I am writing in response to this past Wednesday evening’s event at which the LSU chapter of Students for Trump hosted Milo Yiannopoulos. More specifically, I am writing out of concern that the sole representative of the faculty at the event was a colleague of mine from the Department of Political Science, Benjamin Acosta. I fear that, by virtue of being unique in the role, my colleague might have come across as being somehow representative of our department overall.
I want to be clear at the outset on two fronts. First, I am sympathetic to free speech on college campuses; although Yiannopoulos’ material was challenging, I believe the role of a university is to directly engage such perspectives and refute them in dialogue rather than in silence. Secondly, neither I nor my colleague from Wednesday night speak on behalf of the Department of Political Science as a unit — although, I believe my thoughts on this matter are more reflective of the department’s general mindset.
My point is apolitical: free speech need not be mean speech. Furthermore, familiarizing oneself with the difference between what can be said and what should be said is an important project of higher education. As in most things, moderation is a virtue and the ability to exercise restraint in discourse is a hallmark of wisdom, equanimity, and right judgment. I am much less sure about the virtues of provocation for provocation’s sake. But I am uncomfortably well-acquainted — as are we all — with the ramifications of divisive and sensationalist rhetoric, whatever its origin and orientation.
We should all take a breath, especially those of us in positions of authority who have been entrusted with the important task of educating young people. I would have never imagined that such an offensive slur would come out of the mouth of a college professor, on record, in a public forum. Melding crassness with a sickening disregard for people with disabilities, those two syllables were, in my mind, a call for all of us to reflect on the state of things. I feel most days like the bottom has dropped out of our discourse. I feel small. And, in the face of the politics of provocation, I feel afraid.
I wanted to let the students of LSU — especially those who are considering coursework in political science — know they can expect better of the faculty than this. They can expect discourse that is less small and less afraid. Whether the subject is race relations, public policy, civil liberties or international terrorism, there is space in our department for respectful disagreement predicated on nuance and shades of grey.
There is no reason why the gift of free speech should push us toward the lowest common denominator. There is no reason why disagreement should beget fear. There is no harm in considering the consequences of our words on the well-being of others. As we head toward this fateful November, I hope that all of us can work to keep the politics of provocation at bay.