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Education
Last Updated: Nov 26, 2020 - 7:44:37 PM
If University Students self-censor Out Of Fear, Freedom of Speech in Wider Society is Doomed
By Frank Furedi with comments by Ron
Nov 26, 2020 - 11:04:14 PM
Frank Furedi is an author and social commentator. He is an emeritus professor of sociology at the University of Kent in Canterbury. Author of How Fear Works: The Culture of Fear in the 21st Century. Follow him on Twitter @Furedibyte
We live in a world where more than a quarter of university students are scared to voice their views in case their opinion provokes the wrath of the campus language police.
According to a survey just published by ADF International, 40 percent of students fear that their careers will be adversely affected if they speak out.
The survey confirms what previous studies have noted. Last year a report by the British think-tank Policy Exchange found that only four in 10 Brexit supporters felt able to express their views in their university class.
Once upon a time, universities were places where free and open debate dominated campus culture. Students held forth with the most outrageous views and everyone knew that they did not have to conform to received wisdom. That world has vanished in recent decades. Speech is heavily policed by zealous [Ron: Talmudically supported and funded] activists, whose censorious project is supported by campus [Ron:Talmudically controlled] administrators.
As soon as students arrive on campus, they learn that any sentiment that goes against the grain of woke culture will be met by the remark, "you can't say that!"In such circumstances far too many students opt for an easy life and hide their true opinions.
The unravelling of the freedom of expression on campuses was brought home to me in February 2018. After I gave a public lecture on the subject of ‘Socialisation and Fear' at York St John University, a young professor came up to me and said "you forgot to mention the biggest fear we face as teachers - the fear that many students have of opening their mouth."
At another public event, where I gave a lecture advocating free speech, a group of students came up to me to signal their agreement with my arguments. However, they also stated that while they were in full agreement with the principles of free speech, they found it difficult to always practice it. One of them told me "I often keep my mouth shut in a seminar to avoid hassle."
Some students openly acknowledge the fact that they self-censor and feel powerless to stand up for their views. As one second year male undergraduate explained, "people are all too ready to savage you if you use the wrong word." Another student confided that"sooner or later someone will object that I offended them."
The practice of self-censorship is, if anything, more pervasive in the United States.A survey, published by the Harvard Crimson, the university's student newspaper, indicated that a significant portion of this year's graduating class were self-censoring their opinion and not debating in public. According to the report, around two-thirds of students who were surveyed had "at some point chosen not to express an opinion in an academic setting out of fear that it would offend others."The survey indicated that 78 percent of registered Republicans said they "withheld opinions in class" compared to 59 percent of registered Democrats and 73 percent of registered Independents.
In case you believe that self-censorship is not your problem because you don't work in a university, think again.The policing of language, which began in higher education is now institutionalised throughout society. Both private and public sector organisations have adopted rules and codes of practices that ensure"people mind their language." Consequently, self-censorship is widely practised.
[Ron: IF you are baffled as to WHY 'Both private and public sector organisations have adopted rules and codes of practices that ensure"people mind their language."', and want to find the source of the problem, examine the creation and imposition of the HOLOHOAX narrative and the success global Jewry has had in using it to impose the ANTI-SEMITISM meme on Anglo-US and European societies as a means of cowing and controlling gentiles and eliminating freedom of thought and speech. For instance anyone in a public position dare not question the "Holocaust" or notice that Jews dominate Western politics, finance and society and are hence responsible for WOKE culture and the popularisation of ignorance and depravity. See eg: Sex Plague. -http://abundanthope.net/pages/Political_Information_43/Sex-Plague.shtml
One reason why opinion polls so often fail to predict the outcome of an election, such as the recent American presidential election or the Brexit referendum, is because many people self-censor. It is worth noting that in the United States, the one group that was most likely to lie to pollsters and deny that they were voting for Trump in November, were white college educated males. Why? Because having been exposed to the elite narrative of what can and what cannot be said in their universities, they drew the conclusion that it was safer to keep their mouth shut about their voting intention.
[Ron: While this is true, it avoids noting that the pollsters, like the MSM generally, are fragrantly 'progressivist' and socialist, ie they push cultural Marxist (Talmudic) anti-Christian ideology and consistently seek to destroy Western Christian based morality, cultural heritage and norms. Moreover, pollsters usually distort their results to suit their preferred outcome. The fact that few analysts advert to these matters evidences the success of the Talmudic plutocrats who run Anglo-US society. See eg:A Brief Look at Jewish Wealth -http://abundanthope.net/pages/Political_Information_43/A-Brief-Look-at-Jewish-Wealth.shtml
As an academic,I have drawn the conclusion that self-censorship is potentially more damaging to university life than the formal regulation of a campus life.The act of self-censoring means accepting the condition of being without a voice and giving up without a fight.
[Ron: While this is true the cost of resistance to the censorship being imposed by campus managements and society at large is crippling for any individual who overtly resists the demonic demands of the cultural Marxists (ie Talmudists) who control Anglo-US societies. To appreciate this difficulty you only need to examine the incessant denigration and criticism of President Trump because he refuses to conform to Talmudically imposed political and social norms and seeks to free-up the US polity.
The Jewish dominance of the MSM, Big Tech, Big Banks, Big Finance, Big Pharma and the military industrial complex as well as virtually all organs of culture and governance, has made life a constant battle for Trump. Imagine the pressure on average university students and individuals in the workforce who seek to challenge Talmudic dominance of society.
Global Jewry seeks to debunk the Protocols by saying they were not written by Jews (neo-Pharisees) BUT the actual author is irrelevant because the Protocols accurately state what the Jews have done and are continuing to do using Capitalism, Marxism, Fascism, Feminism, LGBTism and a plethora of other "isms" in their attempts to enslave and destroy ALL gentiles on this planet.
To achieve their purposes Jews use their control of financial, political, judicial and media mechanisms to push Political Correctness, Feminism, LGBTQism, Identity Politics, Intersectionality, gender fluidity and abortion on demand, etc. A typical example being gender fluidity. See eg: Trans-sexualism: America’s Latest Advertising Coup -http://abundanthope.net/pages/Human_Animal_Rights_104/Trans-sexualism-America-s-Latest-Advertising-Coup.shtml
Jewish arrogance is apparent in the way they mock gentiles with impunity while screaming anti-semitism if anyone so much as criticises George Soros for funding Antifa or BLM et al. Can you imagine what would happen to a gentile who had the temerity to mock Jews in the way they mock gentiles? See eg: WHO says Jews have no sense of humour? They’re always laughting at us! -http://abundanthope.net/pages/Ron_71/WHO-says-Jews-have-no-sense-of-humour-They-re-always-laughting-at-us.shtml
Self-censorship also empowers zealous[Ron: Talmudist supported] advocates of identity politics. Many of the foolish outbursts of intolerance on campuses occur because activists know that their behaviour is unlikely to be criticised by their peers.
[Ron: Average students don't criticise extreme and even violent behaviour towards white males and conservatives generally on campus. Why? Because any gentile critic of the ACTUAL RACISM, BIGOTRY AND INTOLERANCE directed at White males and conservatives by Blacks, LGBTQists and Intersectionalists et al is condoned and even encouraged by Campus managements. The reason that students don't resist Identity politics etc is that they will be bullied and cancelled by cultural Marxist students, academics AND campus managements.Blaming powerless students for these problems amounts to deliberately avoiding the issue. As this author says he's an academic he, and his inadequate analysis, rather than silent students, is a real part of the problem.]
Most students are far from happy with the policing of language on campuses but unfortunately instead of speaking up, they prefer to keep their opinions to themselves. Until students, who are disturbed by the weaponisation of identity politics find their voice campuses will continue to be subjugated to the forces of woke intolerance.
[Ron: As President Trump has found in his first term, the problems in education, as with all other aspects of the swamp, are deep and wide and not subject to reversal by students, especially as their parents have failed to solve it. Indeed, the overall solution has required Celestial assistance.].
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