Editor’s Note: Zach Rachuba is a member of The Daily Tar Heel’s Editorial Board.
TO THE EDITOR:
The UNC chapter of Young Americans for Liberty would like to stress that Ben Shapiro’s stances against criminal justice reform and his dismissal of institutional racism in the U.S. do not define all conservatives and libertarians. Rather than ignoring legitimate concerns about racism, advocates of small government, free markets and the Constitution should offer solutions to communities that feel disadvantaged by a criminal justice system and a lack of educational and economic opportunity.
Shapiro’s ideological blinders might lead him to feel that there is nothing wrong with America’s criminal justice system; but as the saying goes, “facts don’t care about your feelings.” It is a statistical fact that black Americans and other non-white groups are disproportionately targeted by police. Police militarization and punitive sentencing laws for nonviolent crimes undermine our free society, cost the taxpayer greatly and inhibit rehabilitation. Advocates of small government should be leading the charge for criminal justice reform.
Shapiro should also be less hasty to insist that the economically disadvantaged are always responsible for their situation. The government education bureaucracy performs especially poorly in economically underprivileged areas. Here, too, advocates of liberty and small government can reach out to communities of color through the issue of school choice.
Although we disagree with Shapiro, we would like to emphasize his (and the College Republicans’) right to exercise their freedom of speech without interruption. Shapiro is correct that the political left frequently weaponizes accusations of personal racism and privilege to shut down dissent, and this has worrisome implications.
At a time when advocates of constitutional government face grave challenges from both the left and right, conservatives and libertarians should be reaching out to new communities and listening to their concerns about issues of race.
Stormie Baker
President
