No Safe Spaces
© No Safe Spaces
"No Safe Spaces" exposes the madness of Groupthink.

In 2015, I was invited by a student-led organization at Williams College to speak on behalf of its "Uncomfortable Learning" program. I remember thinking at the time what a perfect fit it seemed. If there's one thing my work could be described as in the 21st century, it's "uncomfortable."

Of course, several decades ago the underlying message of my work — that men and women are different by nature, that they have unique desires and proclivities that make so-called equality an absurd goal — would have have been viewed as common sense. Today, it's considered blasphemous.

This phenomenon is the focus of the new film No Safe Spaces — produced by Mark Joseph and starring Dennis Prager and Adam Carolla — which examines the politically correct world of academia, driven by the political Left. Prager calls the film a "wake-up call" for the attack on free speech and free thought that plagues our universities, where students lash out at any speaker with whom they disagree, amounts to, as Megyn Kelly describes it, "intellectual fascism."


That's precisely what happened in 2015. I actually never made it to Williams' campus because my talk was canceled several days prior to the event. "Thank you for agreeing to speak," read the email, "but we're not going to be able to host this event."

Though my contact didn't give a reason, the day before the cancellation he'd sent this email:
"Dear Ms. Venker, A quick heads up ... We've been advertising the event, and it's already stirring a lot of angry reactions among students on campus. We just wanted to make you aware of the current state of students before your presentation."
When I pressed further as to why the event was being canceled, he conceded Williams College "has never experienced this kind of resistance" to a campus speaker. Translation: They weren't equipped to deal with it.

That was four years ago. Since that time, things have only gotten worse. Students who can't handle hearing facts and viewpoints that challenge their thinking now resort to hiding in sequestered rooms, where they use coloring books and other calming methods to help them cope with being exposed to new ideas.

This is nothing short of madness, and it demands a response. Hence, No Safe Spaces. The film details the atrocities that are being committed on those who dare to say "That Which Should Never Be Uttered." Much of the campus backlash comes in the form of violence or mental and physical intimidation.

The most well-known individual to date who exposed this lunacy for what it is (and who, in a marvelous twist of fate, got the last word by becoming a bestselling author and YouTube sensation, thus prompting a full-length biographical documentary) is Jordan Peterson, who's featured in No Safe Spaces.



Comment: At 1:58 in the above video, Jordan Peterson goes close to describing Dr Jim Carpenters 'First Sight Theory': Perhaps, with the above in mind, the real reason these students need safe spaces is not because they cannot be taught to deal with the real world, rather that the ideologies they have bought into are fundamentally unsafe; and at some level, they know it.


What gets Peterson the most animated is groupthink or the idea that people should adhere to the ideas of a group that insists it knows what's best and demands unremitting loyalty. In my own case, that group is feminists. The students at Williams College who took issue with my appearance were those who pray at the altar of feminist ideals. Like their feminist leaders, these students are masterful at telling women (and men) how to think and behave but are notorious for cowering in the face of opposition. (Side note: If you'd like to read my speech that Williams College students refused to hear, you can do so here.)


Comment: The interesting thing about the above linked speech that college students were too offended to hear is that, while it recognises the benefits that feminism has given women, it also draws attention to the harmful effects of feminism as reflected in this quote by Alice Walker, author of 'The Colour Purple':
Yes, feminism has undoubtedly given women opportunities. It's helped open the doors for us at schools, universities and in the workplace. But what about the problems it's caused for my contemporaries? Far from taking responsibility for this, the leaders of the movement close ranks against anyone who dares to question them — as I have learned to my cost. I believe feminism is an experiment, and all experiments need to be assessed on their results. Then, when you see huge mistakes have been paid, you need to make alterations.

Groupthink isn't new. What is new is Americans' inability to engage in the marketplace of ideas. Rather than listen to the opposing side and hash out the topic at hand, we shun our rivals. We scorn those who have the audacity to think for themselves and portray them as evil and dangerous. We demand silence in exchange for obedience.

That's not America. "The idea of the divine individual, that is the West," Peterson tells Carolla. "So if we subsume that under group identity, then we will perish painfully. And God only knows what will go along with us. Maybe everything."

Suzanne Venker (@SuzanneVenker) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner's Beltway Confidential blog. She is an author, columnist, and radio host. Her newest book, "WOMEN WHO WIN at Love: How to Build a Relationship That Lasts," will be published in October 2019. Suzanne's website is www.suzannevenker.com.