Keeping Matt Walsh Away From SLU Isn’t About Free Speech, It’s About Giving Hate Speech a Platform
SLU’s chapter of College Republicans caused something of a stir on campus and among alumni after its members announced that they had booked a high-profile, pro-Trump speaker to give an in-person talk to students on December 1st. Matt Walsh, a columnist and host for Ben Shapiro’s The Daily Wire, has most recently raised eyebrows for his vehement defense of Kyle Rittenhouse. On Twitter, he’s even called for congressional Republicans to censure Democrats who have “smeared” the now-acquitted alleged murderer.
But Walsh’s conservative credentials extend far beyond the Rittenhouse trial. His podcast, creatively titled The Matt Walsh Show, rails against diversity, abortion rights, LGBTQ+ rights, the COVID-19 vaccine, and other contemporary social issues.
I am no fan of Matt, and I do not consume any of his toxic, hateful rhetoric. But a simple glance at the episode titles for his podcast speak volumes about the kind of person Matt Walsh is: “The Conspiracy to Turn Our Kids Gay,” “‘Diversity’ is Code For ‘Go to Hell, Whitey,’” “A Country that Honors Men Like Harvey Milk and George Floyd Cannot Survive,” and “Colin Kaepernick Makes Slavery Sound Pretty Great.”
As a recent alumni of SLU (I graduated in May 2021), I acknowledge that a sizable portion of the student body leans right on the political spectrum. Most students that fall into this category are pretty quiet about their views; this may be out of fear of social reprisal from other, more liberal students. But I also know that these people have safe spaces they can retreat into if they feel politically isolated. Such spaces include Students for Life and SLU College Republicans. In those groups, they can share their opinions in relative peace among like-minded peers.
Despite some real or imagined threat of social stigmatization, I know that these people will not be arrested for voting Republican or erecting a memorial for aborted fetuses. The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States protects freedom of speech for all Americans, which is why I feel very little sympathy for conservative SLU students. Even if conservatives face some criticism for their political views, they are in no danger of being persecuted for those beliefs.
With all this in mind, I signed the petition on Change.org asking the SLU administration to cancel the event Walsh is scheduled to speak at. I believe in the First Amendment, and for this reason, I don’t believe that Matt Walsh should be arrested, fined, or imprisoned for his (stupid) political beliefs. While I wholeheartedly disagree with the nonsense he spouts on a daily basis, my personal distaste for the man does not mean that he should be locked up for voicing his opinion. That being said, there is absolutely no reason Saint Louis University should host Walsh on its campus.
Protecting freedom of speech doesn’t mean that we must give a platform to all sorts of speech. That is precisely why I had no issue with Twitter permanently suspending former President Donald Trump. Twitter is a non-government-subsidized private entity. It has shareholders to please, an image to maintain, and liability to be concerned with. Banning Donald Trump from Twitter was not the same as arresting him; all it did was deplatform him. The former President can continue to say whatever he wants, whenever he wants. Just not on Twitter.
Preventing Walsh from speaking at SLU would have a similar effect. As a private entity, SLU shares some of the same concerns Twitter had while it considered suspending Trump from its website. SLU’s sought-after image as a tolerant, benevolent institution that believes in upholding the sanctity of the whole person would be irreparably tarnished if it gave a platform to a man as hateful and vitriolic as Matt Walsh. Given his outlandish opinions on pretty much every topic imaginable, providing Walsh with this platform is tantamount to condoning his extreme perspective as acceptable or okay. Doing that is something I know SLU cannot afford to do, especially at a time when its community is surrounded by social inequity and injustice.
While SLU administrators ponder their next course of action, I urge them to simply look at what Walsh has said in the past. From insinuating that a governor only got elected because she was good-looking to outright racism and bigotry, this is not someone administrators should want to speak on their campus. All in all, Matt Walsh is just not a good look for Saint Louis University.
Editor’s Note: The opinion(s) expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion(s) of his employer.
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Patty, '82 SLU grad • Dec 19, 2021 at 11:15 pm
Seriously? You consider Matt Walsh a promoter of “hate speech”? Surely you can do better than just repeating tired, leftist cliche’s. Please give an example of this “hate” other than the fact that he disagrees with trendy woke ideology.
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You’ve spent a moment and read the TITLES of some of his articles to come to this conclusion. I hope you didn’t strain yourself from the effort! Perhaps if you rest a bit you could manage to make it through an entire article. I would expect more diligence from someone with an interest in journalism.
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By the way, do you believe that adherence to the Catholic faith includes obedience to Jesus Christ? If so, He who said: “Let the little children come to Me” would definitely NOT approve of aborting them. Yes, it IS a big deal!
Dan • Dec 14, 2021 at 8:18 pm
“Editor’s Note: The opinion(s) expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion(s) of his employer.”
B.S. If it wasn’t the opinion of their employer, they would no longer be employed. That’s how “free speech” goes these days.
W smith • Dec 6, 2021 at 5:22 pm
You lost me when you said you believe in the first amendment but……..
Linda Lou • Dec 2, 2021 at 2:39 pm
Conor Van Saten’s opinion is very liberally one sided. Just one more student SLU and the Jesuits didn’t actually educate in the Truth and beauty of the Catholic faith. What was once as great faith based university and pride of our city is now just an over priced institution that has malformed our young adults and hurt our church.
Steve O. • Dec 2, 2021 at 9:37 am
St. Louis University invites and sanctions speakers and demonstrators from all sides of the political spectrum, as long as they are left of center. It has also become a bastion of twisted social justice teaching, typical of the Jesuits in the 20th century. They live in fear that they will lose enrollment unless they stay true to this path, which ignores Catholic teaching in total. These Jesuit universities exhibit lots of really Catholic behavior, like covering the figures of Jesus so as not to offend other faiths. Really? Well, perhaps it is long since time to remove their Catholic identity. That is up to their local prelate, who likely don’t have the stones to do it.
Trout • Dec 2, 2021 at 7:36 am
I don’t know who Matt Walsh is. But if he is so obviously “racist,” why doesn’t the author provide even one simple example? The author really bases his knowledge and opinion on the titles of a few articles? Lazy, ignorant, and simply embarrassing.
Jim • Dec 1, 2021 at 7:29 pm
A ridiculous opinion that belongs in the confines of North Korea. Your article offended me, we should silence you.
Justin • Dec 1, 2021 at 4:16 pm
I will defend your right to fight hate only if I am allowed to define it.
Stuart • Nov 30, 2021 at 7:58 pm
I read your article and felt compelled to comment. At the end of your first paragraph you described Kyle Rittenhouse, someone who was forced to defend himself against a baying mob, as an “acquitted alleged murder”. The legal system found him not guilty on all charges so to paint him in this light is disingenous to say the least.
I am not here to praise or defend Matt, I know nothing about him apart from the fact that he has obviously triggered you somehow.
If you disagree with something that somebody says that is normal. Allowing people the freedom to say things that you do not agree with is the pillar of a free society. There are laws to deal with people that incite hatred, these laws are all encompassing and applicable to all.
My point is, let people say what they want to say. Challenge their arguments, have the conversation. Silencing people is not the way to move forward. let your arguments stand on their own merits and if people step out of line then let the legal system deal with it, the structures are in place, they were created by this process of debate.
Not Stuart • Dec 1, 2021 at 11:34 am
Yeah pal, debating and defeating fascism on the public stage and at the ballot box has a great historical precedent. At the end of the day, if you don’t like a private entity barring someone from speaking on their property, go try protesting inside a Walmart and see how long before cops are called on you.
Not Not Stuart • Dec 15, 2021 at 1:04 pm
So Not Stuart, if they barred Malcolm X or MLK in the 60’s from speaking you’d be cool with it because they are a private institution?
SLU’s one sided, limited, education only hurts its own students.
Andy • Nov 30, 2021 at 6:23 pm
I came to state what the others have already stated… you admit to not having read or listened to Walsh’s content yet condemn his point of view…really? Labeling him as pro-Trump is enough for me to know that you know nothing of what Walsh thinks. As an educated young man, Conner, surely you can recognize the intellectual folly of your indictment, right?
Werner • Nov 30, 2021 at 6:08 pm
If you label anything that goes against your point of view as “hate” there is very little we can do to save you.
Matt Walsh is a father of four a devout Catholic an accomplished and successful children’s book author and yes an opinionated public commentator. Nobody forces you to listen and even less to share his opinions. But justifying the banning of protected speech under the first amendment because you don’t like it does not make you look good. It also makes it appear that you have no argument against his very public positions. Do you not consider abortion the murder of the unborn? Then what are you doing in a Catholic University. Do you think there is not a biological and bible based reality of man and woman that has furthered humanity for thousands of years? Again, what are you doing in a Catholic University?
I could go on but it is futile. There will be in any society busybodies trying to control what people think. They will fail as per usual.
HJ • Dec 1, 2021 at 2:58 pm
You evidently know very little about the values of the Society of Jesus and SLU. We’re a private university, and we don’t have to let Walsh speak on our campus. Walsh already has his podcast, and as you noted, his best-seller credentials to use as a soapbox. Considering this, he is still speaking on campus, so the outrage is misplaced. Even then, we have every right to listen to his rhetoric and respond with our own values and voices. Assuming that Catholicism is a monolithic force where Matt Walsh is somehow the purest representation of Catholic values is quite an extreme opinion. I certainly don’t doubt his faith, but in turn, he (and yourself) do not get to decide who is or isn’t truly Catholic in practice and in spirit.
AC • Nov 30, 2021 at 5:26 pm
Conor, I encourage you to think about the political climate we are in when you confidently state that conservatives face little repercussion for their beliefs. Just this past semester, we have seen Instagram groups dox conservative students and encourage people to call them out in class for their beliefs. We saw people being openly chastised and called misogynistic for their pro-life beliefs at the pro-life memorial constructed by Students for Life. During my time at SLU, I did not see this treatment hurled the other way at left-leaning students during their events. The list of examples like these incidents go on and on.
The the mainstream outlets for discussion in our society have come to be dominated by left-leaning voices. This echo chamber is pronounced on college campuses where left-leaning individuals comprise most faculty positions. Regardless of my personal disagreement with left wing ideals, I respect other people’s right to have an opinion and speak freely. I actually really enjoyed learning from my classmates who held vastly different opinions than my own. Recent demonstrations by SLU students however have proven that there is no such respect coming from the other side towards conservatives. If you expose yourself as conservative, you risk being labelled as racist, misogynistic, or homophobic without even being given a chance to discuss your beliefs.
Matt Walsh is sarcastic in many of his tweets and titles because the left absolutely vilifies him. I really implore you to listen to some of his podcasts and hear him out (instead of just looking at his tweets and titles of his show) on why he believes these things. I do not agree with him on everything, but I think it is important to listen to voices we disagree with. You’re right — SLU isn’t obligated to host Matt Walsh, but it is incredibly important they still do. Higher education used to be a space for free exchange of ideas, and now it is blatantly clear that one side of the debate is being censored.
Lina Jacob • Nov 30, 2021 at 5:17 pm
You admitted that you haven’t listened to or read any of his opinions, which automatically discredits your argument that his speech is “hate speech”. Relying on podcast titles to give you all the info you need to write an Op-Ed piece is reckless and silly. I’d implore you to thoughtfully listen to his opinions (without assuming that it is hate speech immediately) before you make bold assertions on the internet.
Mike • Nov 30, 2021 at 9:20 am
I think this article is a little harsh against Matt Walsh. Calling what he says “hate speech” is misleading and not correct. It’s not because he has a different opinion than you that you should condemn him and censure him. It is a good think for all students at SLU to be exposed to a conservative perspective on current issues, otherwise how can they learn from the other side?
I do disagree with Matt on some issues, such as the COVID-19 vaccine. Nonetheless, he has made some very good comments about other aspects of the culture that are true. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, and SLU and its students should uphold this most fundamental American value by not silencing their opponents, even though they might not agree with his views.
Unfortunately, there is definitely hate speech in America today. But it doesn’t come from Matt. It comes from anti-Semitic groups such as the Proud Boys and QAnon who create conspiracy theories to poison people’s minds with lies. It also comes from radical left and alt-right politicians. These are the groups/people we should be worried about.
Bernie Backer • Dec 1, 2021 at 10:38 am
If free speech isn’t to be protected, who gets to decide what speech is hate and what is not? What criteria do they use and what recourse do those with other opinions have to ensure fairness and rigorous debate? Ibram X. Kendi spoke last year at SLU saying what some people might construe as hateful and untrue things toward white people, but it’s far more important for me to hear all sides of issues than to be coddled and protected by administrative censors who all share the same beliefs. I actually learned form listening. To those who might be offended by Matt Walsh’s views on today’s culture issues, I would urge you to listen and debate rather than appeal to administrators for an insulated learning experience and cancel culture.