By Mackenzie Grizzard | Assistant News Editor
Statements made at Turning Point USA’s “This is the Turning Point” event last week have ignited controversy among students and faculty in the aftermath of national attention over Baylor’s decision to allow the group on campus.
Political commentator Benny Johnson, one of the headliners at the TPUSA event, made several comments during his speeches that attendees raised concerns about.
In response to an audience member saying they raised cows and pigs, Johnson made a joke that because of that experience, he was “familiar with dealing with liberal women.”
Ellensburg, Wash., second-year Master’s of Divinity student Kyle Perry said he attended the TPUSA event because he said he was curious about how “TPUSA’s values intersected with Baylor’s values.”
After Johnson’s comment referring to liberal women as pigs, Perry said he asked Johnson directly to give a biblical account for the words he said.
“He gave an answer,” Perry said. “It was just an answer you would expect from somebody who’s not a Christian.”
In Johnson’s response to Perry, he also asserted that liberal men didn’t have testosterone, citing that birth rates are going up because conservative women are attractive and look like women, while conservative men look like men.
“I think we can make a position based on our religious values without being mean-hearted, mean-spirited or rude about it and degrading people,” Perry said.
Additionally, Johnson’s speeches included narratives on immigration and culture, with an emphasis on “traditional” American history.
“Nine billion people can’t just move to America, and suddenly you’re an American,” Johnson said. “We’re more than just tax cattle for globalists; we’re a people and a culture, and we have a history. And we’re proud of that damn history. And that history is European Christianism. That’s what built this country.”
In a statement sent to The Lariat, Baylor TPUSA’s executive members stood behind Johnson’s comments. TPUSA Vice President and San Antonio senior Jessica Frausto said that she is not against legal immigration, as her great-grandparents immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico and Italy.
“I agree with Mr. Johnson when he states that as a country, we do have a culture and certain standards that need to be upheld,” Frausto said via email. “It is my opinion that not all cultures are compatible with Western civilization. It is hard to preserve a specific set of values when you have a mass influx of cultures who refuse to assimilate.”
Frausto also said that while she wasn’t a fan of Johnson’s comment referring to liberal women as “pigs,” she understood it was a joke, and that it “comes down to a preference of comedy,” she said.
“He also was not referring to all liberal women as such and even described his past girlfriends as such,” Frausto said. “I think it is up to the individual whether they want to take offense to the joke or not.”
West Harrison, N.Y., junior and Turning Point USA at Baylor President Peter Fernandez also agreed with Johnson’s statement that moving to America doesn’t necessarily “make you American.”
“As the son of a Cuban immigrant, I agree with Mr. Johnson’s statement,” Fernandez said via email. “Moving here isn’t what makes someone an American. Frankly, even being born here doesn’t quite cut it, and I say that because there are plenty of U.S.-born citizens who hate this country and want to see it radically changed. Those people are not American either.”
Austin junior and TPUSA Secretary Quinn Bradshaw echoes this sentiment, adding her experience as someone born in China and raised in America.
“I agree with Benny Johnson that just because a person physically moves to America on the map does not mean they can instantly claim American culture,” Bradshaw said via email. “This is because the person has not yet assimilated into our culture/way of life, which is deeply rooted in our history. I would like to add that people who move to America can and are invited to embrace our culture.”
A Baylor spokesperson said the university was unaware Johnson would make those remarks. They also told The Lariat that the administration is “conducting after-action reviews” of both the TPUSA and All Are Neighbors events from last week.
Austin graduate student Tanish Singh, one of the organizers of All Are Neighbors and a representative of the Baylor4Peace organization, said he found Johnson’s comments “morally reprehensible.”
“Even if it was a ‘joke,’ I believe that it was irresponsible, misogynistic and anti-American,” Singh said via email.
Fellow organizer and Houston senior Hanna Al-Hayek echoed this sentiment, contrasting the All Are Neighbors and TPUSA events.
“I think it’s important to note that Turning Point USA claims to be backed up with conservative Christian values, yet they chose to spend their time insulting and discriminating against women and minorities who, alongside each of them, according to Christianity, were made in the image of God,” Al-Hayek said.
Singh emphasized the words of politician Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, who said democracy is an “attitude of respect and reverence towards fellowmen.”
“This attitude of respect, in my opinion, was sorely lacking from Mr. Johnson that night, and I hope he will reconsider his words and join us in democracy for all people,” Singh said.
