This is a joke to me:
Ivy students–presumably–signing a petition–presumably–to be submitted to Congress or one or more Congresspersons, calling for a repeal of the First Amendment, which among other things, provides that Congress shall make no law abridging the right of the people to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
What shocks and scares me is that these kids–the cream of the crop, supposedly–didn’t get that ^^ at all.
@alh: It’s okay. I had no idea who lived under the sea; thought maybe some glob of a thing from Little Mermaid.
You can also go back to the 1980’s and see how well Harvard graduating seniors did at explaining why Earth has seasons. (punch line: they did very, very badly.)
There are a lot of brilliant, knowledgeable college students. And there are some idiots who don’t know some fundamentals they should’ve learned in high school. The percentage of the former is never, ever 100% at any college.
So is the problem just garden variety ignorance of the importance of the first amendment (hard to believe at that level) or have these kids been politically corrected into thinking such a petition is worth signing? Between this and some of the things being stated during this election cycle, I fear for the future of this country.
Are those the only two options here?
What other explanation can you offer?
I see lots of other possibilities, some of which have been mentioned on this thread already.
Reminds me of a similar ‘petition’ that was done by Jimmy Kimmel, IIRC, about repealing women’s suffrage. Amazing how many women were in a hurry to end their own right to vote. Too bad we don’t teach people the language any more.
Of course, Jimmy was just out on the street, not at one of the most well-regarded colleges in the US.
Maybe they think that, as future Yale graduates and members of the elite, they will be the ones in charge of deciding who gets hauled in front of the Inquisition 
Repealing the First Amendment might be exactly what they want since it maximizes the power of the ruling class.
The only other explanations floated here are that this was either heavy edited and not representative of the average student there, or that Ami H. happened to find all the activist types and “affirmative action admits” who one should expect would give wacky leftist answers. I don’t buy either.
“Maybe they think that, as future Yale graduates and members of the elite, they will be the ones in charge of deciding who gets hauled in front of the Inquisition Repealing the First Amendment might be exactly what they want since it maximizes the power of the ruling class.”
You’re joking, right?
zekesima: #8, #9, #13
Not really.
(That’s not to say that ignorance / “creative” editing aren’t the more likely explanations in most cases.).
alh–Yes, maybe a few were in a hurry, but several people praised his efforts and verbalized their agreement with him.
als2simon-There are lots of people who think this brainwashing of the youth is all a part of a master plan to impose greater control over the masses, shrink the population of “undesirables” and save the environment (i.e. Alex Jones, etc.)
Zekesima: How do we know they are Yale students?
Never been there–can anyone who has affirm that the backdrop is indeed Yale?
The Yale backdrop doesn’t mean the individuals featured in the video are Yale students. I was on a campus yesterday and I am not a student there, even though many students were on the campus at the same time.
They could be Yale students.
They could be passersby.
They could be hired actors.
How do we know?
I don’t.
Those kids need a field trip to the Newseum; it has a great exhibit on the 1st Amendment. Amazing.
Can you petition to repeal the right to petition?
I’m not a wacky conspiracy theory guy. But 50+ years on this planet have taught me that, if they’re paying attention, people generally do what they think is in their best interest. The only way I can imagine a smart, rational person wanting to repeal the First Amendment is if they thought their “side” would be the ones in charge.
Personally, I think only a relatively small minority of Americans really believe in free speech for opinions or for people that they do not like. I’ve observed this over and over again, among the well-educated and the less well-educated alike.
I’m sure there is a poster or two on this forum who could give us examples from history, perhaps starting with the French Revolution and the Alien and Sedition Acts 