This week, I had the good fortune of attending a presentation by Michael Whatley, national GOP chair. It was held at North Carolina State University in the Talley Center, a huge building devoted to all kinds of student activities. The event, sponsored by Turning Point USA, was well attended, primarily by students, with a handful of adults from the community mixed in.
Chairman Whatley carefully explained Republican positions on crucial issues of the day. While not an extrovert, once he gets rolling and into his presentation, he is quite a compelling speaker, offering excellent logic, coherence, and clarity.
Nothing Worthwhile to Add
A small group of students in attendance were present only to protest. They showed no desire to listen to Mr. Whatley. They brought whiny little noisemakers that subtly filled the air when points were made with which they disagreed.
I got up from my seat to speak with the security officer in the room. I asked, “At what point does their disruption cross the line? Because they are making it difficult for me to stay tuned to what Mr. Whatley is saying.” I was told that these students would be given a warning and would be escorted out of the meeting room if they proceeded any further.
The overarching observation I have about student protesters, and this goes back to my days as an underclassman at the University of Connecticut, is that they attend with little intention of hearing what the opposing party has to say. This tendency is a fundamental difference between the Left and the Right.
The Courtesy to Listen
As someone who leans right on most issues, if I hear a liberal presenter, I will at least cogitate over what he or she has said and discern whether or not there is merit to the observation. What I will not do is call out or try to disrupt the proceedings. This was true when I was younger, and it's true now, for me and for the thousands of conservatives I have observed over many decades.
During my days at UConn and today, as a participant in political discussions in central North Carolina, I have noticed that those on the Left have zero tolerance for even briefly contemplating what is being told to them and in weighing whether or not it has merit.
Leftists generally are firm, often mistakenly, in what they believe to be true. As such, no one can tell them anything because, indeed, they already know it all!
Shouting as the Ultimate Recourse
At one point, a pro-Palestinian student posed the question, “Why should some students on campuses be deported?” When I had a chance to speak, I mentioned that the student who had spoken before me failed to include some key fact relating to students being deported: Most of these students were here on student visas, and some were unlawfully occupying areas on campus, blocking other students from getting to class, sometimes engaging in acts of violence, and being intimidating particularly to Jewish students.
When I said this, the protesters in the room howled in disbelief, especially when I cited the intimidation of Jewish students. One proclaimed that this was not happening at all. Maybe she had no time to watch the Congressional hearings on the topic in which well-documented cases of Jewish students being intimidated on campuses across the nation were highlighted.
Perhaps she only reads news sources from the Left. Actually, I'm kidding here. There is no way she reads anything on the Right, and thus, she has a parallax view of national and world events.
Ultimately, So Worthwhile
I was pleased to have been invited to this session and felt that Chairman Whatley spoke clearly and convincingly. I had the opportunity to talk to him briefly as he exited the meeting room and said, “I think you changed some minds tonight, not those protesters in the front row, but many others in attendance.” He gave me a quick smile as he departed.
Before attending the session, I didn’t know much about Mr. Whatley, so I looked him up online afterward. He has a JD degree, an MA in theology, an MA in religion, and a BS in history, all from top schools. Technically and academically, he is quite sound, and he showed it.
Considering all the other places he could have been, the attendees in that session had a rare treat. When else can you interact with someone who has had a profound impact on the 2024 election and current national affairs?