-01-23T17:57:54+00:00

SRS would be proud.

AlphaBrony · 2013-01-23T20:46:28+00:00

Tearing out a man's tongue does not prove him a liar, only that you fear what he might say.

HoundDogs · 2013-01-23T20:44:18+00:00

destroyed in an act of “forceful resistance,” by seventh-year human rights student Arun Smith.

seventh-yearSeventh-yearseventh-yearseventh-yearseventh-year

ManUpManDown · 2013-01-23T19:34:04+00:00

Awesome!

Scroll down to the bottom of the page where they show the free speech wall, zoom in on the left side of the wall:

"Men's rights issues are regularly ignored by the mainstream media."

5F42DE47BC · 2013-01-23T19:41:06+00:00

If you want to know who your masters are, just see who you cannot criticize.

friestogo · 2013-01-23T20:48:10+00:00

A 'free speech' wall being torn down by a human rights student? The irony hurts my brain.

workerdaemon · 2013-01-23T20:31:05+00:00

I don't agree with what you say, but I will defend with my life your right to say it.

atleastitsnotaids · 2013-01-23T23:47:56+00:00

http://i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/222/965/lib.jpg

P_L_U_R_E · 2013-01-23T20:29:51+00:00

My uni had one of these. It didn't get torn down though. Another popular one that semester was a "write something you never want to hear again" wall. I wrote: "circumcision has health benefits"

T'was not too well received, but no one tore down the wall over it.

2013-01-23T20:33:06+00:00

I know this was posted because you could basically just substitute in "feminist" for "gay rights advocate", but there are much more troubling thing in that article. They had to take a look at it because someone wrote "traditional marriage is awesome"???? Seriously???? People were complaining about anti-abortion verbiage on a free speech wall??? Why is it that there is one major group who is just NEVER willing to let speech that goes against their ideas be heard or seen. I understand both sides do it, but one side takes it over the top.

jackmaninov · 2013-01-23T21:15:48+00:00

Wow, I'm SHOCKED to find a Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario wallpaper on this guy's twitter feed. They're basically the leftist student activist thugs that the Canadian NDP party let go when they got too extreme...

specofdust · 2013-01-23T21:24:44+00:00

People like this are little better than Islamic fundamentalists.

Whisper · 2013-01-23T21:25:24+00:00

In organizing the ‘free speech wall,’ the Students for Liberty have forgotten that liberty requires liberation, and this liberation is prevented by providing space … for the expression of hate,”

War is Peace.
Freedom is Slavery.
Ignorance is Strength.

gwolf100 · 2013-01-24T00:44:46+00:00

You stupid fucking prick. This is why my boyfriend is ashamed to be gay, it's shit like this. I consider myself to be a Libertarian, I don't accept the idea that "hate speech" should be censored. The marketplace of ideas should be just as free and open to bigotry as it is to what we view as progressive. This kid is an idiot and he doesn't even realize it.

Temp1ar · 2013-01-24T18:50:42+00:00

Interview of the fellow in question. Pretty Brutal...

A_User · 2013-01-23T16:57:41+00:00

Not sure how this relates to Men's rights, but still - pathetic.

springy · 2013-01-23T19:17:50+00:00

This "freedom of speech" concept reminds me of short essays written by young (under 10 years old) school children in Florida. The theme was "Why I love the USA". My favorite essay stated: "I love the USA because we can do whatever we want here" and then (clearly a last minute addition in a different pen) "as long as we are allowed to do it."

1dr · 2013-01-23T19:18:22+00:00

That's true. Not every opinion is valid, but that's why it's a fucking opinion, and not a fact.

AdamsDJ · 2013-01-23T19:59:52+00:00

this should be on r/politics, or something like that. This is in no way mens rights, guys.

actanonverba8 · 2013-01-23T20:27:06+00:00

"As long as you stay within the confines of what us 'social justice' thugs want, your speech is free."

Endulos · 2013-01-23T20:55:05+00:00

...Wow.

Also, triple wow. I checked out his/her/its twitterpage. My mind can't take it, it's too much

electriophile · 2013-01-23T21:12:37+00:00

What does this have to do with men's rights? This would be better suited in /r/ainbow.

Tullyswimmer · 2013-01-23T22:00:03+00:00

seventh-year human rights student Arun Smith.

...

seventh-year

... Says a lot about the person, doesn't it?

2013-01-23T22:42:13+00:00

By Tuesday morning the wall was gone, destroyed in an act of “forceful resistance,” by seventh-year human rights student Arun Smith. just three more years and he might finally get that job as a TA teaching other human rights students.

mynameisflorian · 2013-01-23T23:16:06+00:00

So, instead of an open discussion that has the ability to change minds, they're promoting that everyone split into their own groups and preach to the choir -- enforcing the views of those that would be exposed as idiots.

Yeah, that's a great way to stop bigotry.

RoughBear · 2013-01-23T23:23:09+00:00

I'm gay, and I wanna strangle that Arun motherfucker.

We're supposed to keep it classy, not act like a member of westboro baptist...

kairedfern · 2013-01-23T23:26:09+00:00

This whole article confuses me beyond belief. This guy tore down the wall, is for gay rights, then argues for censorship of opinions and free speech? Some people.

2013-01-24T00:07:59+00:00

Doesn't surprise me at all.

I read a feminist article where the author clearly explained the difference between "censoring" and "banning hate speech". The reasoning went like this:

When a "group in power" silences a marginalized group then it's censoring
When a marginalized group silences the group in power than it's banning hate speech.

The author emphasized that feminists can NEVER "censor" something because they are not the group in power. So when they delete comments or ban dissidents it must by definition be "banning hate speech".

The board-destroyer seems to follow the exact same twisted logic.

2013-01-24T00:44:39+00:00

I took away that part of anger was because someone wrote "traditional marriage is awesome". Are they certain that is was meant as a dis against gay marriage? I understand the passion that it might have stirred because the current climate, but maybe someone was just someone married to their opposite sex and happy about it.

Meh, IDK.

RampagingKoala · 2013-01-24T01:24:00+00:00

seventh year human rights student

seventh year student

seventh year

seven

stupid hippie Van Wilder.

bookishboy · 2013-01-24T02:39:35+00:00

By Tuesday morning the wall was gone, destroyed in an act of “forceful resistance,” by seventh-year human rights student Arun Smith.

I think this sums up everything we need to know about the incident. Want to take odds that this student wasn't a postdoc?

Greyfeld · 2013-01-24T02:40:59+00:00

I happen to agree with that singular statement. Not every opinion is valid.

But the validity of one's opinion doesn't determine one's right to express that opinion.

liquid_j · 2013-01-24T03:38:07+00:00

This lil guy is having delusions of Trudeau.

ColbyP · 2013-01-24T06:15:40+00:00

So basically this man not only can't read, but doesn't understand the very concept of free speech. What a moron. No wonder he's in his seventh year..

Hypersapien · 2013-01-24T16:07:27+00:00

So wait, he was opposed to the free speech wall because it gave the opportunity for people to say derogatory things about gays, even though no one actually did?

ImNakedHowBoutYou · 2013-01-25T02:09:28+00:00

“In organizing the ‘free speech wall,’ the Students for Liberty have forgotten that liberty requires liberation, and this liberation is prevented by providing space … for the expression of hate,”

So he essentially just said "you obtain liberty by preventing people who disagree with you from exercising their liberties".

not every opinion is valid, nor deserving of expression.”

Ironically, this applies to his own ignorant opinion.

2013-01-23T17:41:41+00:00

Carleton University students have done some stupid things. Once, years ago, students want to drop a charity because "it only helps white guys"(it was for an Cystic Fibrosis, I think.

I have no idea what is with the folks who go there.

Flamewall26 · 2013-01-23T16:08:20+00:00

Seems like this belongs in a lgbt subreddit more than Men's Rights. That being said, it nicely demonstrates the issue of free speech in relation to retaliation.

Title	‘Not every opinion is valid:’ Carleton University free speech wall torn down within hours
Author	[deleted]
Upvotes	307
Comments	202
Date	January 23, 2013 2:42 PM UTC (13 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/mensrights/comments/174g2n/not-every-opinion-is-valid-carleton-university-/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/not-every-opinion-is-valid-carleton-university.1604700 https://theredarchive.com/post/1604700

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