The American left and their "useful idiots"

"Useful Idiots" defined

Berkeley Didn’t Birth ‘Free Speech,’ but It Seems Intent to Bury It  . . . "In 1689, the British passed a law guaranteeing freedom of speech in Parliament. A century later, French revolutionaries incorporated into law the Declaration of the Rights of Man, which established free speech as a universal right. Two years later, the Americans ratified the First Amendment, which guarantees that the state shall not infringe on the right to free speech. Roughly a century and half later, in 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which says, “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression. . . . ” 

"I mention all of this because every time I read or hear about the pathetic state of affairs at the University of California, Berkeley — where conservative speakers and rabble-rousers alike are banned from speaking lest they be assaulted by a mob — journalists and other commentators insist on pointing out the irony that this is all happening “where the Free Speech Movement was born.' ” . . .  Read more

While we're at it: Climate Bullies Take to the Streets for ‘People’s Climate March’  "Most Americans are unaware of the vicious campaign waged by climate activists against people who do not recite the strictest tenets of the manmade-climate-change creed."

From Mona Charen: Political Violence from the Left Comes to Campus — Again  Quoting Jonathan Haidt:

We are witnessing the emergence of a dangerous new norm for responding to speakers who challenge campus orthodoxy. Anyone offended by the speaker can put out a call on Facebook to bring together students and locals, including “antifa” (antifascist) and black-bloc activists who explicitly endorse the use of violence against racists and fascists. Because of flagrant “concept creep,” however, almost anyone who is politically right of center can be labeled a racist or a fascist, and the promiscuous use of such labels is now part of the standard operating procedure.

. . . "There’s an opportunity awaiting someone, anyone, on today’s campuses too. Stand up to the social-justice warriors, tell the truth, and you may find yourself a household name."