The Left and Free Speech

[Slander and/or Libel]

Trump cancelled that event, saying the police told him to, and then the police said they told him no such thing. Feels like it was a move designed to elicit exactly the type of response you're giving right now, that the shameful left had shut down Trump's speech through endangering people's safety.

[dead0man]

Again, don't really care about the event.  Trump isn't the only person to be shut down by left leaning types.  You have a problem with this.

(and if we're going to do this, and I doubt we are, but if we do, can we please skip the "prove it" part and the "but your side does it too" part?)

[Slander and/or Libel]

I have no interest in "but your side does it too." Those arguments are stupid and not even arguments.

But dismissing "prove it" is kind of not really helpful, isn't it? If you're making claims about the behavior of a group and can't really back up that they behave as you say they do, then doesn't that undermine the argument? I'm not saying what you said has never happened, but showing that it does feels like it should be part of the argument. I'm not even talking about doing research and presenting sources. Just talking about more than just generalities, is all.

[dead0man]

Oh I can back it up, all day if need be.  It won't change anything of course.  Your side has a problem with free speech.  This is bad and shouldn't be defended.

Several examples:
that time BLM made Bernie leave without speaking
just this week, CIA director speech shut down at Penn
one of my favorites....black transgendered woman and LGBTQ activist scared away by lefties because a Jew invited her


Seriously, all day.  It's embarrassingly easy to find.  And doing the searching it becomes quickly clear that many on your side fully acknowledge and understand that the problem exists and are trying to fight it.

[Slander and/or Libel]

I suppose I would be more interested in engaging in this discussion if you didn't insist on precharacterizing what my beliefs are. I'm not offended or anything, just not terribly interested if this is the tone that the whole thing is going to have.

[dead0man]

Sorry, you're right.  I'm poisoning the well a bit.  It's just that these always go the same way.

[Mr. Reactionary]

I'm not even necessarily disagreeing. I'm just wondering where we got this from, that the motivation of protestors at Trump events was to shut the whole event down. I may be missing something incredibly obvious, but I don't recall ever seeing this actually happening ever.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-rally-arizona_us_56ed8ff9e4b084c672206fb7

http://dailysignal.com/2016/02/26/campus-protesters-try-to-silence-conservative-speaker-demand-college-presidents-resignation/

Forcibly standing in front of the doors/ blocking the road so as to prevent others from attending a rally is an attempt to shut the whole event down.

[dead0man]

Could this be part of the reason the left feels the need to defend Islam?  Both groups have no problem shutting down speech they don't approve of.  What else do they have to bond over?  Their hatred of whitey?

[Mr. Reactionary]

Could this be part of the reason the left feels the need to defend Islam?  Both groups have no problem shutting down speech they don't approve of.  What else do they have to bond over?  Their hatred of whitey?

That and they are an "oppressed minority" ... unless you go to the Middle East where they're close to 90% and clearly have privilege power. But blah blah blah white people.

[Thunderbird is the word]

I've always been a free speech absolutist and i'm about as left as they come. At the same time it annoys me how the right uses a few incidents on college campuses to smear the entire younger generation and throw the baby out with the bathwater when it comes to social justice advocacy, but I guess that's just to be expected.

[dead0man]

I acknowledge (and have acknowledged) that they are a small fraction of students/young people.  I'm much more concerned with the people that feel the need to defend the soft jerks, especially the administrators that pacify them.  If somebody is scared of graffiti that reads "Trump '16" they need need help, not somebody in a position of power....affirming? verifying? there is a word, and I can not think of it, their fear.  It's not like there is a history of Trump supporters blowing things up or murdering random "under privileged" college students.


edit-oh, and pointing and laughing, a lot of it is just for the giggles and sharing of the giggles with like minded people

[Thunderbird is the word]

Yeah I agree that the safe spaces sh**t is blown out of proportion, I don't have a problem with specifically designated safe spaces but to turn the entire university into one is basically asking to be coddled and never exposed to uncomfortable viewpoints. I also find trigger warnings utterly ridiculous. Life is triggering. I think that the people pushing this kind of sh**t are well meaning but fundamentally misguided.

[Mr. Reactionary]

 If somebody is scared of graffiti that reads "Trump '16" they need need help, not somebody in a position of power....affirming? verifying? there is a word, and I can not think of it, their fear.  

Validating?

[Figueira]

I think the left's attitude towards free speech is an interesting subject to talk about, but I don't think a troll thread created by heatmaster is the best place to do it.