Just realized I was the problem at that Charles Murray talk

Last semester my school brought in Charles Murray (the Bell Curve guy, right?) and I went in ready to shout him down. I had my talking points memorized from a Twitter thread, didn't even read his book. Halfway through his Q&A, a girl from the audience asked about his data on intelligence testing and he actually paused and said 'that's a fair critique, I should address that.' It hit me that I had never given him a chance to explain himself. I was so busy protecting my beliefs that I forgot what free speech is supposed to look like on campus. Has anyone else gone to a speaker they hated and changed their mind about hearing them out?

2 comments

2 Comments

ryan_clark4020h ago

I had a similar thing happen when I went to see a libertarian speaker I was sure I’d hate, but hearing how calmly they answered tough questions made me realize I was just projecting my own assumptions onto them.

shanel1319h ago

Calm answers don't mean their ideas hold water though.