Richard Spencer, the creator of “Alt-Right,” exercised his right to freely express his opinion on Dec. 6. His neo-nazism preaching disgusted many at Texas A&M University, yet there were a few who came to support Spencer. The university responded to this event saying they in no shape or form believe in his teachings and created a counter event called Aggies United.
So here are the five takeaways from all the hoopla that went down:
1. EVERYONE has the freedom of speech, no matter what side you are on.
There were protests going on outside of the Memorial Student Center, where Spencer’s lecture took place, and there was a unity event at Kyle Field for those to come together as Aggies. After Spencer’s speech, a Q&A portion began, where people from both views stated their opinions and asked Spencer questions about his teachings.
2. So this what is Spencer’s take on life is:
“We [whites] won, and we got to define what America means,” said Spencer. “This country does belong to white people. Culturally. Politically. Socially. Everything. We define what America is.” He believes whites have won being the dominant race and that America should become a white country. He believes that white people need to find their identity and that white people are losing their identity because America is “…becoming a homogeneous consuming mass.”
3. Riots are real. Protests are real. “Alt-right” is real.
College is a time where you don’t truly worry about what is going on in the world. Because who has time to worry about other stuff besides finals? But, all of this is real. We cannot ignore situations like this and pretend everything is fine and dandy (cough, cough, Aggies United). Richard Spencer has a voice that could possibly lead others to follow him. So how can people stand against him when they have no idea what he’s saying? It saddened me to see my university be taken over by police and students being forced out of the MSC, but that is the reality. The real world is out there, and all we can do is watch.
4. The Aggies respect all.
Whether you attended the Aggies United event, protested Richard Spencer, or went to his lecture to see what in the world is going on in his head, it is so beautiful to see those who are different in all aspects of life come together to stand up for all. Even though I cannot possibly understand why people could support such an arrogant man, I spoke to one supporter. Jakob Jackson, a freshman on the Blinn team at Texas A&M, told me that America needs to find their white identity and he wants to be proud of his culture. He was well-mannered, even when telling a guy to take off his hat when in the Memorial Student Center to show respect to those who died for our country. Even though we might not all have the same views on life, we show respect to others.
5. What do you do after all this madness?
All you can do is stand up for what you believe, be informed on what actually is happening, and respect others. And, of course, BTHO Hate!
Yes, Richard Spencer is an arrogant white supremacist who says unnecessary rude comments. For example: “Cool it with the autism,” Spencer called out to a protestor during his lecture. But from what I saw, there were only about a dozen who truly supported what this man believes, and there were hundreds who think it is a disgrace to our university and our country to have him here. Spencer can come to Texas A&M and do whatever he wants. But despite all the anger and hate, you can see that the Aggie Spirit strongly prevails and the Aggie family will always be incredible to be around.