The people of the United States of America have a long and honorable history of fighting tyranny wherever it is found. We fought the British imperialists and drove them from our shores. We fought the Southern slave owners and crushed their petty rebellion into dust with the might of our armies. We fought the Italian Fascists and German Nazi hordes in the Second World War and reduced their cities and governments to smouldering rubble. 

If Jared Taylor was alive during the American War of Independence, he would have sided with the British. If he was alive during the American Civil War, he would have sided with the Confederates and the slave owners. If he was alive during the Second World War, he would have sided with the German Nazis and the Italian Fascists. If he had the power, Taylor would bring fascism to America, and everyone would be worse off for it. Everyone except for Taylor and his Nazi friends, of course.

At this point everybody and their mother knows that Colorado Mesa University (CMU) is hosting avowed white supremacist Jared Taylor. Almost as many people know that he was invited by the oddly named “Western Culture Club” (WCC). The question on everyone’s mind is why is this happening? Who decided that Jared Taylor should be allowed to speak at our school?

This line of questioning is usually answered by some vague reference to free speech, a right protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution. It is said that Taylor, regardless of how abhorrent his views may be, has the right to speak at CMU, because the First Amendment says so. Is this true?

It actually isn’t. The First Amendment does not grant the people the right to free speech; that is something that people have by nature of the fact that they are people. What the first amendment does is prevent the government from infringing upon that right. It is not a granting of privilege to the people, it is a limitation of the authority of the government.

No where in the First Amendment does it say that an institution, no matter how public it may be, must platform anybody and everybody. This is a common misunderstanding of constitutional law, but a misunderstanding nonetheless. This means that, legally speaking, it is not an infringement upon the rights of Taylor to tell him that he cannot speak here.

There is no doubt in my mind that President John Marshall is aware of this fact; after all he has a political science degree, and he teaches that subject at CMU alongside carrying out his duties as president. This is also something that Taylor himself likely knows, seeing that he is a graduate from Yale. And I am also fairly certain that the leaders of Western Culture Club are aware of this. So the question is, if they know this, why do they pretend not to?

If Taylor being allowed to speak on campus is purely an issue that relates to free speech, then all the uncomfortable questions about his beliefs (and the beliefs of the students who invited him) can be swept under the rug. It takes the heat off of them and puts it on people who oppose them. Instead of asking why their club is hosting a fascist and a white supremacist, they want people to ask why there are so many who oppose Taylor’s “right to speak freely.” But as we have just established, this isn’t about free speech. So what is it about?

This is about the normalization of fascism. Taylor is a fascist. He edits a fascist publication, he is friends with fascists, he has hosted fascist conferences and events, and he regularly uses fascist talking points. The only sensible conclusion to come to is that Taylor is a fascist. What does that make the WCC? Some might say that the act of hosting or platforming a fascist is not enough to make a person or organization fascist. These people say that it is the right of the Western Culture Club to invite whoever they want to speak on campus.

Legally speaking this is true. However, it doesn’t really answer our question. If WCC is aware of the fact that Taylor is a fascist, and if they themselves are opposed to fascism, why would they want to invite a fascist to their campus? Fascism is not some personal preference that can be ignored; it is a political theory that advocates for a tyrannical government that keeps order by direct military force. It is an ideology that led to the deaths of millions of innocent people. 

Fascist governments do not tolerate free speech. They do not tolerate peaceful protest, or a free press. Fascist governments do not deal with disagreements peacefully; they deal with disagreements by murdering and imprisoning those who refuse to give up their right to speak publicly about their disagreement.

If fascists ever get their way, they will not respect the free speech of those who oppose them, so why should their opposition respect theirs? Why should people who love freedom give any leeway to people who hate it and want to take it away from not only those who disagree with them, but from everyone who isn’t one of them? If people like Taylor and WCC are given an inch, they will take a mile. If they are given the freedom to spread their tyrannical and anti-American filth, they will eventually use it to take freedoms away from others. If we do not treat them severely and seriously there will no longer be any “free speech” to defend.

There is no way to be neutral in the face of the fascist menace. You are either for freedom and against fascism, or you are for fascism and against freedom. President Marshall has made it clear that he is unwilling to oppose fascism, and that he is unwilling to defend freedom. He has chosen his side. 

WCC has made it clear that they actively support fascism, and are actively opposed to freedom. They have chosen their side, and in so doing they have betrayed the cause of freedom. Which side are you on? Will you do your duty and muster all your strength to defend freedom and rid the world of fascism?