This article… wow.

I truly cannot believe how afraid these college campuses can be of other thoughts/beliefs/ideologies. The way that this is being handled in this instance is a perfect instance of that. How can hearing someone else’s opinion hurt you so bad? Why does logic scare you so much?

Ben Shapiro is far from a racist nor does he target minorities on any level. He is a Jew for crying out loud.

What a hateful article. There is nothing wrong with having an opinion, and if those who do support Shapiro coming to the University of Utah, it is not right to belittle the followers. The followers do not ‘adore’ when a conservative comes to speak. We are enlightened and ready to hear what he has to say. It sure is strange that nobody protested when Mitt Romney came to speak at the University of Utah, but as soon as Trump is president, every conservative is a racist and needs to be shunned from society and freedom of speech. Shame on you and your idiotic ideology.

Why is your response to Mr. Shapiro to call him names like racist and homophobe? This practice of shouting insults, or disregarding things under the titles of racist, homophobe, and bigot, rather than addressing and countering points is why the left (Shapiro’s self-proclaimed adversary) is losing so much ground. There are hordes of reasonable people, and if you’d listen to Ben speak, you’d find out that he attacks topics and issues with *reason.* Even if you don’t agree with the conclusions he’s come to, it’s hard to deny that his views and stances have been well thought out, and have years of legal study tied up in them. This is a stark contrast to protesters, who typically sling insults and name-call, and aren’t able to even cite instances of Shapiro’s racism and homophobia.

I don’t agree with everything Shapiro says, and I find some of his conclusions to be silly (for example, his conclusion that doctors performing abortions should be prosecuted, as he stated in his recent Berkeley address). But I’ve also watched him tell Dave Rubin, in an interview, that while he personally things being gay is wrong, he wants to live in a country that allows Dave to do as he pleases, and love who he wants. I’ve never heard him say anything about persecuting gay people, or shunning them. Homophobe (and racist, for its situations) is often thrown around as a catch-all for anyone who holds a non-mainstream left view on homosexuality and gay marriage.

In short, I agree with your primary claim: the best way to protest Shapiro is to ignore him. If we can judge by his statements at Berkeley, he’s not come to call for violence or persecution, but rather to reasonably present a differing opinion. I remember seeing a person say critique his claim that he will “take on the myth of white privilege,” because white privilege isn’t a myth, its a fact. Well, his claim is just as far-fetched as Shapiro’s, the only difference is Ben presents information to back up his claims while the others calls him a racist. The truth of “white privilege” is likely somewhere between these two extreme claims.

When you base the content of your argument against Shapiro on unfounded claims of racism and homophobia, the only person you’re supporting is Shapiro. People are tired of your childish name-calling. Ben’s points can be addressed with reason, and counter points can be presented. Until we’re capable of sitting down with people with whom we disagree, and having a reasonable discussion, we’ll never move forward. Come prepared to Shapiro’s event with counter-arguments, so his presentation can hold varied points of view. Remember, it’s his policy to speak with people who disagree with him *first* at these events. Come with an educated perspective, not childish name-calling.

There’s a lot that is incorrect and inaccurate about this piece.

First, Ben Shapiro is not Milo Yiannopoulos. I would agree that if people just ignored Milo, then he would pretty much disappear. But Ben Shapiro is not a provocateur and his career is not simply founded on provoking leftists. He has something substantial to say, and many people will continue to listen to him, whether or not protests and riots occur at his events. That’s not to say that some of his audience doesn’t get off on the leftist freak-outs. I’ll admit, I enjoy it a bit myself. However, I think there’s a major oversimplification being made when you claim that whether protesters sit at home or actively protest is the difference between whether Shapiro is “significant” or “insignificant.”

Also, the Anti-Defamation League named Ben Shapiro the #1 target of anti-semitism in 2016, in addition to being the biggest target of the alt-right’s scorn, so I’m not sure what you mean when you say that he is “clearly deserving of the scorn he receives.”

Yes

Yeah! Make him invisible, or go to another event on campus. It seems that we are feeding into his limelight by making a big deal about him. Make the crowd at other on campus events bigger than his. It seems that other positive events do not get as much media attention as Ben Shapiro has. Instead of discussing how he disgusts you shout out what other things you are passionate about.

“Am I giving a racist homophobe a cookie?” very disgusting and hateful comments by this author. Very sad that the U condones this author who promotes hate and anti-American rhetoric. Go live in Venezuela, Cuba or maybe North Korea which are shining examples of socialism, communism and totalitarianism the things which you hold so dear to you.