FN Debate cancelled by protesters at Sciences Po Paris

Earlier this evening, a debate featuring FN vice president Florian Philippot was cancelled after protesters blocked the entrance to the venue in which it was supposed to take place. This is a collection of Tweets from the account of Sundial writer Jimmy Quinn with his perspective on the incident.

National Front VP blocked from speaking at @sciencespo in Paris. Not a fan of the FN, but I’m disappointed in my school. https://t.co/bMFQJiNDVJ

— Jimmy Quinn (@realjimmyquinn) November 22, 2016

I thought @sciencespo stood for a free exchange of ideas–this should exclude only those who incite violence or threaten public safety.

— Jimmy Quinn (@realjimmyquinn) November 22, 2016

I’m of the belief that the FN is a unique threat to liberal democracy and a Russian puppet in Western Europe…

— Jimmy Quinn (@realjimmyquinn) November 22, 2016

…but if Le Pen has as much support as she does, that means her message is resonating with a lot of people.

— Jimmy Quinn (@realjimmyquinn) November 22, 2016

The responsibility of any student of political science is to attempt to understand what drives trends like this.

— Jimmy Quinn (@realjimmyquinn) November 22, 2016

The responsibility of any citizen in a republic is to understand the ideologies that he thinks are dangerous to be better able to fight them

— Jimmy Quinn (@realjimmyquinn) November 22, 2016

By refusing to hear the perspectives you disagree with, you only delegitimize your cause.

— Jimmy Quinn (@realjimmyquinn) November 22, 2016

Openness is a sign of strength, not a concession to bigotry. I hope my school will do better at accepting this principle in the future.

— Jimmy Quinn (@realjimmyquinn) November 22, 2016