Conservative Political Pundit Speaks about Diversity

Discussion on the pitfalls of modern identity politics

Nicholas Chan
Associate Reporter
May 9, 2019

Dave Rubin told sophomore Kelby Uebelhor to stand up to his “lefty” religious studies professor. After all, the professor told Uebelhor that he couldn’t use logic and rationale to judge other cultures.

This was hubris, Rubin claimed. Instead of teaching students how to think, “lefty” professors are telling students what to think.

“If you get a bad grade because you intellectually challenged him, then he’s a bad professor,” Rubin said. “Tweet me or take a video. Then hopefully, Santa Clara and the head of the department will crack down on him. And if they don’t, then what are you doing at Santa Clara? Are you here to be brainwashed?”

On Thursday, May 2 Dave Rubin addressed an audience of 160 people in the de Saisset Museum in a discussion titled “Diversity: Identity vs. Thought.” Registered Student Organization Turning Point USA invited Rubin, the political pundit and host of “Rubin Report,” where he discusses politics, culture and religion with people like Ben Shapiro, Sam Harris and Jordan Peterson. Rubin was previously a host of The Young Turks, a progressive left-leaning news and commentary program on Youtube.

Disenchanted with the identity politics of the political left, he became a classical libertarian to promote free speech.

He believes identity politics is destroying the foundations of the United States.

“People are putting a never-ending emphasis on identities of race and sexuality,” Rubin said. “This is dangerous. You are eliminating the individual from the equation. We should not judge people by groups.”

Instead, Rubin thought people should be judged by their character regardless of their race and sexuality.

“The idea that you can look at people and label them based on their skin color is racist,” Rubin said. “But this is the very idea that the political left promotes. If I saw a white guy wearing a nice suit, I can assume that he is privileged and that society should place a grudge on him just for his white privilege.”

Senior Andrew Salinas echoes Rubin’s opinions on identity politics.

“Martin Luther King Jr. once said, ‘We should judge others not by their skin color but by the content of their character.’” Salinas said. “My parents taught me to look at people’s heart, and not their skin color.” Rubin suggested that the identity politics of the political left forces women, homosexuals and black people to ascribe to group ideologies, restricting individual thoughts and ostracizing anyone who does not support the ideology of the political left.

Rubin stated that members of the political left claim to support women, but they have purged conservative women like Nikki Haley, the Republican and United Nations spokeswoman and Sarah Sanders, the spokeswoman for President Donald Trump.

He also said the political left claim to support black people but cited how the vanguards of black conservatism—Thomas Sowell, Larry Elders and Candice Owens—have been vehemently criticized by the political left.

“You can’t call everyone a racist or a Nazi,” Rubin said. “It is perverse to culturally appropriate people as Nazis. This is especially ironic when the members of the political left are obsessed with the idea of cultural appropriation. Not all of intellectual points of the conservatives are homophobic, racist and bigoted.”

During the Q&A session, Rubin expressed his frustration with how the left’s obsession with cultural appropriation is destroying comedy.

Comedian Hari Kondabolu released the documentary “The Problem with Apu,” in which he criticizes the creators of “The Simpsons” for the character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon as portraying stereotypes of an Indian person.

“People say that Apu cannot be in the show just because he is brown and has an accent,” Rubin said. “But Apu is a friend. Homer used to be against immigration. But it’s because of Apu that Homer’s eyes were opened. Homer hosted a Hindu wedding and traveled to India.”

Rubin also reminded the audience that “Family Guy” was phasing out homophobic jokes.

“They have done gay jokes for 20 years,” Rubin said. “Now that Seth MacFarlane, the creator of Family Guy, is a social justice warrior, he decides not to make fun of homosexuals. The leftists have taken over his brain.”

As a homosexual man, Rubin pointed out that gay culture has become mundane. Rubin claimed the gay community used to create incredible art, comedy, dance and music, as they were the outsiders.

But he believes political correctness has stunted the homosexual community.

There is nothing interesting about gay culture anymore, according to Rubin.

As the issue of free speech continues to simmer at Santa Clara, Rubin reminded students that they are at the forefront of the battle to protect free speech—a pillar of American democracy that is disintegrating in the age of censorship.

“Something seems to be wrong about free speech,” Rubin said. “When you say anything politically incorrect, a mob will get you.”

Contact Nicholas Chan at nchan1@ scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.