In short, a person responsible for the attacks on my family was to speak at my university on the same day that the state launched its effort to tear us apart. Let me be clear: This is harm fueled by ignorance and hatred. Families such as mine are already terrorized. If the zealots succeed, we will be broken. I shudder to think what they would do to our son if they got their claws into him.
I decided to attend Younger’s talk. As a parent under investigation, I wanted to keep an eye on the enemy. As an educator, I wanted to listen to what he had to say. I came as two people: a father draped in the transgender flag and a professor with a notebook, resolved to silently protest while honing my counterarguments.
Just before I left for campus, we received word that a Texas state court had issued a temporary injunction in a related case, raising hopes that the investigation into our family would be halted. By the time I arrived, the state had filed an appeal.
On campus, police were everywhere. Protesters had massed outside the building where Younger waited to speak, waving pride flags and chanting “Protect trans kids!” Inside the classroom, you could feel a pulsating energy.
When Younger walked in, the boos began. Then the table-banging. Then the chant “F--- these fascists!” Then the foot-stomping. This was clearly what Younger wanted. His minions had their cameras rolling, ready to flood social media with this assault on free speech. When the chanting waned, Younger taunted the students: “Louder! C’mon, commies, is that all you’ve got?”
After several minutes, I walked to the front of the room. I asked Younger if I could borrow the microphone. The students quieted down. I was profoundly sad about the investigation, this spectacle and this dark chapter in our history. I found myself saying, through tears, that I believed they should let Younger speak. After all, we are at a university, and the free expression of ideas is our lifeblood. I also warned them that they were giving Younger fodder for his culture war campaign.
The students listened, but they disagreed. They resumed chanting. I relinquished the microphone and slunk to the back of the room. Soon, things got too tense, and the police escorted Younger off campus.
Recently, a pair of university administrators argued in The Post that students who shout down speakers should face disciplinary action. They worry that all meaningful discourse on campus might devolve into shouting matches. It was interesting. Maybe it is best, when faced with clowns such as Younger, to just walk out.
Then again, silence is a form of consent. To allow transphobic speech is to consent to its legitimacy. In their op-ed, the administrators argued that “college campuses should be a place where all ideas and views can be expressed.” All ideas and views? Would they say the same in my shoes on that night?
Of course, that’s exactly what I did. When I borrowed Younger’s microphone, I was thinking of the famous line “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” But what if the one you are defending is the one threatening you?
That night, as I walked back across campus, a student approached me and told me that she is trans. She said that she wished her parents had supported her in the ways I support my son. We hugged in silence.
It was one of the most difficult days of my life, and I am still torn by the questions it posed. The more I reflect on it, the more I grow proud of the students’ righteous anger.
But I also know it takes time to conquer ignorance and bigotry. Maybe free expression of these ideas will eventually expose how vile they are.
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April 02, 2022 at 07:01PM
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Opinion | The free-speech choice I faced as a professor and father of a trans son - The Washington Post
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