Conservative pundit Ben Shapiro was mocked following an appearance at a Young America’s Foundation (YAF) event at Iowa State University where a liberal attendee challenged his definition of "wokeism."
Shapiro defined wokeism as the belief “all inequalities of today are attributable to not only historical injustices but also continuing injustices in the now.”
However, the liberal, identified as a former campaign staffer for Massachussets Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, pushed back and questioned why Republicans have become so confrontational about efforts to raise a broader awareness of racial prejudice and discrimination.
You can watch their encounter below.
This is absolutely amazing. You have to watch it. In two minutes, all of Ben Shapiro's 'anti-woke' tirades are just destroyed.pic.twitter.com/3MGCfgyQMj— Jason Campbell (@Jason Campbell) 1651152363
Shapiro dodged the question entirely when the unnamed activist said he was "not characterizing what I am saying accurately" and even attempted to cut off the conversation entirely, saying that “we’re going to have to stop this because it is going nowhere.”
Sure enough, when the activist said he was “just trying to understand” Shapiro’s perspective, someone working for the event walked over him and blocked his microphone.
"I thought you were a free speech warrior," the activist said in a moment that quickly went viral for what many of Shapiro's critics said exposed his own hypocrisy regarding free speech.
Many have criticized Shapiro as a result.
Hot take: absolutely no one has been "destroyed" here, nothing has been learned, and the haunted ventriloquist dummy will continue to push the narrative that "wokeness" is evil and must be stopped simply because he NEEDS it to be true.https://twitter.com/JasonSCampbell/status/1519669273542762496\u00a0\u2026— The 21st Century. Oh Dear. (@The 21st Century. Oh Dear.) 1651246441
\u201cI\u2019m totally free speech, unless someone I\u2019m debating with starts making good points that I can\u2019t refute and doesn\u2019t let me interrupt them whenever I want\u201dhttps://twitter.com/JasonSCampbell/status/1519669273542762496\u00a0\u2026— (He/Him) Braster the Ancom Yak (@(He/Him) Braster the Ancom Yak) 1651174415
They want \u201cfree speech in the public square.\u201d They just want you to shut up while they alone have it.https://twitter.com/jasonscampbell/status/1519669273542762496\u00a0\u2026— Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid \ud83d\ude37 (@Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid \ud83d\ude37) 1651175119
Remarkable. They took his mic because he said the basic, correct thing: that to be woke is simply to call out prejudice and injustice where you see it, no matter what those on the right would have you believe it means. Shapiro once again showing his closed-minded ignorance.https://twitter.com/JasonSCampbell/status/1519669273542762496\u00a0\u2026— Duncan Hamilton (@Duncan Hamilton) 1651185938
Correct! #Conservatives make attributions to #Democrats that absolutely do not define us! The fact that @benshapiro became increasingly defensive, & attempted to talk over the other individual shows how manipulative, aggressive & intent they are in maintaining THEIR narrative.https://twitter.com/JasonSCampbell/status/1519669273542762496\u00a0\u2026— \u2661 \ud835\udcdc\ud835\udcf8\ud835\udcf6\ud835\udce3\ud835\udcf82 \u2661 (@\u2661 \ud835\udcdc\ud835\udcf8\ud835\udcf6\ud835\udce3\ud835\udcf82 \u2661) 1651186641
fascists can never stand up to careful questioning.https://twitter.com/JasonSCampbell/status/1519669273542762496\u00a0\u2026— Simon T Vesper (@Simon T Vesper) 1651176798
Note the disquiet in Ben Shapiro\u2019s manner, as well as the earnest attempts to stop the listener from exposing Shapiro\u2019s dishonesty. \n\nhttps://twitter.com/JasonSCampbell/status/1519669273542762496\u00a0\u2026— Claude Cowan (@Claude Cowan) 1651180603
This is an excellent example of how propaganda works.\n\nShapiro tells the audience "what leftists believe".\nAnd when an actual Leftist shows up to try and correct him, they are kicked out.\n\nHe can't allow you to see that his boogie men are just normal, reasonable people.https://twitter.com/JasonSCampbell/status/1519669273542762496\u00a0\u2026— HardLegGaming (@HardLegGaming) 1651201794
Not shocked,only people he ever \u201cowned\u201d were nervous 19 year old college freshmanhttps://twitter.com/JasonSCampbell/status/1519669273542762496\u00a0\u2026— . (@.) 1651231610
Shapiro has often accused leftists of censoring right-wing activists and politicians and has even accused Democrats and progressives of believing in an imaginary "hierarchy of victimhood" in which the opinions of members of persecuted groups are afforded more credence.
These claims have formed a major element of Shapiro's ideology, which he has promoted in an effort to court more young conservatives.
Shapiro has also spoken out against safe spaces, arguing that they undermine free speech, especially on college campuses, claiming that "political correctness" has run amock and that, ironically, leftists are not interested in engaging in civil discourse.