Majority of Americans Claim PC Culture Silences Important Debates; Afraid to Share Their Political Views

Emily Ekins : Nov 1, 2017
Cato Institute

Another interesting outcome of this poll by the famous Cato Institute, a D.C. based libertarian think tank, is that very few support punishing wedding businesses who refuse service to same-sex weddings. Also nearly two-thirds of Hillary Clinton's voters agree that it's "hard" to be friends with Donald Trump's voters [whereas] only 34% of Trump's voters feel the same way about Clinton's.

(Washington, DC)—[Cato Institute] The Cato 2017 Free Speech and Tolerance Survey, a new national poll of 2,300 U.S. adults, finds that 71% of Americans believe that political correctness has silenced important discussions our society needs to have. The consequences are personal—58% of Americans believe the political climate prevents them from sharing their own political beliefs. (Photo: Liberal professor, Melissa Click, assaulting a student journalist/AP Photo/via Washington Examiner)

Two-Thirds Say Colleges Aren't Doing Enough to Teach the Value of Free Speech

Two-thirds of Americans (66%) say colleges and universities aren't doing enough to teach young Americans today about the value of free speech. When asked which is more important, 65% say colleges should expose students to "all types of viewpoints even if they are offensive or biased against certain groups." About a third (34%) say colleges should "prohibit offensive speech that is biased against certain groups."

65% Say Colleges Should Discipline Students Who Shut Down Invited Campus Speakers

Two-thirds (65%) say colleges need to discipline students who disrupt invited speakers and prevent them from speaking. However, the public is divided about how: 46% want to give students a warning, 31% want the incident noted on the student's academic record, 22% want them to pay a fine, 20% want to suspend them, 19% favor arresting the students, 13% want to fully expel the students. Three-fourths (75%) of Republicans support some form of punishment for these students, compared to 42% of Democrats.

People of Color Don't Find Most Micro-aggressions Offensive

The survey finds that many micro-aggressions colleges and universities advise faculty and students to avoid aren't considered offensive by most people of color.

The one micro-aggression that African Americans (68%) agree is offensive is telling a racial minority "you are a credit to your race."

Americans Don't Think Colleges Need to Advise Students on Halloween Costumes

Nearly two-thirds (65%) say colleges shouldn't advise students about offensive Halloween costumes and should instead let students work it out on their own. A third (33%) think it is the responsibility of the university to remind students not to wear costumes that stereotype racial or ethnic groups at off-campus parties.

What Beliefs Should Get People Fired?

Americans tend to oppose firing people for their beliefs. Nevertheless, Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say a business executive should be fired if she or he believes transgender people have a mental disorder (44% vs 14%), that homosexuality is a sin (32% vs 10%), and that psychological differences help explain why there are more male than female engineers (34% vs. 14%). Conversely, Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say a business executive should be fired if they burned the American flag at a weekend political protest (54% vs. 38%).

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