When asked whether he is concerned about potential protest against his upcoming event at Portland State, contentious New York-based author Chadwick Moore had this to say:
“Protest, by all means. I love it. You should speak up for your beliefs. But you do not have the right to prevent someone else from speaking theirs.”
Moore brings his inciting dialogue entitled “The Joys of Being an Infidel” to PSU’s campus 7 p.m., April 28 in Smith Memorial Student Union room 294. Admission is free.
Rarely does a journalist’s career accelerate to notoriety as instantaneously as Moore’s has. When the former editor-at-large of Out and The Advocate magazines published his expose of miscreant provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos in September 2016, the well-established, well-connected gay writer found himself ostracized overnight from the liberal community he had embraced. The abrupt shunning sparked a revelation in Moore. In a recent interview with the New York Post, he came out as a conservative.
“We have reached a zenith,” Moore said. “Fifty percent of the country won’t talk to the other fifty percent. Inquiry and debate are being shut down; now screaming and misinformation run wild. In my opinion, right now, the left is largely to blame.”
The event is hosted by student group Freethinkers of PSU as part of its year-long theme of free speech and classical liberalism. PSU student and event organizer Blake Horner explained why the self-described secular humanist group would sponsor a visit by a political conservative.
“The way we see it is that free speech persecution has been coming mainly from the left, and a lot of the speakers who have been vocal about it are on the conservative side,” Horner said.
Freethinkers of PSU describes itself as a nonpartisan student group.
How will the PSU community react to Moore’s appearance on campus? Show up to find out.
He is so hot, smart and has his own mind. Amazing a gay conservative like me that doesn’t agree with the wolf pack that will chew you up and spit you out if you don’t nod your head in agreement and stay silent unless we tell you to speak.