Barring speakers you disagree with from your campus isn’t helpful

Talk isn’t cheap, it’s difficult, stressful and nerve-racking

This week, the VP of the Front National, Florian Philippot was invited to the Sciences Po campus in Paris. The Front National is basically an extreme right-wing French political party defending a traditionalist, nationalist, exclusive vision of identity. Let’s say that its leader Marine Le Pen was supporting Trump.

Anyways, her VP was invited to debate with Sciences Po students, with other figures of French politics. However, 30 students decided to prevent him based on what he stands for, or rather the political party to which he belongs. In the end, they won, and the debate was canceled.

I must admit that I wouldn’t support Florian Philippot’s ideas, and this is not just an understatement. But what Sciences Po – my school – stands for is the concept of democracy.

Florian Phillipot

What are the foundations of democracy? Freedom of speech, of thoughts and of opinions. So who are those students to decide this man doesn’t have the right to speak on behalf of a political party? A political party which accounts for 30 percent of the electorate, and who therefore has a degree of legitimacy.

It is one thing to disagree with a party’s value and way of conducting its campaign, but it is another to decide that everyone must disagree with it. It is one thing to say that the FN’s ideas are a threat against democracy, it is another to go against democracy based on personal opinions. It is one thing to want to make an actual change in our political system, it is whole other one to carry on the mistakes, and wrongdoings that led to the victory of populism.

Marine Le Pen

The mistake: refusing to have an actual talk, a debate, a confrontation of opinions. Refusing to listen to the pleas of those people who feel marginalized. Talk is cheap, we say. But I have to disagree: talk is difficult, stressful and nerve-racking. It’s through talk that you come up with ideas, that you enlighten your own knowledge, thanks to a sharing of information, opinions.

In bypassing this necessary step, we carry on the image of elite, know-it-all, spoiled-children, who don’t care about the “others.” The others who make up the majority. The others whom our system failed, the others who were hit by the crisis.

Remind you of something? Brexit and Trump. This trend toward withdrawing into a fantasy of a traditionalist nationalist country, as it used to be, because “it was so much better before.” What other alternative do we offer them? Fillon, or shall we say the man coming straight from the 1960s.

This demonstration didn’t only damage our school’s image, but also enhanced the speech anti-elite sustained by more and more politicians. As one my teacher explained, the surge of populist parties will only be disrupted with an actual talk, with the entire population. It’s a lot, I know. But you know what would be way too much to bear? Brexit + Donald Trump + Marine Le Pen.

I must add that this was really the action of 30 students, which is definitely not endorsed by most of the student body, and mostly criticized by pretty much everyone on my campus.

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