At the Students for Liberty South Central Regional Conference in Lubbock, TX yesterday, one liberty-minded student had their free speech stomped upon by panelists for having the audacity to ask a question regarding transsexuals.
Following a panel discussion in favor of open borders and illegal immigration, a student attempted to ask a question about who is paying for hormone pills for transgender detainees. As soon as the student began asking the question about transgender prisoners, he was immediately shut down by the panelists.
“Can we go to next question please?” the panelist said.
“I thought this was a free speech event,” chimed in someone in the audience.
“No, you’re wrong,” the panelist responded.
Despite immature hectoring from the panelists, the liberty-minded student proceeded onward with his question anyway.
“Would he be paying for that, or would we be paying for that?” the student asked. He was never able to get a clear answer from the panelists, who implied that government would not have to pay for these treatments if illegal immigrants were not detained. When he pressed on, he was shouted down by the audience.
The questioner and his supporter in their audience were not wrong in their description of SFL. It is an organization that parades around free speech as one of its paramount issues. They even set up a ‘Speak Freely’ international program earlier this year designed to facilitate free speech on campuses, even though they do not even respect the free speech rights of attendees of their own conferences.
“Free speech and expression create a marketplace of ideas – sometimes stimulating thoughts far from the content of the original speech. Limiting free speech doesn’t just violate the rights of the person speaking. It violates the rights of others in the audience to listen and – hopefully – to learn and offer counterpoints,” the ‘Speak Freely’ website reads.
While the rhetoric may sound nice, the reality is far different – as attendees learned themselves first hand at yesterday’s conference. Onlookers expressed their disgust with how conference organizers behaved this weekend.
“If you need any Libertarian views on immigration feel free to reach out to me. Sorry to see this happened at SFL. Glad I didn’t end up going,” said Michael Anderson, Young Americans for Liberty Texas state chair, in a response to the shocking video.
“They couldn’t even answer the question directly and honestly without attacking you. It’s sad to see what parts of the liberty movement have devolved into,” liberty activist Matthew McLester said.
It is no surprise why the SFL conference circuit – once vibrant during Ron Paul’s peak – dwindles with each passing year. Having recently featured Iraq war supporter Bill Weld at one of their conferences, they followed that up with this weekend’s conference promoting “anarchy at the border.” This conference featured illegal immigrants as well as the leftist organizers who agitate on their behalf. One conference attendee was Julieta Garibay, Co-Founder of United We Dream, who was featured by President Barack Obama as a guest of honor during his 2013 State of the Union address.
“Being at the State of the Union was one of the most unforgettable days in my life. It was not only historic for immigrants in this country but for the entire nation. I think it was really a step forward in the civil rights fight by having undocumented immigrants at the state of the union,” Garibay said in a video about her experiences.
Garibay has gone from propaganda puppet of the Obama regime to co-opting young libertarians into supporting leftist immigration policies. Liberty-minded young individuals need to be very leery on campuses, as groups like SFL deliberately use deceptive branding to promote leftism under the guise of libertarianism.
SFL seems to have a problem with fascist-lites.
just like “German Democratic Republic” = STASI-run Commie hellhole
SFL is not part of the legitimate liberty movement. Open borders would forever destroy liberty in America.