“Appalling,” the Washington Post’s Eugene Volokh writes, linking to the University of California, Santa Barbara campus police report report of, as Volokh summarizes in his headline, “UC Santa Barbara professor [who] steals young anti-abortion protester’s sign, apparently assaults protesters, says she ‘set a good example for her students.’” Here’s how the police report concludes:
I asked [Dr. Mireille Miller-Young, an associate professor with UCSB’s Feminist Studies Department] if she could have behaved differently in this instance. There was a long pause. “I’ve said that I think I did the right thing. But I acknowledge that I probably should not have taken their poster.” Miller-Young also said that she wished that the anti-abortion group had taken down the images when they demanded them to.
Miller-Young also suggested that the group had violated her rights. I asked Miller-Young what right the group had violated. Miller-Young responded, “My personal right to go to work and not be in harm.”
Miller-Young elaborated that one of the reasons she had felt so alarmed by this imagery is because she is about to have the test for Down Syndrome. Miller-Young said. “I work here, why do they get to intervene in that?”
I explained to Miller-Young that vandalism, battery and robbery had occurred. I also told Miller-Young that individuals involved in this case desired prosecution.
I later booked the torn sign into evidence at UCPD. I also uploaded the audio files of my interviews into digital evidence.
I request that a copy of my report, along with all related supplemental reports, be forwarded to the District Attorney’s Office for review.
Fox News adds, “Two California sisters told Fox News’ Megyn Kelly Thursday they are fighting back against a college professor who they say assaulted them and stole their pro-life signs because ‘no one has the right to take someone else’s property:'”
Thrin Short, 16, and her sister Joan, 21, were part of an anti-abortion protest at the University of California, Santa Barbara when they were approached by Associate Professor Mireille Miller-Young. They say Miller-Young, who teachers feminist studies, grabbed the sign from them, and when they attempted to get it back, kicked and pushed them.
Thrin Short said on “The Kelly File” she feels Miller Young’s claim she had a “moral right” to take the signs are untrue, claiming that Miller-Young has herself shown graphic content in class.
“I’m sorry if these signs offended her in any way but, after all, she does teach, or show porn to her students so she’s not really the one to talk about offending images,” she said.
Earlier in the above quoted police report, Ace posits, Miller-Young’s “proposed legal defense” was launched in a trial balloon:
At about 1500 hours, I spoke to Miller-Young by telephone. I recorded my conversation with Miller-Young on my digital voice recorder.
In essence, Miller-Young told me that she felt “triggered” by the images on the posters. Miller-Young stated that she had been walking through the Arbor to get back to South Hall. Miller-Young said she was approached by people who gave her literature about abortion. Miller-Young said that she found this literature and pictures disturbing. Miller-Young said that she found this material offensive because she teaches about women’s “reproductive rights” and is pregnant. She said an argument ensued about the graphic nature of these images.
Miller-Young said that she situation became “passionate” and that other students in the area were “triggered” in a negative way by the imagery. Miller-Young said that she and others began demanding that the images be taken down. Miller-Young said that the demonstrators refused.
As Ace adds, “Apparently it has become de rigeur among the academic left to include big WARNING SIGNS on all articles or images which may “trigger” an emotional response in the highly emotional. For example, an article about the practice of cutting may “trigger” a response from someone with a history of cutting; an article about rape may ‘trigger’ a response from a rape victim.
Read the whole thing. And as one of Glenn Reynolds’ commenters notes, “Before Jeff Bezos, the Washington Post would never have run a story on this event.” The rest of the comments at Glenn’s post on the story are also well worth your time.
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