Once again, we learned Thursday night that good things happen when people let other people speak. Conservative writer Ben Shapiro, amidst opposition from Leftist agitators calling him a “white supremacist” and “fascist,” was able to speak to a far broader audience than the University of California, Berkeley students in front of him.
Though the university appeared to take steps to limit the audience inside Zellerbach Hall, online live streams of Shapiro’s lecture at California’s flagship school boasted tens of thousands of viewers. A raucous but peaceful crowd of demonstrators gathered outside, some to protest the lecture, some to protest Antifa, and some agitating on behalf on Antifa. Though at least three people were arrested for carrying banned weapons in the school’s secure zone, demonstrations were mostly peaceful and escalated only to the point of chants like “Fuck the police.”
But inside the auditorium, Shapiro was received warmly by ticket holders. “I love you right back,” the best-selling author laughed as he took the stage to enthusiastic applause and cheers.
Shapiro made sure to thank the police for keeping the peace inside and outside his lecture. “These are the folks who stand between civilization and lawlessness,” he told the crowd.
His message for so-called “anti-fascist” protesters? “You can all go to hell, you pathetic, lying, stupid jackasses.”
Shapiro slammed the “pathetic new movement arising all over the country” that claims “speech is violence and must be treated as such.”
“The reason that I am here is because fascism does not own this university,” he remarked.
Shapiro smacked down the absurd allegations raised by liberal protesters that his ideas amount to either white supremacy or fascism, noting an Anti-Defamation League study that found he was a top target of white supremacists online and has “[spent his] entire career standing up against fascism.”
Shapiro then transitioned into an extended debunking of the progressive movement’s victimhood narrative, arguing the views of the hard Left are rooted in the belief that “America is a terrible, horrible no good, very bad place.”
Shapiro was clear to affirm “we all want to help out when somebody is a racist,” but also added, “It’s a waste of time and energy blaming your problems on the system unless you’ve got some evidence.”
Shapiro explained that, according to research, among Americans who finish high school, get married before having children, and hold down a job, only 2 percent live in poverty.
He engaged in a lengthy question-and-answer session with audience members, encouraging those who disagreed with him to jump to the front of the line in an effort to have a more productive discussion. Several left-leaning students respectfully challenged Shapiro, who met those challenges with quick-witted replies that left some flailing to respond.
“Discussion makes the country better,” he told students.
Shapiro’s speech was sponsored and organized by Young America’s Foundation (my previous employer) and the Berkeley College Republicans.
Though Shapiro was allowed to speak without violent disruptions, the university police force estimated it cost them $600,000 in resources.
At Berkeley, it turns out, free speech for conservatives must be bought.
Emily Jashinsky is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
