“Berkeley braces for right-wing talk show host Ben Shapiro’s visit,” blares the headline at the Los Angeles Times. What the story is about, of course, is the left-wing antifa hoodlums at the University of California-Berkeley who will raise Cain over Shapiro exercising his free speech rights to discuss politics from a conservative point of view. So why is the LA Times characterizing it as the school “bracing” for Shapiro’s Sept. 14 speech? Because the leftist rag is sympathetic to the leftist mob.

Given Berkeley’s ignominious history of campus brownshirts rioting over conservative speakers, the Times notes the school will have an “increased and highly visible police presence” and a “closed perimeter” around the building — access granted only to those with tickets for the speech. At least initially, the school limited ticket sales to half the venue’s capacity, including closing the balcony over safety concerns.

Somewhat humorously, the Times reports, “The university also is offering counseling to students and faculty worried about the event.” A speech by a mainstream conservative at a major university requires counseling for “triggered” students? And without any sense of irony, the school says, “No one should be made to feel threatened or harassed simply because of who they are or for what they believe.” Except conservative speakers, we suppose. Heck, Shapiro left Breitbart News in 2016 over the site’s deep support for Donald Trump, and still students are too fragile to hear what he has to say. Not only fragile, but violent. Let the irony sink in for a minute that these self-styled “Nazi hunters” are targeting a Jew.

Berkeley students were spared facing a hurricane, but heaven help them as they endure proximity to a speech. Oops — we used the word “heaven”…