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Just for everyone's awareness, there is a broad astroturf and professional political push that has been happening for over a year by FIRE, a right leaning think
by genericresponse 11y ago
Just for everyone's awareness, there is a broad astroturf and professional political push that has been happening for over a year by FIRE, a right leaning think tank. This is a concerted effort to bring controversy around campus free speech into the news.
My perception is that this is an effort to weaken student's ability to speak freely, but is coded as a "free speech" issue. Similar to how many churches coded marriage equality as trampling on their freedom of religion.
Just to remind everyone how free speech works: You are free to say whatever you want. I am free to choose to speak out against you or even pull my support from you if I disagree with what you say. My freedom extends to let me voice my opposition to you just as loudly as you voice your opinions. That is not censorship.
- marknutter 11y agoAh, so it's a conspiracy. Gotcha.
- Jtsummers 11y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_for_Individual_Rights_in_Education#Public_universities https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_for_Individual_Righ... A summary of some of the universities and cases they've dealt with. They seem to be fitting their self-described role of a civil liberties group more than your ascribed role as a "right leaning think tank". Civil libertarians fit on both ends of the traditional right/left spectrum, see the ACLU for another group that ends up (not always, but at least on many issues) on both sides of the left/right spectrum in an effort to defend civil liberties.
- nerfhammer 11y agoI don't think Jonathan Haidt is an astroturfer.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- blhack 11y ago>FIRE, a right leaning think tank. Okay, I am sorry for the language, but this is absolute horseshit. They're a civil liberties advocacy group, similar to the EFF, or the ACLU. Here is a talk given by Steven Pinker about FIRE, what they do, and why freedom of speech is important: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcdFI6Sda0k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcdFI6Sda0k
- kansface 11y agoIf SJ isn't tantamount to censorship, why would anyone bother? I'd encourage you to engage with the topic more honestly. More seriously, if you are going to espouse conspiracy theories, at least have the decency to include sources pointing at malfeasance.