Free speech isn’t a tricky concept. It just needs to be applied universally and especially to the opinions and words of people you disagree with. Take some time and read the whole essay, it is worth your time.
“Another meme popular with the enemy is “calling bigotry an opinion is like calling arsenic a flavor”. Again, in plain English, “any opinion that I personally define as bigotry should not be tolerated”. To the jihadist or the Christian fundamentalist, any criticism or mockery of their own religion constitutes bigotry. And so it goes. The crux of the thing is who gets to define “bigotry” or whatever category of opinions is deemed intolerable and thus not protected free speech.
The people who make these kinds of assertions always assume that it is they, or people like them, who would have the power to define what is intolerant and thus intolerable. Don’t forget that in the near future it could be president DeSantis and a passel of legislators like Marjorie Taylor Greene who will be empowered to make that decision. The principle of free expression of opinion as an inviolable and seamless, yes, moral standard would stand robustly against them, because it would stand equally against any such attack regardless of which views are being suppressed. Once you decide certain opinions are worthy of suppression on whatever grounds, you have no principle to stand on when your opponents turn on you and try to suppress yours.”
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April 27, 2023 at 10:35 am
tildeb
This is uphill battle when the majority of 18-26 year old urban ‘liberal’ white women believe freedom of expression should be constrained under the provision of not causing offence. That’s how much principled ground has been lost in the past two decades. Liberal democracy really is in great peril… from those who know better, of course, and who use their feelings rather than principled reasons to guide their activism. This is not going to end well.
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April 27, 2023 at 10:37 am
The Arbourist
I hope we can regain the ground ceded to the ideologues. Nothing good comes after the first amendment falls.
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April 27, 2023 at 12:52 pm
Infidel753
Thank you for the excerpt and recommendation — I appreciate it.
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April 27, 2023 at 3:44 pm
lungta mtn
Rights and freedoms (including speech) come with responsibilities and obligations. They also come with real world consequences. I don’t care what you believe but you had better read the crowd. Most situations you encounter will have at least one participant that will not have completed the hopeful mental gymnastics you need to get the conclusions of this essay.
As they say Miranda
“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you …”
or if you prefer matt 15:11
“What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”
or maybe a meme
https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/662296779/how-about-a-nice-big-cup-of-shut-the
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April 27, 2023 at 6:04 pm
Infidel753
Most situations you encounter will have at least one participant that will not have completed the hopeful mental gymnastics you need to get the conclusions of this essay
Yes, there will always be enemies of free speech, whatever reasons or mentality they have. I’m talking here about the rights we as a free society are obligated to uphold and defend, not denying the fact that people exist who have the impulse to infringe those rights.
Our heroes today are those like Kellie-Jay Keen who “read the crowd”, know that there are thugs out there who wish to silence them — and speak out nevertheless.
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