Syerra’s Square: Open your minds, don’t be scared to hear opposing opinions

On Friday, the University of California Davis, Davis hosted  an event that Milo Yiannopoulos and Martin Shkreli were scheduled  to speak at; however, droves of protestors showed up to their event, and the UC Davis Police Department eventually shut it down as it was deemed unsafe for the two speakers.

Now, I won’t go into detail about my own feelings about the speakers, as they are rather controversial and conservative; but I will say that I am deeply disappointed about the growing trend in our country where people refuse to hear opposing views.

An organized protest that still allows for the conduction of an event is absolutely reasonable, and conveys personal feelings about the event; but threatening speakers, throwing things, and creating a place in which only one opinion may be dominant is terroristic. In my opinion, this is a form of brutal censorship.

UC Davis Interim Chancellor Ralph Hexter commented about the cancellation saying, “Our community is founded on principles of respect for all views, even those that we personally find repellent…a university is at its best when it listens to and critically engages opposing views, especially ones that many of us find upsetting or even offensive.”

I find that I absolutely agree.

The fundamental right we all have to speak our views or perspective allows for us to grow as people; it gives us a spectrum of thoughts and ideas that we can create our own values on. But when you deprive one person of that right, you start a chain reaction and endanger your own right. This sort of trend doesn’t only exist in the news, but even in day-to-day interactions.

I am constantly frustrated when people engage in controversial conversation, but only want to hear opinions they’re comfortable with.

Ideologies are controversial in nature in which we should all attempt to push our limits and listen to and understand the thoughts of others.

To do so would allow us to have grand perspective. I’ll end this column with a quote from the famous Tyrion Lannister, “When you tear out a man’s tongue, you are not proving him a liar, you’re only telling the world that you fear what he might say.”