What was supposed to be a fairly mundane and run-of-the-mill discussion on heightened crime levels in Ireland turned into a jam-packed, censorship-defying night filled with notions of rebellion and fighting the power.
The attempt by an assortment of Trotskyite campus dwellers to cancel an event hosted by ‘Breaking Point’, an organisation dedicated to exploring new ideas not by existing ideologies but rather by merit, failed miserably on Thursday of this week as I, along with Gript Media’s Ben Scallan, Independent election candidate and investigative researcher Nick Delehanty, and UCD Professor Tim Crowley, discussed whether or not modern Ireland is safe for its citizens.
Such a discussion was deemed problematic for the supine snowflakes in UCD’s People Before Profit chapter, who condemned such a discussion taking place in a “multicultural campus” as “shocking”.
The letter went on to say that the event would deploy so-called ‘dog whistles’ ‘with a pre-determined purpose to blame criminality on the most vulnerable groups in Ireland’, namely immigrants and asylum seekers.
How they managed to deduce that a discussion about crime in Ireland would focus solely on immigration and asylum seekers says more about their pre-conceived notions about crime in Ireland than the speakers or the organisers.
Leaving that to one side, as the event was organised on a college campus and open to other members of the public, the opportunity to question the speakers at the Q&A would have allowed those who objected to the sentiments expressed an ability to question them.
However, in modern universities, debate and discussion are not encouraged; it is actively discouraged.
Whether it was the successful attempt to cancel a lecture by feminist activist Mary Kenny in the University of Limerick in 2023, or atheist Richard Dawkins in Trinity in 2020, a recurring theme seems to be that hosting such discussions would jeopardise the “safety” of students.
It appears that in today’s day and age, young student union types listening to views they disagree with could upset their perfectly cultivated worldview they’ve crafted for themselves, with counterpoints potentially upsetting that mindset, thus causing distress. Therefore, the idea of a debate or discussion on a campus with dissenters could be detrimental to perhaps the mental safety of such students, analogous to how teaching a child how to ride a bike could jeopardise their safety but remains necessary for their growth and progression.
This mindset that subjective concerns of “safety” somehow trumps the ability to discuss different ideas was articulated perfectly by the US Lawyer and Free Speech activist Greg Lukaianoff in his seminal book ‘The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting up a Generation for Failure’ when he wrote: “A culture that allows the concept of “safety” to creep so far that it equates emotional discomfort with physical danger is a culture that encourages people to systematically protect one another from the very experiences embedded in daily life that they need in order to become strong and healthy.”
As such, a letter, which called for the cancellation of the event, was sent to UCD President Orla Feely, receiving signatures from over 20 UCD societies and the UCD Students’ Union.
Having previously asserted in an interview with the Irish Times that ‘students must hear alternative views they disagree with’, Feely seems to have caved to the woke mob and allowed for the event to not take place on her campus.
Such a move shows Feely has backtracked on her previous defence of open and honest debate, making a mockery of UCD as an institution of free learning. I hope to be corrected in this view and would invite Feely to comment on the event’s cancellation.
Indeed, while UCD students voted to leave the umbrella organisation Union of Students in Ireland by a whopping 64% in favour in 2013, the internal Students’ Union has managed to cement itself on campus by setting up its own publication.
Bearing all the hallmarks of Pravda, the University Observer covered the cancellation of the event with glee and joy, describing I and my fellow panellists as somehow ‘anti-immigrant’ – an accusation I strenuously deny.
One by one, journalist and deputy editor Lucy Warmington went through the panel listing the thought crimes we are guilty of.
Ben Scallan was described as someone who, in his capacity as a political correspondent, repeatedly shares “homophobic” and “transphobic” views, for referring to the medical transition from male to female and vice versa as “incoherent.”
Tim Crowley’s crime was objecting to “the requirement for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) statements in faculty hiring” which several companies and universities have now abandoned most notably Amazon and MIT.
Nick Delehanty’s show trial charges included his alleged support for the so called ‘anti-immigrant’ Irish Alliance, having attended the ‘National Rally’ in Dublin City on April 26th. Indeed, with tens of thousands of rally goers that day, it seems they all would be denied permitted to enter the sacred halls of Belfield lest they upset some students.
This writer’s alleged crime was representing the political party Aontú during a ‘Mock Dáil’ in DCU last year and airing my objections to the government’s attempted hate speech bill in 2023 in various publications, including The Hill.
How any of these accusations and descriptions would entail a risk to student safety is beyond this writer’s comprehension.
Nevertheless, the event proceeded to take place in a City Centre hotel with the sun glistening into a packed room full of young and old, men and women, Irish and non-Irish, interested in discussing the noticeable uptick in anti-social behaviour and general crime on the streets.
With a fruitful and intellectually stimulating Q&A at the end, where some people who had disagreements aired their views, I left the event feeling more knowledgeable about the topic at hand and felt that a University setting would have been the perfect forum for such a divergence of viewpoints.
Breaking Point’s raison d’être seeks to combat the “stifling culture” that has hindered open discourse and progress with the belief that “Irish political life would benefit from an injection of liberty”.
UCD Students’ Union proved this week that there is a stifling culture that seeks to close, not open debate. On another note, I am using this column to invite any member of the Union to an open debate on whether or not Ireland is safe.
Any time. Any place.