By Caitlin Forde
On Tuesday Feb. 23, The Scary Guy spoke at Kendall Hall. To say that I was offended is to speak mildly. For a man opposed to hate, I feel that he spoke without regard for anyone’s feelings. His “message,” if one chooses to use that word, revolved around himself. At no point did he ever really address the hate present in our society. He shared stories about himself, yes, but they in no way seemed to relate to his chosen topic. Instead, he focused on attacking the audience for allowing hate to perpetuate and exist in our society. Yes, we are accountable for the hate that exists — it comes from our actions, our words. But The Scary Guy seemed interested only in speaking of his own experiences, rather than expanding on just how we should combat the hate. When a young woman stood up and told him that she was gaining nothing positive from his program, he turned his back and chose not to listen, reminiscent of a child’s reaction to being scolded. I applaud this young woman for standing up and saying what she believed in. She is not alone in her opinion. Only at the very end did The Scary Guy explain any way that the hate could be countered and eventually eliminated from society. All in all, I am very disappointed with this speaker.
