Last Friday evening, Arizona Gov. Janice Brewer came to speak at AU, on the invitation of the College Republicans. She left campus about 15 minutes after beginning to speak, when a group of students interrupted the Q&A session with a protest.
What a whirlwind visit.
To be blunt, shouting down any ideological opponent in some pseudo-protest is an immature excuse to reject an intelligent, respectful dialogue.
Gov. Brewer penned the verbosely titled, “Scorpions for Breakfast: My Fight Against Special Interests, Liberal Media, and Cynical Politicos to Secure America’s Border.” (The forward is written by — not surprisingly — Sarah Palin.) The cover features Gov. Brewer standing patriotically with her hand over her heart, not to mention wearing more American flags in the form of pins, necklaces and earrings than thought possible.
The overly dramatic does not stop at the cover. In her book, she compares the media scrutiny of Arizona’s controversial immigration law to waterboarding and claims that, “when the Ecuadorans set up a consulate in Arizona, they made it clear that they were doing so to aid illegal aliens.” She also expresses a fear of the “Liberal Media,” President Obama and others in her chapter entitled “Nazis in the Desert.”
But the fact that Gov. Brewer is a right-wing ideologue who has passed one of the most severe immigration laws in the country — a law that is constitutionally and morally wrong — or the fact that she has signed other laws that eliminate health care coverage for uninsured children, ban the teaching of ethnic studies in schools and allow concealed weapons in bars, is not the rub.
The “mic check” performed by a group of protestors before Gov. Brewer could answer a single question is an embarrassment to AU, those seeking a peaceful political dialogue, those who vehemently oppose Gov. Brewer and, frankly, to the protesters themselves.
“The people united will never be defeated” may have sort of nostalgic vibe, but shouting down a political opponent is far cry from the protests of the Civil Right era or the anti-Vietnam movement.
“Mic checks,” essentially shouting a phrase to interrupt a speech or other event, have become increasingly popular and have been seen at events for Newt Gingrich, President Obama and Rep. Michele Bachmann.
Yet silencing those you oppose gives little credence to an argument.
Gov. Brewer was a controversial guest of this university, but imagine if the College Republicans, or any group for that matter, acted in a similar manner when Rep. Jared Polis, Bill Clinton, Robert Gibbs or Janet Napolitano came to speak. The protesters had a chance to ask pointed questions of Governor Brewer, but instead they chose to humiliate, denigrate and browbeat her until she left without answering any questions.
The protesters could have (and should have) protested outside MGC. They could have peacefully held signs of protest during the speech. They should have let Gov. Brewer speak.
If she is truly a part of the lunatic fringe, let her speak and have her words make it clear how off-base her opinions are.
Instead, the protesters let the story become something akin to a middle school assembly disruption.
As much as we may want to forcibly remove Sean Hannity from the airwaves or prevent the Neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klan or Westboro Baptist Church from uttering a sound, we let them speak.
We let them speak because it is their right to speak, but also because we know that their words of prejudice, misunderstanding and utter insanity undermine their argument and only strengthen our own. Their words should be an inspiration to be better.
This isn’t just about the extremes.
Brewer may be conservative, but she is not in the same league as the groups mentioned above. She certainly holds beliefs that millions may disagree with, but it is possible to disagree agreeably.
Feel free to despise Gov. Brewer for everything that she stands for; think of her as a gun-totting racist, a Fox News and Mitt Romney-endorsing right-winger.
She is no doubt wrong in many of her principles. But if you believe her or any other figure is espousing some unpalatable idea, let them speak.
Sam Mendelson is a freshman in the School of International Service.
