Cynthia Huang is the president of the Young Americans for Freedom chapter at Davidson College. As such, it is not surprising that she is currently in hot water with the administration. In October, Huang, who has faced death threats over her pro-life positions, distributed a pamphlet around campus titled "Five Myths About Israel Perpetrated by the Pro-Hamas Left.” Huang told the College Fix that she didn't ask anyone to read it; she just left copies in places where people could pick them up if they were so inclined.
Be that as it may, on February 28, Huang received a letter from Mak Tompkins, the school's director of human rights and responsibilities (and yes, that is an actual job title at Davidson College). The letter cited the pamphlet as an example of how the YAF chapter was harassing their peers. It also made mention of an Instagram post by Huang about Olympic boxer Imane Khelif. Tompkins alleged that the pamphlet contained "misinformation" that could incite Islamophobia. Tompkins also had concerns about transphobia. Always go with the phobias. Huang was given the option of accepting responsibility for whatever imagined transgressions were pinballing around in Topmkins' head or facing a Code of Responsibility Council hearing, which I suspect is a grandiose name for "struggle session."
Huang, who noted that the letter was so vaguely worded that almost anything could be considered an offense, is standing firm. She is also curious as to why, if the offense occurred in October, the school's Glavlit office waited until February to issue its threat/summons. It may be that the Department of Buttinskys has a full schedule regulating whatever passes for self-expression on campus these days, or it might be that a hammer has a greater disorienting and terrifying effect when it is dropped unexpectedly long after the alleged infraction. You probably get a better facial expression from the intended victim when you do that. Then again, college campuses are not known for free speech. And neither is Portland.
Writing on the FAIR substack, Mary McDonald-Lewis related the story of how she wrote a play based on Shakespeare's "Macbeth." The production was self-funded, actors had been hired, a stage had been secured, and scenery and costumes were being assembled. All systems were go for the premiere. However, a cadre of activists who had previously made her life miserable resurfaced to attack McDonald-Lewis and the production because she maintains that men cannot become women and have no business being in women's spaces. The creatures took to social media to vent their outrage in post after post on social media and even attacked her in the local "free" newspaper. They even threatened to attack the venue that was hosting the show:
Activists suggested they put my picture and address on posters and spread them throughout Portland. Threats, thickly and thinly veiled, were made to the extent that an old friend who had cooled our relationship over my gender-critical views called me, deeply worried, and left a voicemail saying, “What the hell is going on? Somebody’s threatened you... have you called the police?...It’s a crazy, crazy world... I think you should call the police.”
Needless to say, the play was canceled. And the intended psychological and emotional damage had been done. McDonald-Lewis had to fly to California to attend to some personal matters. Even after the furor had passed, she could not shake the feeling that the baleful eyes of the activists were still fixed on her. She writes:
As I passed through the Portland airport and then the Sacramento airport, I had the oddest experience. It felt like everyone was watching me. I felt vulnerable, stripped bare, ashamed, embarrassed, exposed.
Being on the receiving end of this sort of mob “justice” turns the world upside down: nowhere is safe, no one is to be trusted. Everyone, everywhere, is a danger. It robs you of rational thought, lays your guts out in the open, and causes you to second-guess yourself, the validity of your position, and your right to express it. You feel as though you are going mad.
This destabilized state reminded me of being stalked years back by an unbalanced student from an adult class, who emailed me hideous treatises from “[email protected].” The effect was because he could get to me somewhere, it felt like he was everywhere. And I was terrified.
So, as I made my way to the car rental desk, I was certain everyone in the airport was staring at me and somehow... stalking me.
At one point, she describes sitting at her dining room table, wondering if that would be the night someone would shoot her through a window. So it was not that great a leap to torching Teslas and charging stations and now directing people to the homes of Tesla owners with pictures of Molotov cocktails. Charming.
Encouraged and protected by teachers, legislators, social media, and, for that matter, the press, the chaos of the day has been a long time coming and is practically institutionalized. These miscreants have appointed themselves the marshalls of a dystopian Dodge City. They have no problem violating social contracts, such as not burning things that do not belong to them, because they recognize no social contracts other than their own. They have the right to do as they wish to administer their version of justice. In return, you also have the right to do as they wish. Or face the consequences. Consider the irony of fascists calling people fascists. When it comes to such people, the revolution will not only be broadcast, it will be promoted, lauded, and bankrolled. By way of reminder, one of the reasons for all the violence is to remind us that none of this would have been necessary if we had only voted for Giggles McPantsuit and Uncle Fester. This isn't just intimidation; it's a warning about how you better vote next time.
Post Script: The Left is banking on the idea that we will back down and be cowed into giving up and giving in. It's going to be a long, hard slog, but perseverance pays off. Everyone here at PJ Media is committed to reaching the finish line, and we hope we can count on you. You can support the work we do here by becoming a VIP member. In addition to giving a boost to free speech, you can also avail yourself of a host of amenities available only to our VIP members. For instance, you can buy exclusive gear in our merch store. My PJ Media ballcap arrived today, and so far, no one has thrown a rock at me. Of course, I only went to the curb to get the garbage can, so we'll see what happens tomorrow. In the meantime, to join the ranks of the PJ insiders, click here and use the promo code FIGHT for a 60% discount.
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