An entire country mourned the death of Heather Heyer, a paralegal, who went to Charlottesville to protest the hateful march of neo-Nazis and clansmen — only to be murdered when James A. Fields, 20, allegedly rammed his car into protesters. Now the organizer of the racist march has sent out a tweet calling her a “fat, disgusting Communist” — a tweet he later blamed on being drugged out of his gourd. Jason Kessler explained that he has been doing some heavy drugs and drinking lately.
Category: Free Speech
I have previously written about how cities and universities are now cancelling conservative speakers in order to protect public safety. I recently discussed this rising rationale for barring speakers, a way for officials to claim that they are still being content neutral while achieving the same result of censoring speakers. The latest such example occurred in Canada at Ryerson University where the school canceled a free speech panel after some groups criticized the appearance of conservative speakers. The school gave them what they demanded in the name of protecting public safety.
Continue reading “Ryerson University Cancels Free Speech Panel As A Threat To Public Safety”
I have been writing for years about the rising wave of intolerance for free speech that has swept over Europe and is now reaching our own shores in the United States. Attacks on free speech are increasing from the left which has cracked down on speech deemed offensive or intimidating to any group. Thus far, the United States has been a bulwark against this trend, but an editorial in the New York Times this week is a chilling example of how voices against free speech are now becoming mainstream. The editorial was written by K-Sue Park is a housing attorney and the Critical Race Studies fellow at the U.C.L.A. School of Law. Park criticizes the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) for what she views as blind fealty to free speech and suggests that it is time to stop defending Nazis because sometimes standing on the wrong side of history in defense of a cause you think is right is still just standing on the wrong side of history. Of course, many of us believe that the wrong side of history is the side where free speech depends on what you want to say — and whether people like Park agree with it.
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi has always displayed a rather fluid view of constitutional rights (though in fairness, that is not a major distinction from other politicians). However, this week Pelosi appeared to embrace content based discrimination in the area of free speech. Pelosi is demanding that the National Park Service reconsider a permit for what she called a “white supremacist rally” in San Francisco. In light of the violence in Charlottesville, Pelosi insists that “The NPS should reevaluate its decision and its capacity to protect the public during such a toxic rally.” The problem is leaving it to the government to declare what groups are toxic from Pelosi’s list of constructive banned viewpoints. I felt ill watching the torch march of neo-Nazis in Charlottesville as white supremacists yelled disgusting anti-Semitic and racist chants. It reminded me of the Nazi rallies before World War II — before my father and so many others went off to fight fascism. However, despite that revulsion, I remain committed to the right of everyone to speak and protest regardless of the content of their views.
A web host called “DreamHost” has gone to court to challenge a demand from the Trump Administration for information on more than 1 million visitors to an anti-Trump website. The demand would covered 1.3 million IP addresses and raises highly troubling free speech and associational concerns. At a minimum, the demand appears wildly too broad and could easily chill political speech for those who oppose this Administration.
We recently discussed the arrest of two Chinese tourists for taking pictures of giving the Nazi salute in Berlin. Now, an American has been arrested for giving the salute in Dresden — after a passerby punched him. The arrests highlight the failed effort of Germans to criminalize certain forms of speech to deter neo-Nazis.
Continue reading “American Tourist Arrested For Giving Nazi Salute In Berlin”
I have been a long critic of the erosion of free speech on college campuses and the use of the ill-defined concept of “micro aggressions” to sanction students and faculty alike. Those concerns were magnified with the release of a guide by The New School, a university in New York City, on avoiding microaggressions. There are now a variety of such aggressions from “microinsults” to “microassaults” to “microinvalidation.” Microaggressions can now include having seats that are deemed too small or sitting too far from a homeless person on the subway.
We have previously discussed the German laws barring certain expressions and symbols connected to Nazi Germany. Germany like much of the West has continued to criminalize speech in a gradual erosion of free speech. Most recently, the German police arrested two Chinese tourists for making illegal Hitler salutes in front of the Reichstag building that houses the German parliament. It was obviously a joke but in Germany it is a crime. The problem is that most tourists will not assume that such a picture could be a crime because it is such a senseless denial of free speech. It is ironic that the arrests would involve Chinese citizens who probably assumed that in the West they could enjoy free speech.
Continue reading “Chinese Tourists Arrested For Doing Nazi Salutes In Front Of The Reichstag”
Women’s Studies Professor Kevin Allred at Montclair State University is back in the news. Allred previously attracted national attention (while on the Rutgers faculty) after he was reportedly ordered to go through a psychiatric evaluation after students “felt threatened” by him following Trump’s election. Now, Allred (who teaches a course on Beyonce) posted a comment that he hoped someone would kill Donald Trump. As should come as little surprise to many who know my view of the First Amendment, I view this statement as protected speech and hyperbolic. However, it was reckless, hateful, and worthy of condemnation.
Continue reading “Montclair Professor Calls For Trump To Be Killed”
We previously discussed the controversy surrounding Trinity College Professor Johnny Williams and his posts against white people, including an inflammatory reference to people considered bigots and how we should “Let Them. F**king Die.” Williams teaches classes on race and racism and clearly wanted to get others to read this hateful screed.. As I am mentioned in the earlier post, I do not believe that Williams should have been punished for his postings as a matter of free speech and academic freedom. The College has now reached the same conclusion but the question remains whether the College will take a similar principled position for academics espousing such views about other races.
Today the world lost one of its most inspiring and courageous figures. On Thursday, Liu Xiaobo, the 2010 Nobel Prize recipient and Chinese intellectual, has died at 61 of cancer. The Chinese government defied the world in keeping Liu under custody as part of its authoritarian, one-party rule. Liu kept the memory of the Tiananmen Square massacre alive when the government has sought to wipe out any evidence that the protests even occurred. He was a tireless defender for civil liberties in a country that rejects the most basic principles of human rights and civil liberties. He declined numerous opportunities to leave the country and live in freedom. He was the ultimate Chinese patriots and the Chinese government has reaffirmed that it remains a blood-soaked dictatorship. Some day freedom will come to China and the Chinese people will learn of people like Liu who died for their liberty and their future.
Continue reading “Nobel Peace Prize Winner Liu Xiaobo Dies In Chinese Custody”
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin shared an anti-media moment in Hamburg when they faced journalists and Putin asked “These are the ones hurting you?” Trump responded “These are the ones. You’re right about that.” While I have been very critical of what I see as distortive and biased coverage of the Trump Administration, I have also been critical of Trump’s attacks on the media. This is an example where journalists have a legitimate right to recoil at the scene. Trump was commiserating with a man who has decimated the free press in Russia where dozens of journalists have been killed. With Trump calling for reductions in the protections afforded to media and attacking the media, there is a heightened and understandable sensitivity to these type of scenes.
Below is my column in USA Today on the controversy surrounding CNN’s handling of the creator of the Trump wrestling video. The episode shows the deepening tension between CNN and Trump. CNN has increasingly positioned itself as part of the “resistance” while Trump has used CNN as embodiment of all that is wrong with the media. While Trump has said that CNN has done itself serious damage in the controversy, polls show almost 60 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump’s performance as President. While ratings have been up and more people trust CNN rather than Trump, CNN’s journalistic image has been damaged in the relentless anti-Trump rhetoric from both political and legal contributors. Even under the recent poll, some 43 percent trust Trump more and CNN’s ratings continue to roller coaster. Ironically, CNN needs Trump and Trump needs CNN to continue their respective narratives. However, neither is a promising foundation for either a political or journalistic enterprise. It is a case of mutually assured destruction.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “CNN’s Probationary Order To Reddit Poster Raises Serious Journalistic Concern”
We often debate on how one should take a mug shot. Mark Prichard, 59, went with the “I’m really happy” approach. His crime however was less joyful. He was arrested after allegedly making threatening comments toward Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake’s staff that referenced the shooting of House Majority Whip Steve Scalise. There is an interesting First Amendment issue raised by some of the charges against Prichard.