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Bussell Traven

Mrs. Burr, Instructor

English 2010

March 27, 2018

Safe Spaces are a Threat to American Democracy

In February of 2017, a protest at the University of California in Berkeley California,

violence quickly erupted after right and left wing supporters in politics engaged in violence with

each other. Officers were called in, roads were shut down, and one popcorn salesman had his

tiny flags burned. President Donald Trump made a statement on Twitter, “ If U.C. Berkeley does

not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view-

NO FEDERAL FUNDS?” (@RealDonaldTrump, Twitter). Violence at locations claimed to be

safe spaces around colleges and university campuses have been growing in recent years, more so

after the 2016 election of Donald J. Trump of the Republican party.

Safe spaces, throughout the previous few years of our nation have become a concept

frequent to hear across social and mainstream media, yet what dangers wait in the shadows of the

words; safe spaces. Safe spaces are even becoming ever frequent to see within educational and

public environments. Yet like any issue this is loved and hated by many. One such argument is

that safe spaces are a threat to the democracy within our nation by forcing people to feel one

way. While another is that safe spaces provide a location where minorities can feel safe from

persecution. That the colleges and universities that are endorsing safe spaces are brainwashing

the future generations of our nation. That safe spaces lead to violence. Yet at the same time, safe

spaces in theory create a safe environment where people can share their issues with like minded
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people. This document will seek to prove that safe spaces are a threat to American democracy

both within the United States of America and in other places of the world as many of the

organisations supporting safe spaces with the United States have groups within other countries

doing the same to threaten their people as well.

Safe spaces have existed for quite some time, during the era of the Soviet Union, safe

spaces were put into effect by Joseph Stalin, the premier of the Union of Soviet Socialist

Republics. This was part of his personality cult that was formed during his reign of the Soviet

Union. The safe space guaranteed that the people of the Soviet Union heard only what their

leader wanted them to hear. That is still in effect to this day, safe spaces allow one person or

group to push and urge people to feel a way. There is no secret, in fact there have been many

studies into such a detail, that herd mentality is in effect. People wish to seem ‘normal’ within a

group of their peers. If a large portion of people act a certain way, the others will follow as to not

stand out. This occurs within the protests that have morphed into violent riots that have set cities

ablaze street by street. The people are truly not thinking like themselves, they adopt the thought

of the crowd in a sense. This is classic brainwashing, which has been studied for several

centuries as a way to control people. Thus, herd mentality does play a vital part in how a safe

space can lead to protests and riots.

A common concern with safe spaces is that they hinder the ability for students in general

to communicate with one another. In an interview with a certain Mr. Troy Ball, there was the

statement that ¨People are losing the ability to interact with [other] people.¨ which is being seen

around the country in university and college campuses. When someone that such groups

disagree with enter the campus to speak with their supporters, the groups that disagree flock to
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their safe spaces in order to avoid their disagreement. Once in the safe space they are around

similarly minded people who are all angry at said speaker, thus they riot, protest, and attack

those they disagree with. Mr. Ball mentioned that he believes that technology and social media

has an impact on this as when someone goes on to Facebook they generally are surrounded by

those who carry a similar argument. This leads to to aforementioned herd mentality in the prior

paragraph of this report. When they are around others that have similar views they start to feel as

though they are invincible. As though they are always correct. As such they can grow to be an

issue if they are left to their own devices.

The issue on the table of our nation is the fact that the millennial generation is too weak

to allow improvement. They seek change and how does one achieve change, they beat the hell

out of those they disagree with. Violence caused from safe spaces has been quite frequent within

our nation’s colleges. When someone enters the campus that these liberals and socialists disagree

with, they attack them and their supporters.

Uncalled for in every way, just like how the

mouse when you are typing in google docs

and then half your paper is missing. Anyway,

on multiple occasions these ‘protests’ turn

into all our riots. Such as the riots at

Berkeley. This is becoming an issue within

the nation. As such riots have become a security issue. For example, the ANTIFA, or

Anti-Fascist Action, have been made domestic terrorists. As FOX news put it, “ANTIFA

terrorists use organized and systematic violence to attack not just those they disagree with, but
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also anyone nearby.”(Ned Rvun). Safe spaces are promoted by the ANTIFA, they wish to feel

safe, and yet they attack those who they disagree with. Such violence within the United States of

America is a threat to democracy. And yet this violence is spreading across the entire union, and

as stated, violence is a threat to American democracy, therefore safe spaces that create said

violence are also a threat to American democracy. Or at least that is one of the debates

commonly supported by those of right leaning tendencies. For example, students who support the

safe space within colleges attempt to force the school to comply with their beliefs. One such

student was Jonathan Butler, of which a certain Nicholas A. Schroeder of Brigham Young

University claimed that this young man went on a hunger strike until the University of Missouri

complied with his narrative. In doing this he managed to acquire allies with the University of

Missouri football team. Together along with other protesters they managed to force the president

of the University of Missouri to resign. Schroeder claimed that this received and “created a

hotbed for disagreement and resentment between students and media sources when protesters

attempted to banish the media from covering the event.”(326). Within the Bill of Rights, the right

of the media is protected. The media being able to report on a subject allows the people to form

an opinion on the subject. Yet when these thugs seek to ban people from reporting on the topic

because they feel that they will get negative responses, then this is a threat to our democracy.

Our democracy as we need people to remain informed. There is a reason the media sources are

biased, this helps support our two party democracy.

Discussing the two party system the United States of America employs as her source of

democracy is quite important to maintain the democracy itself. As a two party system both

parties would be constantly attacking each other in order to prevent the other party from
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obtaining too much power and influence within the nation. This is important as no one party

would be able to seize control of the government without the other party forcing that party out

from power. In nations such as the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, Nationalist

China, The People's’ Republic of China, and the Socialist Republic of Italy power is held by one

party. Yet many, if not most of these nations started as multi party democracies (excluding Italy

and Japan.). The Social Union was formed after the socialists seized control in the October

revolution from the Russian Provisional Government. Nazi Germany was formed as parties

flocked to support the one they agreed with most until only Adolf Hitler remained. Both versions

of China, the PRC, and the ROC were formed as the multi parties were too small to compete

with the two larger parties thus they joined them or were killed. And yet in all of these nations,

mentioned what was similar, the limitation of free speech. When you prevent the people from

speaking, you can control them. That is what those who fund and run these safe spaces desire.

Control over the weak is what they seek.

Freedom of speech is protected by the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the United

States of America under the First Amendment. Within many colleges and universities across the

United States in the wake of the 2016 election, many minority students and pro-Hillary voters

felt offended by the pro-Trump rhetoric around schools. As such these people attempted to make

the schools force these people to stop talking and stop with their rhetoric. This is a violation of

their freedom of speech and of the United States democracy. If a group silences another because

of their political beliefs then our nation is no worse than the Democratic People's’ Republic of

Korea ,more commonly referred to in the west as North Korea. According to Katlyn Ayn Patton,

“The “Build the Wall” and “Trump 2016” displays at public universities employing these more
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restrictive codes could serve as a tool for universities to curtail this more controversial speech;

however, these restrictions are likely to be found unconstitutional if challenged in court” (197).

That is the issue, limiting speech is unconstitutional because limiting speech is a threat to

democracy. These are public universities and schools paid for in part by taxpayers dollars who

seek to limit speech due to the students weakness. That is the root of this issue, weakness. People

in our nation are offended by everything in our world, A “Trump 2016” sign would be ripped to

shreds while a “Hillary 2016” sign would be proudly boasted. If people can not support their

political beliefs, then how can democracy continue on , this is quite clearly an attack on the

democracy within the United States.

This issue has brought up both support and conflict as mentioned previously within this

report. Many people have taken to the internet to voice their concerns over safe spaces whether

for or against the subject. In a TIME article Karin Agness voiced concerns that sound just like

what Mr. Troy Ball explained. Ms. Karin Agness claims that “ Campuses should be hotbeds for

intellectual diversity- where ideas constantly are clashing , and students regularly are challenged

to think critically, learn new ideas, communicate their positions”. this statement would greatly

improve a students viewpoint on issues. College should not be confined to a single viewpoint and

those who disagree are beaten and arrested as if they are the people at fault for ‘instigating’.

Rational people tend to be older, there is a reason why one must be a certain age to become a

politician, as younger people are not fully developed in their brains. Yet more often the younger

generations are trying to take more control over politics.

This report has gone into detail on issues concerning the safe spaces that are rapidly

expanding their control over American education. There have been repeated examples of
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violence erupting when those who are opposed to safe spaces are attacked by those who support

safe spaces just because they do not agree. That the United States of America is becoming more

communistic in nature with the lost of the first amendment rights in many educational

environments. The young of today is the future of tomorrow of the United States, a solution of

removing safe spaces through government intervention would help greatly at protecting the

rights of the people. While safe spaces would be alright if those who support them did not force

those around them to comply with their narrative. Yet better so, abolish the safe space in order to

create a true learning environment. Life is not soft, if the young can not get over their nonsense

then their lives will be horrible. With that said, this report comes to a close with the conclusion

that safe spaces are not safe to the colleges, the people, the nation, or the world as a whole. Good

day to you reader.

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Sources and References:

Flemming Rose, Safe Spaces On College Campuses Are Creating Intolerant Students, The World
Post, 03/30/2017
Works Cited
Agness, Karin. "Dear Universities: There Should Be No Safe Spaces from Intellectual Thought."
Time.Com, 12 May 2015. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=102614966&site=ehost-live.
Works Cited
Tsesis, Alexander. "Campus Speech and Harassment." Minnesota Law Review, vol. 101, no. 5,
May 2017, pp. 1863-1917. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=123044142&site=ehost-live.
Works Cited
Schroeder, Nicholas A. "Avoiding Deliberation: Why the "Safe Space" Campus Cannot Comport
with Deliberative Democracy." Brigham Young University Education & Law Journal, vol. 2017,
no. 2, June 2017, pp. 325-358. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=124360046&site=ehost-live.
Works Cited
Patton, Katlyn Ayn. "Trumping the First Amendment: Student-Driven Calls for Speech
Restrictions on Public College Campuses." Case Western Reserve Law Review, vol. 68, no. 1,
Fall2017, pp. 189-212. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=127811833&site=ehost-live.
Works Cited
Ryuen, Ned. “Antifa is a domestic terrorist organisation and must be denounced by
Democrats.” FOX news. 15 Sep, 2017. WEB.
Murphy, Svriuga. “Trump lashes back at Berkeley after violent protests block speech by
Breitbart writer Milo Yiannopoulos.” The Washington Post. 2 Feb, 2017. WEB.