Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Coming to Berkeley: The Woodstock of Violent Left-Right Clashes?

The last time Milo came to Berkeley.
Only months after speeches by conservative authors Milo Yiannopoulos and Ann Coulter were canceled at the University of California at Berkeley amid security issues, the two have been invited back next month for "Free Speech Week," reports USA Today.

Unless the Berkeley police pick up their game, this is going to be the Woodstock of violent clashes between the alt-right and violent leftists groups such as Antifa, By Any Means Necessary, and Black Bloc.

I understand members of these leftists groups from around the country are planning to be in Berkeley for the week.

As I have pointed out before, in previous clashes between the right and left, the Berkeley police have stood down. If this occurs during "Free Speech Week," we will see one of the most serious episodes of right-left violence that we have ever seen in America.

Former White House senior strategist Steve Bannon is also scheduled to appear, but there has been no confirmation he will attend.

The Berkeley Patriot, a conservative campus newspaper and registered campus organization, negotiated with the school for the appearance by Yiannopoolous and Coulter for the Sept. 24-27 events, the East Bay Times reports.

In a statement last week to the campus community, university Chancellor Carol Christ reiterated an ongoing commitment to free speech as a core principle of the academic institution.

“The university has the responsibility to provide safety and security for its community and guests, and we will invest the necessary resources to achieve that goal,” Christ said in part.

“If you choose to protest, do so peacefully. That is your right, and we will defend it with vigor. We will not tolerate violence, and we will hold anyone accountable who engages in it.”

  -RW

2 comments:

  1. It's more complicated than the Police simply "standing down". The local government strongly sides with the Antifa types. So as long as they are the prevailing aggressors the Police will not intervene. If the right wingers are successful in fighting off their attackers and seem to be prevailing you can be sure the Police will be "standing up".

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  2. Did the Chancellor hold anyone accountable last time?

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