looking for redemption – my thoughts on the protest at the UNC Goode speech.

i typically don’t do politics on my blog.  this was an exception.  it was one where i had great concern that free speech for more conservative viewpoints were being squelched.  i took my camera to see for myself.  the guy you see in the video got to shout a prepared speech through a bullhorn at the “pit” – the place where free speech always happens at UNC.  the speaker, congressman goode, gave a speech without any yelling or name calling and was attempted to be shut down.  two fire alarms, 6 arrests and a lot of shouting at the beginning of the speech makes it pretty hard to exercise your free speech.  what i saw was a radical suppression of free speech and that concerned me.  michelle malkin picked up my video via twitter (http://twitter.com/mike_little), but i wanted to make sure people knew i was hoping to find something much different.

i was sent a tweet from a twitter buddy of mine at UNC about a protest gone wild at UNC last week. the pictures and video i saw amazed me. there was spin on both sides, so i wanted to see for myself this week. i loaded up my flip video camera (great gadget) and my iphone to get a first hand look at this protest.

***the protest was on the issue of immigration. the speakers were former congressmen that supported various ways of stopping illegal immigration. the protesters were a large and diverse group of people that were in favor of keeping the boarders open and granting amnesty to all that were here.

quite frankly, i didn’t care about the issue in this instance. what i cared about was whether or not free speech was being suppressed in the name of free speech.

i saw video of the speaker from last week being wrapped in a giant banner, people yelling so no one could hear, damage to property, etc. the police had to pull out pepper spray to get the protesters under control so it wouldn’t escalate.

i know how things can be “spun”, so i went with an open mind.

first, i couldn’t find the place. i thought it was at garner hall and it was in fact at the student union. the student union is right beside “the pit”, which is a sunken area where anyone can speak. what i found (at first) was what appeared to be real dialogue. there were some, lets say, interesting characters to say the least, but it appeared to be productive. different viewpoints were being communicated. most that i heard were about the protest from the week prior and how it shouldn’t have happened that way. then, a guy got up and gave what can only be described as a hate filled rant he read off his blackberry. he shouted through a bullhorn words like

bigot, racist, white supremacist, etc. He said, “we (those who felt as he did) must to anything in our power to shut down this kind of speech.” he also said that the university should apologize for allowing someone to come on to their campus who spews such hate.

what? oh, and he wanted amnesty (interesting use of the word) for any student involved in the violence last week. see video here

i can assure you that the only hate spewed was from those who disagreed with the speaker. i was given a chance to speak and seemed to get good response from both sides. i tried to make clear that freedom of speech is freedom TO speak. freedom of speech is the freedom to BE heard. the freedom to protest and exercise their first amendment rights were not being afforded to others. as a matter of fact, they were used to intimidate and suppress another viewpoint. and this was a viewpoint that people died to secure and protect.  (see this video of a latino marine who was supportive of the speech.)

i told them i found out about this through twitter (dad, do you get it yet?) i let them know i was an alum. and i also let them know that they needed to catch a clue on how to have civil discourse. all they did last week was give ammunition to the very people that they were protesting.

oh, and i made clear that i’d say the same thing if a group of people were preventing them from speaking (which with this guy i really wanted to do). after i spoke i headed in for the rest of the speech. lots of cops, guards, etc. there was good interaction (other than the french filibuster) and the speaker (goode) was gracious in everything he said. he didn’t yell. he didn’t scream. he didn’t try to wrap the protesters in big banners. it was a peace communication of ideas. that is what a university is supposed to be about, right? the best of the night was a latino marine who was a legal immigrant that supported the need to have a form of legal immigration. there was no jeering him.

then i came outside and started putting the puzzle together. i didn’t connect the fire trucks and the two fire alarms that were thrown until after the event. i should have clued in from the two fire trucks parked in the building next to the union.  (from in the auditorium, it sounded like police cars were coming.) it was through a tweet that i found out there were six students arrested for attempts to disrupt the speech. i missed the first 15 minutes of action by engaging those outside, so i missed a lot of the shouts and jeers.

unc wised up and had a lot of police there or it would have gotten out of hand again. thank God for twitter…a lot of this information wouldn’t get out otherwise.

***i’m not an al franken fan, unless he is on SNL.  i’m of the opinion that if al franken can get elected to the senate then anyone can get elected to the senate. let’s throw in bill murray, adam sandler, tina fey and barbara streisand as well. however, if they received the same treatment i would be just as shocked and outraged.***

freedom of speech is of utmost importance in our society. suppression of it by use of intimidation or violent/disorderly conduct isn’t what our country is about. tienanmen square comes to mind. students protest, the government crushes their view point. now, the pit at unc was no Tienanmen square, but if we as a nation take this road it could very well lead to a nation where ideas are respected just about as much. i’m glad i went. i’m sad about what i saw.

as an alum, i pray that they were duke students instead. (that was a joke to my duke friends) send a letter to chancellor@unc.edu if you feel the same way. oh…and listen to the guy on the video. would you like that form of government? may it never be so.

also… these few are not representatives of MY university, the university of the people.

The Politics of Smoking

I’m a hard one to pin down on politics, but I do like to look at political strategy.  I lean conservative, but only when I see what I believe is true conservatism.  McCain’s team (maybe run by the architect, Karl Rove, himself) has been masterful the past 6 weeks. Andrew Sullivan hit the nail on the head.  (BTW…you need to click on the Karl Rove link.  I found it on YouTube by accident and it is hilarious.  He is rapping and it is really him.)

McCain and crew realized early this cycle that they did not have a visible internet presence. So what did they do? They took over the liberal presence, they are manipulating the leading liberal blogs , just as they manipulate the MSM. All to their own advantage. And the blogs have all fallen for this hook, line and sinker. Does no one realize this?

Obama’s campaign had been doing incredible, but the fact that this race is even close for McCain…not to mention his being ahead…should signal something.  I’m looking forward to the debates.  My prayer remains the same…that the man that needs to be in the office at this time is elected.

Unneccessary Smoke

I must admit, I do like Palin. She could be a Democrat, Libertarian or Republican. I just find her refreshing. She has something that has been missing from politics for a long time. However, I think having an avatar or a desktop wallpaper is going a bit too far. It is like all those people (on both sides) that have their cars plastered with bumper stickers of their candidate of choice. If seen several hangovers from the Reagan era still hanging on.  If you do want some wall paper you can find it at the link above.

Send Up Some Smoke

I’d like everyone that is starting to read this blog to check out a site called reformissionary.  I know you are all entralled right now with the DNC and the RNC, reading Michelle Malkin and the DailyKos…however, this is much more important than politics and involves a brother and sister in Christ.  If you don’t know the two sites I mentioned, they cover politics from the right to the left. 

Molly McCoy

Steve is the author of Reformissionary and his wife, Molly, had been having some health problems that have required brain surgury.  It is looking like she may need it again.  They are a family with great faith and it has been encouraging watching their journey.  However, I think it is time to offer up some extra prayers (personal smokes to God) for this great family.  (Steve, forgive the joke…I don’t mean to offend.  A smoke is a post on my blog.)

Steve, I thank God for you and your faithfulness in ministry and blogging.  Your blog is a ministry to me.  I also pray for Molly, first for complete healing and more than anything a peace that surpasses all understanding.  It is easy to have peace when everything is going great, but to experience the peace that Jesus speaks of it often means trials.  Know that Molly will be in our thoughts and prayers.  Keep us all posted.

Philippians 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.