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2:11 PM (15 minutes ago) [+2023.03.03]
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Bradford McCormick | New York
Was what Mr. Adams said so extreme? [text here] And even had it been, it was WORDS. Sticks and stones can break my bones but the effect of words depends on my ideological orientation.
I don't care what curse words you call me or my mother. I do care if you treat me badly as affecting the material conditions of my life. Item: A "pink slip" is not speech; it is an act.
"if you find out that a colleague is in the Klan, should you defend him from termination" This is not speech. But suppose the person SAYS that they think the Klan is good? Not act upon it, just SAY it? What's the problem?
Where is this mess headed? There was a front page news article in The Times which when I read it I imagined an IED (Improvided Explosive Device) had gone off in my face: It was about speech, not about acts: The New York Times, +2021.08.27, "New York's Private Schools Tackle White Privilege. It Has Not Been Easy.", by Michael Powell.
In the real world I encountered a person who wanted to censor my speech: I was a bad person for calling the plague "The China Virus" because persons of asian ancestry are being victimized by racist crimes. When I tried to rationally argue with this person they just doubled down on how bad I was (I was "innsensitive").
Speech is only free if it's speech people do not want to hear. Everybody is free to spout the party line in every country, aren't they?
Sticks and stones can break my bones but the effect of words depends on my ideological orientaiton.
Reply 4 Recommend
[One response: "If someone says the klan is good they are not deserving of another moment of my time. Yes it's just words and it shows that the person is bigoted and ignorant, and after 160 years is still looking for a participation trophy for treason.
2 Recommend"]
