Witch-hunt 2.0: Meet the right-wing organization behind the campaign against academic freedom
The crackdown on press freedom in the United States now has a new best friend: The crackdown on academic freedom.
The site went live just recently and says its purpose is to “expose and document college professors who discriminate against conservative students, promote anti-American values, and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom.”
That would be people apparently like Abdul-Malik Ryan, a DePaul University professor who has committed the crime of publicly criticizing supporters of Israel. In other words, he’s guilt of free speech.
This McCarthy-era blacklist site was created by a shadowy right-wing group called “Turning Point.” Founded in 2012, the group organizes conservative university students across the country to teach them “about the importance of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government. Through non-partisan debate, dialogue, and discussion, Turning Point USA believes that every young person can be enlightened to true free market values.”
The group was founded by Charlie Kirk, a 22-year-old rising star in far-right conservative politics. Turning Point has seen its annual donations grow from $78,890 in 2012 to $2.05 million in 2015, according to its tax forms. The group doesn’t disclose the name of its donors, but its list of partners contains a who’s-who of right-wing propaganda groups. And not surprisingly, Turning Point has a fun whitebread lineup of advisors.
Hilariously self-unaware, on its tax form the group says its mission is to “Through non-partisan debate, dialogue and discussion, Turning Point USA believes that every young person can be enlightened to true free market values.”
That dialogue and discussion is apparently not meant to include the professors who have now been blacklisted by the organization.
In addition to launching a war on academic freedom, Turning Point organizes sorority-like events around the country brining together almost all-white female college students to parade around with signs like, “Big Government Sucks!”
They also are in the process of organizing a tour for a certain notorious right-wing troll.
The message of Turning Point overall is about as subtle as you’d expect.
A clash of ideals is fine, of course. That’s what freedom of speech is supposedly all about. But the launch of the Professor Watchlist is obviously intended to silence dissent, backed by a growing web of right-wing organizations who insist they are defending their own rights. And we’ve seen in the past, first come the lists, then come the purges. You have to wonder if the free-marketers will themselves understand when they have crossed the line into supporting fascism.
