Tucker Carlson was invited by a student to speak at his high school alma mater, the St. George’s boarding school in Middletown, RI, but he says the administration first gave him the runaround, then flat-out said he was not welcome. They issued all sorts of reasons why over the course of several phone conversations, claiming that he’d bring unwanted media attention, that the students didn’t actually want him, the faculty "hated" him, that he was “embarrassing,” and finally, that it would just be too dangerous.
Of course, the real reason they didn’t want him was because they couldn’t deal with his ideas or the thought of having their worldview challenged.
Finally, he arranged to do a Zoom call with interested students, telling them the whole episode was "wrong":
I found, honestly in my exchanges with the administration at St. George’s, a total resistance to having anybody who they don’t agree with even in the same world. Like I’m not on your campus right now because they — the campus that I went to, and donated to and sent my two children to — because they wouldn’t let me come.
He claimed the reason is simple: it's his politics.
And why wouldn’t they let me come? Well, of course, because they hate my politics. And my feeling was, well, you know, that’s wrong.
First of all, I want to be there. I want to meet the kids. I want to see the kids. And I feel it would be good for everyone to have this happen. And I don’t want a mandatory chapel where everyone has to come and hear me; I don’t believe in that.
I don’t want to press my views on people who don’t want to hear them.
Watch:
Ironically enough, a large headline on the school website's main page reads:
At St. George’s School, you’ll join a nurturing and collaborative community where students of all backgrounds champion and support each other.
Yeah, as long as you don’t harbor conservative ideals, evidently.
Tucker pointed out that the school's security officers don't carry firearms, a situation he called "so nuts," and that he offered his own security detail but was denied. He found the administration's dealings worthy of contempt:
I mean, like, stop lying to me. I just can’t deal with it. Why don’t you say, "We don’t like your politics. We think you’re scary. You can’t get anywhere near the campus that you went to and were married on and sent all your kids to."
And I would be like, okay, that’s fine. But rather than just say it to me, we had to get into this whole passive aggressive lying cycle where no one can just be direct.
And I just have total contempt for that.
The school wasn't happy with Carlson either, and they issued a letter Friday saying that campus security was a priority, state law prohibits firearms on campus, and also that Carlson violated a promise not to record the Zoom session. If true, I find it surprising that he would agree to such a stipulation because if I were in such a high-profile position, I would want everything recorded in case of a dispute or if someone attempted to twist my words.
The school also contended in the letter that they do everything they can to "encourage our students to remain open to differing views and to think for themselves" and that "in a world where civil discourse and respectful disagreements are hard to find, we strive to make St. George's a place where these conversations can happen."
In this case, their actions did not showcase those ideals, at least according to Carlson's account, and it certainly sounds like they'd do just about anything to keep Tucker—and his scary ideas—as far away from school grounds as possible.