Conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart visits UNC, criticizes social justice

Andrew Breitbart did not wake up one day and decide to buy a bunch of elephant pins, he told an audience of students, faculty and community members Monday night.

The conservative blogger spoke to a crowd of more than a hundred, voicing his disagreement with the social justice movement.

Breitbart emphasized the pressure for conservatives in Hollywood and the academic sphere to conform to liberal ideas.

He said there is a 90 to 10 ratio of liberals to conservatives in academic settings.

“You are spending $200,000 in order to get an education in the humanities department that purposely deprives you of even understanding or knowing what conservatism is, all in the name of social justice,” he said.

Breitbart cited instances in which people approached him, saying they were “on the same team” but were afraid to voice their political opinions because of Hollywood’s influence.

“They know that if they do not blindly accept this social justice movement, they’ll be kicked out,” he said.

Breitbart cited instances in which people lost jobs or were pressured to quit because they supported conservative ideas.

He mentioned that he knew of a restaurant worker in California who was pressured to quit because he had once donated money to Proposition 8.

His influences include Rush Limbaugh and Dennis Prager, two people he was originally taught to believe were “evil,” he said.

The event was sponsored by the Tar Heel Rifle and Pistol Club, the Young America’s Foundation and the Carolina Liberty Foundation.

Co-president of the Tar Heel Rifle and Pistol Club Marc Seelinger chose Breitbart as the speaker.

“I have heard him speak in the past,” Seelinger said. “I thought his opinions would be relevant and highlight our club.”

Seelinger said it cost $5,000 to bring Breitbart to UNC.

Student Congress contributed half of the cost of the speaker while the Carolina Liberty Foundation paid for the rest, Seelinger said.

As a secular Jew born and raised in west Los Angeles, Breitbart grew up with the mentality that people from the South were unintelligent, he said.

However, upon arriving at Tulane University in Louisiana, he said he met diverse and interesting people and began to question his political outlook.

“My friends from home wouldn’t listen to me when I told them the people from fly-over country were actually normal,” Breitbart said.

He drew pie charts on a whiteboard to show the divide between conservatives and liberals.

Though the audience was mostly adults, many students showed up to hear Breitbart speak.

“I have a political science class in the same room, and that was the best use of the whiteboard all year,” sophomore economics major Kelsey Rupp said.

Rupp said she agreed with the decision to bring Breitbart to UNC because of his diverse perspective.

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