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April 16, 2017 - Freedomain Radio - Stefan Molyneux
20:27
3654 Free Speech Battle For Berkeley, California! | Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux
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Lauren, nothing I can say is going to match what you have to say about what went down today.
Just give us the A to Z, what happened.
Alright, so we showed up ready for a rally for free speech.
Honestly, I wasn't even sure if I was going to be able to speak, but I was, and the police had assured us that there would be an abundant presence there.
And for a while there, I thought, wow, we're going to be totally fine.
"The police are here, we're good." But as soon as Antifa started setting off MADs, those little explosives, poof, where did the cops go?
Oh, they're all gone now.
And it was...
Open season on Trump supporters, but this time round, unlike the other times in Berkeley, Trump supporters came prepared.
Despite the fact that police had disarmed them for the most part, they came prepared with their fists.
So while Antifa were throwing rocks at us, were throwing M-80s and fireworks at us, Trump supporters were running in there and fighting them fist for fist, and everything seemed like it was pretty even.
Going steady, no one was pushing either line until there was one turning point in the battle for Berkeley, like any epic battle has, where Antifa set off a smoke bomb, and it was supposed to come and surprise attack us.
They were going to flank us from the side, but they miscalculated because the wind was going in their direction, and everyone realized at the same moment...
I think I heard someone beside me say, those fucking morons!
And everyone sprinted forward and just...
It was a massacre with fists, is quite frankly what it became.
Now, did you actually get a chance to speak today?
I did get a chance to speak, but there were only a few people that were listening, and everyone else was kind of like on the battle lines, just yelling at each other, because it was pretty heated over there.
So we didn't get a chance to speak, which was cool, and I feel kind of bad for the event organizers, because obviously Antifa brought their music to blast and were throwing stuff, so we were kind of distracted from the speaking, but we did get to speak, although briefly.
Now, so after you finish your speak, I guess you have a bit of a tendency, as I've seen on your videos, Lauren, to head towards the fire, as the saying goes, rather than away from it.
So what was your personal involvement?
What did you see?
And, you know, based on what's going on with your face, what happened to you?
Well, I had amazing security.
First of all, I had some guys that had volunteered from Proud Boys and a couple other groups that were staying there with me, pushing anyone away who tried to come after me.
Because there were people screaming at me.
They're saying, one guy was Richard Spencer and not just punch him.
She's an awful person, da-da-da-da-da, shrieking at me.
So they knew who I was.
So I had these guys there to protect me, pull me away from the M.
But it was hard to avoid the bear mace in the air.
And it's important to know if the media are going to report the bear and the tear ass and all that wasn't from the cops.
The cops had peace stood at this point.
The bear mace was from the protesters.
It was from Antifa.
No one on the Trump side had bear mace because the cops banned us from having bear mace and anything to defend ourselves.
So it's basically the typical disarm the good guys kind of act.
We were all disarmed, couldn't have mace or anything.
All the Antifa.
I think Kyle Chapman got bear mace straight to the face.
It was horrible.
There was women screaming with it all over their faces and everything.
So I brought, I didn't even think this would come in handy, but it did.
And my helmet and everything.
They were chucking, along with the bear mace, they were chucking giant rocks, which was pretty horrifying.
So we had to be yelling, rock incoming, brick incoming, explosive incoming, so people could clear the way.
One guy got hit in the head and blood, it was horrifying.
There was blood literally spurting everywhere, all over the cement.
And this guy was just like, he's like, I don't know what hit me.
I don't know what hit me.
And it's just all over his face.
It was actually like really, really scary stuff going on there.
I had to get dragged out of a lot of situations.
I don't know what I would have done without my security there, honestly.
So those guys were absolutely amazing.
But it was a battle zone.
It was a battle zone.
We were telling each other, get to that position.
Everyone back up.
Everyone move forward.
Antifa were doing the same thing.
Flank them from the side.
It was a literal battle on the streets of in person.
Sorry, I'm just waiting for the internet to catch up here for just a second.
It was a battle for the streets of Berkeley.
And I've seen some of the videos of the rocks.
They're coming in from very high, you know, coming in from 20 or 30 feet, big chunks of masonry and bricks.
I don't know what the hell they were.
But man, I mean, that lands on your head.
I mean, you could very easily be killed.
And so there was, to me at least, you know, The deathly ordinance floating around in the form of this stuff.
Absolutely.
And I was thinking about that.
I hate communists as much as the next person, but I wouldn't want to kill one of them.
They may hate right-wingers, but the idea that they would be okay with the idea of chugging a rock that could murder someone...
It's just unreal.
And I was walking through the streets of Berkeley just before this event, and there's a sickness here.
All of the buildings, everything around the campus, it's all spray-painted Antifa zone.
This place has a sickness of extreme communism, extreme radicalization, unlike anywhere else.
And an opposition to it was necessary.
When the police won't stand up for people's free speech and right to assemble, Then you have to oppose it, and that means with your fists.
So that's why when I saw—well, I'd like it to be with your words, and I don't want this to be the state of political discourse right now, but I feel that all of the Trump supporters that were fighting back were completely justified in what they did today.
Did you—I mean, it's hard to know for sure, and maybe it will come out over time if people try and get the information from the cops— Lauren, did you get the sense that the police had a stand-down order?
I'm sure a lot of the police would like to deal with this because they know where it leads if they don't step in.
Whoever is initiating the force, if they take those people away, they know there's going to be street fights.
There's going to be Weimar-style street fights.
Do you get the sense that the police wanted to help or that they had stand-down orders?
What's your guess about that?
Well, they were arresting probably just as many Trump supporters as they were Antifa, a based elbow man from Huntington Beach, was arrested.
I'm not sure exactly what he was doing then.
Stickman was arrested as well.
But you saw at one point that they all started waving, get out, get out.
There was a little siren that went off, and I think they were probably given a stand-down order.
I mean, I can't imagine...
When they're all prepared in riot gear, that they, especially moral police officers, would feel justified just sitting in their police car, which they were.
They were all like in little buses just sitting there the entire time in their squad cars.
I can't imagine that there wouldn't be cops there that wanted to be out there protecting people because there were women and innocent people, innocent people getting injured.
Now, you of course saw, as did all of us, the gathering storm around this free speech rally that was going on.
You saw the posters, the hysteria, the Nazis, the violence, the threats What was it like for you, Lauren, to prepare yourself for this?
What was your mindset and your thoughts and feelings, you know, walking up to that microphone, knowing what could go down?
It's crazy because a few days ago I was going out and I was laughing because I was at Home Depot picking up a freaking respirator and picking up a helmet and even thinking of picking up shin pads.
I was laughing because I'm like, Lauren, you're exaggerating.
What are you doing picking up this stuff?
You're being dramatic.
And I was like, I might as well have it.
I get there, and I totally needed it.
100%.
I felt so bad for my security guys that didn't have masks, because when the pepper spray came in at all of us, I had my mask and it was still coming through and you can see my makeup is all down because it was painful as all hell when it got into my mask.
And I needed that stuff.
The fact that I needed to go and buy a respirator, a helmet, and a face mask to go to a political event in America just shocks me.
I'm still trying to get over the fact that I just had to go and buy that stuff to go to a political event, let alone what actually happened.
At this event that is now making nationwide headlines.
And a political event where the arguments being put forward, the ideas being put forward are far from radical or extreme.
What are we talking about?
Free speech, freedom of association, freedom of assembly and so on.
This is not radical stuff.
Nobody's talking about anything immoral or illegal or inciting riots or anything like that.
People are talking about, oh, maybe it would be kind of cool if America decided to enforce its existing laws around immigration and other things.
The Overton window in terms of how this debate has been moved, you all are being portrayed as extremists when the majority of people in America voted for just these platforms.
This is not extremism that's being opposed but centrism.
Yeah, I mean, you had gays for Trump speaking there and Hispanics for Trump speaking there, like the groups themselves, and all sorts of people attending this event.
You can't even try to pretend this was some sort of alt-right event because most of the people there would be kicked out of an alt-right event that we're attending, or a far-alt-right event, whatever you want to call it.
The only way that I can try to explain what has happened here is you've got all of these unstable, mentally ill teenagers that have been radicalized by their media and by their schooling and by their government.
And they came out there and it was sick.
The fact that the people there were willing to murder someone and cheer it on along the way.
And they were...
I can't even...
It was a party.
They had music blasting the entire time.
They were dancing and saying, F you, we're going to punch you.
It was so sick.
I can't even describe it.
I mean, you just have to watch the videos, but being there in person is even more intense, obviously.
And the thing is, too, I mean, I don't think people really understand unless you're doing work in the intellectual field, it doesn't have to be on the right.
It It just has to be not far left.
Whatever you're doing in the political field or as a public intellectual or as a reporter that's not far left is subject to just this kind of attack and assault.
I'm really getting sick and tired of people not understanding this, not understanding that the federal left is trying to dominate the discourse and drive centrists out of political discourse, drive anybody they disagree with out of political discourse.
death, assault, macing, or even murder with this masonry coming down from on high.
The shutdown of contrary speech to leftist ideology is vicious.
It seems to be unrelenting.
I'm damn glad that there was a pushback today, but I think people really need to wake up and understand the damn danger that's in their midst.
Absolutely.
And it's going to be really scary to see how the media reports on this.
I've just turned on CNN a little bit and they're already reporting fake news saying that the police were there stopping...
That didn't happen.
They were told to stand down.
They weren't there.
So it's interesting to see how the media spin this.
Because you're right.
The wider public is not willing to admit that we have militant communists shutting down people that disagree with them in the streets.
They aren't willing to talk about this sickness and problem that is on their side of the political spectrum.
And until that happens, things are going to get worse and worse and worse.
And this Berkeley rally, I think, was just the beginning of where our political discourse in America is headed.
Well, of course, it is going to expose the media because my guess is that the very best reporting you're going to get from the mainstream media is something like violence mysteriously erupts at Berkeley free speech rally, you know, and it's going to be like, well, who could possibly unravel who started it?
It was a melee.
There's no way to know.
You're like some exhausted parent with their kids a bickering.
It's like, I don't care.
You're just both in the wrong.
The media literally came up to me and asked me.
They were like, Do you guys start these events just to make the left look bad?
Do you start these with hopes that the left will attack you?
I feel like you do that.
And I was just sitting there like, no matter what we do, they're going to show up, lady.
Like, it doesn't matter what we do.
It doesn't matter if I'm walking on the street.
They will show up.
It doesn't even matter if that is or isn't our goal.
They're showing up here, and you should be reporting on that.
Not trying to ask if there's some insidious plan from our side, because it always has to be our fault, right?
Well, this is sort of like asking the woman who's trying to get away from the abusive husband.
Do you just try to escape to make him angry?
Do you just try and escape to make him look bad?
It's like, are you kidding me?
I thought that you weren't supposed to be responsible for your own victimization.
Oh, right.
Sorry.
If you're not on the feral left, then you're always the instigator and you're always the aggressor.
And if you're on the feral left, well, you're always a victim no matter what happens.
And I hope that this narrative is becoming clear for people because… Man, I mean, if it escalates from here, I mean, I think people are going to be very surprised at how far this kind of stuff can go.
If the government won't enforce the laws, if the First Amendment can't be exercised, if people are going to submit to violence and justify violence on the left and the mainstream media, well, where's this going to go?
I mean, what choice do people have?
There's no way that people who want to express their political opinions are just going to tuck their tails under their legs and go home.
And this happened in a place where you're not allowed to carry guns.
What happens when this kind of ideology starts making its way to places where people are armed?
What happens then?
There's only one logical conclusion of where this is going to head until this is addressed.
Now, Where do you think the benefit can come out of in terms of what people can talk about?
I mean, there are going to be people who watch this broadcast who are going to want to look away, who are going to want to turn away, who are going to want other people to do the fight for them.
But this is a societal-wide verbal fight.
Let's try and keep it in the verbal arena as long as humanly possible.
What would you suggest that people get out of this altercation, of this conflict, so that they can spread the right kind of message to those around them to begin to delegitimize some of this aggression from the left?
Well, I think, I actually think that the amount of people that showed up this time, this is one of the first Berkeley rallies where Antifa were outnumbered by the right-wingers.
So the amount of people that showed up to show their support for free speech caused for the right to be on the upper hand.
And Antifa wasn't able to shut them up and beat people to the ground bloody.
They still got some people, but it was certainly less horrible than...
Other times, or if they had been the majority.
So showing up to these events and showing your support, of course, don't bring your family kind of thing.
But this is something, free speech is a right that people have died for to make this nation and give us these rights.
Getting punched or maced in the face is, I personally, for me, it's something that is so little to give up for a right as big as free speech.
So the numbers, the peer numbers that are showing up to these events to support Our rights is so important, and the fact that we overcame Antifa and we're able to defend ourselves without the police there, I think, is a phenomenal...
This kind of stuff isn't what I want to see, but if that's where Antifa is going to take it, then I'd say we can't stand down.
We have to keep standing up for our rights.
I really hate to say that, but it's just, I think, the fact of the matter.
Well, appeasement now is going to lead to far worse things down the road.
So, you know, in general, this was the lesson that's been learned over and over again through history, that I think we're good to go.
Don't ever, don't ever just say, well, it's equal on both sides or there seems to be this weird, mysterious political aggression.
It's very clear where it's coming from.
Look at the posters for this free speech event and look at the posters that were put up in opposition to it.
The extremism, the, oh, they're all Nazis.
I mean, next we're going to have like baby eaters.
Anonymous is going to be considered where you guys congregate.
It has to stop.
No, it's perfect.
Even though far-right people do exist, there are very few, but far-right people do exist.
White nationalists, Ku Klux Klan people, sure, they exist, but they're so small.
So you don't even see, you never see feminist art galleries or all these things getting raided and shut down and set on fire.
You never see this happen the other way around.
You never see tons of college students coming with far-right views beating the crap out of Hispanics.
It doesn't happen.
So the fact that anyone can say both sides.
I'm 100% confident they're going to come out and say this equal stupidity from both sides.
But the fact that anyone can say that, it is a complete and utter denial of reality and the facts at hand.
Right.
I mean, it's like they're going to say, well, you guys knew where you were going.
You knew what kind of provocation, so you deserve the violence.
But I never heard that said about the people who went to the South to register blacks to vote.
Those people were horrendous and horrifying and nobody would ever say, well, they knew what they were getting into.
They knew the culture.
They deserve the violence.
It's a monstrous – and I was just thinking about this.
I posted about this the other day on Twitter that the left – well, the mainstream media is always referring to people like Marine Le Pen and so on as far right.
But they'll never refer to North Korea as communist, which is exactly what it is.
And I think that's all you need to know.
So what's the aftermath like for you, Lauren?
How's it for you?
I mean, it's quite an adrenaline high.
This is a lot of combat.
What's it like afterwards?
Because I think people fear how they're going to feel after this kind of altercation, but I think most people will find it's not nearly as bad as they think.
But how's it been for you sort of coming down from this level of intensity?
We're all going out for drinks.
We're all going to go party.
We won the Battle of Berkeley.
This is great.
And you know what?
Even the guy that got hit in the face with a brick and was bleeding everywhere, he was lying down like, what?
I have to go to the hospital?
No, I don't.
I don't want to miss a thing, right?
Yeah, I don't want to miss a thing.
No, there were some damn patriots out here fighting their asses off.
They got pepper sprayed in the face.
They got punched.
They got things thrown at them.
And all of them are...
Be in real sports about it.
And we're going out for drinks.
I think Cernovich is buying everyone around.
He sent over some money to bake to Alaska.
So that's going to be...
He's a top lad.
It's going to be a good day.
This was a victory.
I mean, it sucks that this is the position we're in, that we're having to fight.
But nonetheless, celebrate when you can.
Make an excuse.
Better now than later.
All right.
Well, I won't interfere with your social plans for the evening.
I'm very glad that you're relatively well.
I'm glad that the battle...
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