A man beaten with weapons as he lay unconscious on the street. Light poles ripped to the ground as fires raged all around. A woman hit with mace as she spoke to a reporter about the importance of free speech. A black-clad mob of hundreds attacking anyone seen as an enemy. Blood, chaos, obscenities.
And all of it enabled by the so-called mainstream media.
A speech by conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos was canceled Wednesday night at the University of California-Berkeley after self-described "anti-fascists," clothed in black masks, attacked attendees, insisting they would not allow him to speak. Though Yiannopoulos was quickly evacuated, it was only the start of the violence.
One man was repeatedly hit with weapons after being knocked unconscious. Conservative commentator Gavin McInnes confirmed on Twitter the man was a member of his "Proud Boys," a self-described "pro-Western fraternal organization."
Another woman, Kiara Robles, was attacked by leftists while giving an interview and talking about the need to defend free speech. Though she was wearing a red baseball cap, it not pro-Trump gear, as her hat read "Make Bitcoin Great Again."
Other footage showed punches being thrown and attendees being attacked seemingly at random. Bricks, rocks, fireworks and other projectiles were fired at police. There was also a great deal of property destruction, with a Starbucks store, Bank of America branch and other businesses destroyed.
The violence didn't emerge out of a vacuum.This Starbucks isn't opening tomorrow. It's destroyed. Completely. pic.twitter.com/dvuCKqXXIP— Otis R. Taylor Jr. (@otisrtaylorjr) February 2, 2017
Berkeley's mayor, Jesse Arreguin, had previously tweeted "hate speech isn't welcome in our community."
Even after the chaos, Arrgeuin continued to complain the speaking engagement had featured a "prominent white nationalist," though Yiannoupoulos has specifically condemned that ideology.Critics said the Berkeley police were all but absent during the riots or even told to stand down, as the school's official webpage said police "exercised restraint and did not respond with force."
The establishment media also did its best to defend the violence.
"Milo Yiannopoulos gets schooled at Berkeley," smirked Newsweek.
CNN also muddied the waters by describing Yiannopoulos as an "Alt Right Speaker," though both Yiannopoulos and so-called alt-right leaders themselves have denied he is part of the movement.
Scott Greer, an expert on campus politics and the author of "No Campus For White Men: The Transformation of Higher Education Into Hateful Indoctrination," noted the irony of Yiannopoulos, a homosexual Jew who has been fiercely attacked online by the far right, now being called a "Nazi."
"Milo is seen as a Nazi simply because he supports Trump and speaks out against mass immigration and Islam," Greer said. "That's all it takes to be a Nazi now. The left is attacking him so fiercely because they know they have allies on campus who will condone violent behavior and Milo presents a perfect opportunity to terrorize young conservatives and Trump supporters."
Since the violent protests against Trump supporters during the inauguration and the widely broadcast assault on Richard Spencer, regarded as the founder of the alt-right movement, many left-wing publications and figures have become increasingly comfortable with defending street violence.
"Anti-fascists will fight Trump's fascism in the streets," boasted The Nation magazine on Jan. 19. The attack on Spencer was widely cheered by celebrities and journalists.
Actor David Harbour screamed about the need to "punch some people in the face" at the recent Screen Actors Guild awards. Even Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., is endorsing riotous protests, telling MSNBC earlier this week leftists need to "fight in the streets."
As the left and its mainstream media allies have endorsed violence against "Nazis" and wildly conflated Trump and his supporters with the bloodthirsty perpetrators of World War II, Greer argues it is the establishment media that is to blame for the sudden rise in political violence.
"Absolutely the media deserve the blame for this," he said. "They shriek that Trump is a fascist dictator who must be resisted on a daily basis. Prominent journalists and celebrities openly encourage attacking anyone they deem to be a Nazi. A call for political violence earned a wild standing ovation from Hollywood last weekend. The media gives this kind of violence moral legitimacy."
Political correctness is just the beginning. The situation on college campuses is worse than you could ever imagine – and America's future is at stake. Don't miss the political blockbuster of 2017 – "No Campus For White Men" by Scott Greer
Greer cautioned conservatives not to fall for the trap of frantically denying they are extremists or "racists" in the hope of being spared. To "Antifa," just being Republican or even being white is enough.
"It is increasingly becoming racialized hate," he said. "It doesn't matter your politics, you're still a bigot if you happen to be white. They denounce America as a white supremacist state and increasingly base all their arguments on racial identity. I would not be surprised if some of the people attacked by the Milo rioters tonight were just white non-Milo attendees who were targeted simply because they looked like Trump supporters."
Ironically, the Yiannopoulos speech, which had been sponsored by the Berkeley College Republicans, was to focus on "cultural appropriation," a popular concept on universities which holds whites should not reference the cultural, religious or even culinary habits or symbols of other peoples because to do so is racist.
Yiannopoulos believes such an idea is "identity politics," which he frequently criticizes, though it hasn't stopped him from being called a "Nazi" by far-left protesters or their allies in journalism.
In a statement, the Berkeley College Republicans said "the Free Speech Movement is dead." The group condemned "criminals and thugs" who inflicted a "defeat for civilized society and the free exchange of ideas on college campuses across America."
In an interview with the Fox News Channel's Tucker Carlson as the riots raged, Yiannopoulos also said the incident was "self-defeating for the social justice left" because of the open hypocrisy on display.
Yiannopoulos wrote the foreword for Greer’s book, but Greer said conservatives should not expect to get anywhere simply by saying leftists are intolerant. New left icon Herbert Marcuse, in his 1965 essay on "Repressive Tolerance," openly called for a double standard for free speech.
"Liberating tolerance, then, would mean intolerance against movements from the right and toleration of movements from the left," Marcuse wrote.
Greer said leftists have internalized this kind of ideology. Conservatives, Greer suggested, simply need to accept that leftists will openly defend the double standard and will defend any tactics, no matter how extreme or shocking.
"Accept that the left is inherently intolerant and is immune from that criticism," he advised. "The left will justify any and all actions if it serves what they perceive as the greater good. Hence, riots."
The irony of Berkeley, the birthplace of the "free speech movement," shutting down a conservative speaker has drawn the attention of the president of the United States.
Donald Trump said he would pull all federal funding from Berkeley if the school would not defend students’ right to free speech.
Greer said pulling university funding is a good start.If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view - NO FEDERAL FUNDS?— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 2, 2017
"Hopefully, President Trump works to defund the UC system which allowed this to happen," he said. "I think the right, and the American people, have had enough of taking these outrages."
As Yiannopoulos pointed out in his interview with Carlson, universities often use the threat of left-wing violence as an excuse to limit conservative speech by imposing ruinous "security costs" at the last minute on conservative organizations that want to host a speaker.
Ultimately, Greer said it is the police who are going to have to do a better job of ensuring students' rights and physical safety are protected. Otherwise, he said, conservatives need to understand they are under threat, that the police will not protect them and that they need to respond accordingly.
"For now, we have to demand the police arrest the rioters and charge them to the full extent of the law," Greer said. "Down the road, though, the right might have to create their security force to protect themselves if police are not allowed to do their job by their politically correct superiors."
Political correctness is just the beginning. The situation on college campuses is worse than you could ever imagine – and America’s future is at stake. Don’t miss the political blockbuster of 2017 – "No Campus For White Men" by Scott Greer
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