“America Was Not Built On Slavery, It Was Built On Freedom.”
This phrase—the title of Ben Shapiro’s upcoming YAF lecture at Boston University presented by the Fred Allen Lecture Series—has sent the Left into a spiral.
“Abandoned, triggered, frustrated, disheartened, devalued, infuriated, overwhelmed, ignored, embarrassed of BU,” is how Student Group “Black BU” apparently feels about this fact, per an emailed statement Tuesday morning.
In a transparent attempt at gaslighting, Black BU claims that Shapiro’s speech title is “to deny slavery,” which is an absurd and baseless conclusion to reach.
“The foundation of this country is institutionalized racism that continues to affect our community today, and by allowing a conversation with this title, they are ignoring a past, present, and hope for the future that affects us every day,” the statement continues, saying “it is our duty to combat the negligence that this title creates.”
Whining about “instances of passive and active micro-aggressive actions,” these students—who are privileged enough to study at an institution ranked among the top 50 schools in America to the tune of $55,892 per year—are making victims out of themselves.
This factless attack on Shapiro’s lecture is one Black BU apparently wants to make on their own, as they address “students who extend their allyship” by saying “we speak for ourselves and do not need your megaphone to amplify our already vocal voices.” Huh?
Oddly, but perhaps not surprisingly, Black BU identifies its “true allies” as “the Palestinian students, the LGBTQIA+ students, and any of the other students whose power does not lie in their privilege to protest.” A confusing statement, considering all Americans are entitled to the First Amendment guarantee for government recognition of innate God-given rights. That is, if these students claim they don’t have a right to protest, they are depriving themselves of the rights given by God and protected by the US Constitution they often decry.
Black BU’s statement proves exactly why YAF and Shapiro are needed at Boston University, and campuses across the country. Leftist students have put up walls around themselves and constructed their own oppressions—whether through the victimhood-heavy lectures delivered in the classrooms or the popular trend toward the theory of intersectionality in our culture. During the week in which the Berlin Wall was toppled 30 years ago, it seems like a fine time to let freedom ring on the campus of Boston University.
