Last week, I blogged about a despicable incident at Portland State University in which posters promoting my May 14 speech for the PSU chapter of Christians United for Israel (CUFI) were vandalized. Radicals (very likely of the Leftist and/or radical Islamist bent) defaced some posters by drawing swastikas over the Star of David and scrawling pro-Palestinian slogans; other flyers were simply torn down around campus.
This stunning example of anti-Semitic intolerance and intimidation created quite a stir—and much to the chagrin, I’m sure, of PSU’s Islamo/leftist zombies, actually created more publicity around my appearance, including local radio and TV spots done by PSU’s CUFI chapter president, the indefatigable Josh Ahrens.
In the meantime, the aforementioned coalition of Islamists and radical Leftists “community organized” to oppose the May 14 event—providing yet another example of the unholy alliance that has developed over the past several years between the followers of Sharia and the acolytes of Marx. These two divergent ideologies have united—particularly on college campuses—over their shared desire to turn Judeo-Christian, Western civilization on its head. In their view, the enemy of my enemy is my friend—and Jews, capitalism, the U.S. Constitution and Bible-believing Christians are at the top of the “enemies” list for both totalitarian movements.
Just a brief side note to leftists, however: if the Islamists you’re willfully and foolishly assisting were to--God forbid--win out, history says it would be anything but sunshine, lollipops, Che Cuevera and trail mix for you under the new caliphate (see: the Iranian revolution and its aftermath).
But on to the event. CUFI already has an excellent piece up detailing everything that went down this past Monday night, but I wanted to add a touch of my own perspective as well. I'll admit that I was feeling a good deal of righteous anger prior to leaving for Portland. The swastikas and intimidation tactics were bad enough--but then I learned that there would also be a "silent protest" of my speech by a pro-Palestinian student group.
Hey, protest me all you want: this is America and we have that right, as long as it is respectful protest. My problem, however, was with what they were supposedly objecting to (according to a mass e-mail that was sent out): the appearance of a "fundamentalist, right-wing pundit" whose "racism" "hatred," "Islamophobia" and "intolerance" was not welcome in Portland. Yes, they were talking about lil' ol' me.
First off, Jamal Miftah and other anti-jihad, anti-Sharia Muslims who I've defended from Islamist attacks over the years may take issue with that assault on my character. Secondly, the last time I checked, Islam was not a race, but a religion (albeit with a healthy dose of political ideology mixed in), practiced by white, blacks, Arabs, southeast Asians and many other races worldwide.
Yet anyone who has jousted with radical Islamist groups like the Hamas-linked Council on American-Relations (CAIR), or with their allies on the Left, as I have, knows that this is the game they play. Hey, who needs facts when you can shout your opponents down—and intentionally make any kind of honest, reasoned debate impossible—by using mindless slogans and buzzwords? Shout "Racist!" "Islamophobe! "Homophobe!" at people who disagree with you. And boom! Conversation usually ends.
It's boring, mindless, intellectually lazy and above all, depressing. But they'll keep doing it, because, sadly, it often works. And again: demonization of opponents and character assassination are tactics used by both Alinskyites and the Muslim Brotherhood alike. So no wonder they’ve linked arms in solidarity in these perilous times when evil and uncertainty are running amok. Unfortunately for that rabble, I don't bite my tongue and I don’t back down from a fight (I grew up in Philly: what do you expect?). Especially when I have the truth on my side.
I was reminded of that fact the night before I flew into Portland when I cracked open my Bible. I just so happened to open right to Isaiah 54, verse 17. And I don't believe it was a coincidence. It reads:
"No weapon that is formed against you will prosper or prevail;
And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
And their vindication is from Me,” declares the LORD.
I read that verse several times and then went to bed with an overwhelming sense of peace. When I woke up the next morning and checked my e-mail, the very first message I read (from a good friend) started like this:
Will be praying for you, Erick ...."no weapon formed against you shall prosper or prevail."
Wow. Talk about confirmation. I was ready to roll. Fast forward to Monday night's event. PSU campus police were on hand and I was fortunate and appreciative to have a retired Portland police officer acting--voluntarily--as my personal security detail. About five minutes before the event began, I walked outside the auditorium and was greeted by the sight of some 40 protesters filing in. All had their mouths taped shut, with slogans like "Silence Racism" and "Free Palestine" scrawled across the tape. Many held signs bearing similar rhetoric, most of it aimed against Israel.
It was mostly a motley bunch of hijab and skullcap-clad Muslims, aging ex-hippies and tie-dyed stragglers who looked as if they just rolled in from the local Occupy protest. There were, it must be said, a handful of reasonably normal-looking people with them as well. Normal, except for their brainwashed, aggressive, Leftist views. The pic below, which was taken at the event, gives a good sampling of the protesters' demographics:
I locked eyes with a few of them--who were staring a hole through me—gave them a big smile, and said “Hey, thanks for coming out! Be sure to stay for the whole speech—I’d like to talk to you during the Q and A.” They just looked at me, dumbfounded. You could almost hear them mumble through their tape. “Doesn’t he know he’s supposed to be rattled by us?”
As I began my speech, I addressed the protesters directly. They were scattered across the front rows, to my left—a rather fitting placement. I challenged them to take the masking tape off (after all, it was 90 degrees outside and swamp mouth had to be setting in) and debate me in a respectful way.
"This is America,” I told them. “Let’s have a free and open debate—that’s what makes this country great. Prove me wrong. Shoot holes in my facts. Show me how I’m a racist.”
All to no avail. As I began to lay out the shared threats facing America and Israel, and the truth about the so-called Palestinian issue, frequently looking directly at the protesters as I spoke, I was greeted with empty stares. After about 25 minutes or so, their two leaders made a hand signal and they all stood up to leave.
An intrepid Portland State student who runs the great Laughing at Liberals channel on YouTube captured the moment on video. Click on the viewer below to watch. As you'll see, a few Leftist zombies shouted at me (predictably) and waved an anti-Israel banner as they stumbled out. My response was a hearty "God bless" and a request for them to come back and debate me during the Q and A. I'm still waiting.
With the shenanigans over, I spent the next hour discussing the threats posed by Iran, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hezbollah and Hamas and gave a Powerpoint presentation on the truth about the history of Jerusalem--not a Palestinian city since time immemorial but the eternal capital of the Jewish people. The event ended without incident and as you can probably gather by now, the protesters were completely and utterly ineffective.
But don't tell them that. An unknown cameraman just so happened to drop in on the protesters' "debriefing" after they walked out of the event. Click here to watch as they hail their success in making me supposedly "curb" my "racism," warn that I'm a dangerous hate-monger that must be silenced, and then rail against my "white privilege."
My supposed privilege would no doubt come as a great surprise to my late father, who worked as an electrician and tool cutter for 30 years in a hot factory in Philadelphia to put food on our table. Meanwhile, I'm guessing that a good number of our fearless protesters grew up in comfortable homes in the mean streets of suburban Portland, Oregon. Funny how that all works. Oh, and be sure to check out the protester planning session (also secretly recorded) from before the event, in which I'm compared to the KKK. Seriously.
My big takeaway from all this? Simple. Keep up the good fight and boldly proclaim the truth. Because truth will win in the end. Be watchmen and watchwomen on the wall who will never hold your peace. For Zion's sake. And for times like these. Click below to watch the protesters' coordinated walkout.