Free Speech Hypocrisy

To the Editors of The Crimson:

On Wednesday, April 2nd, demonstrators struck Nicaraguan contra Jorge Rosales in the face with a thrown bottle. This violence, combined with loud chanting, prohibited him from speaking before a Harvard audience. I write this letter to elaborate on an aspect of the incident that has received little press attention--the utterly self-defeating nature of the protest. The demonstrators cheered and paraded, patting themselves on the back after driving the speaker from the stage. It was much like a man celebrating his own death sentence. In the excitement of the moment no one seemed to realize that they had just thrown a body-blow to the First Ammendment, the same set of rights that allows such activists to assemble in the first place. It was a cause for sorrow, not celebration.

The rights of free speech and assembly are too fragile to be taken for granted. All too often, we assume that the greatest threat to these freedoms comes from the government. In most cases, this is true. However, citizens themselves are perfectly capable of mutilating their own rights without any help from authority. The incident on Wednesday is a case in point. The same individuals who were shouting "fascist" were using totalitarian tactics of their own. The great danger is that such actions may come to be tolerated. Harvard is already gaining a notorious reputation for conditioning the freedom of speech according to the views of the speaker. Caspar Weinberger, who was shouted off the stage two years ago, would no doubt agree. If such disgraces continue, the demonstrators will have little room to argue if their own hero is ever silenced by chanting, eggs, and hurled bottles. Kris Kobach   President, Harvard Republican Club