4 ms·

Digging up the profoundly dirty history and reality of the US is unfortunately not taken very seriously, and actions by the police towards minorities etc are ex

Digging up the profoundly dirty history and reality of the US is unfortunately not taken very seriously, and actions by the police towards minorities etc are excused as justified by the same people that would argue against government tyranny. It's easier to claim that the US is an absolute bastion of free speech when you can conveniently hand wave all of the instances where it is not. Especially when it never actually affects you. It came to absolutely no surprise when i saw almost zero reaction from the 'free speech' crowd when a woman was prosecuted for laughing at Sessions.

writepub 7y ago
The case you cite [1] should only strengthen the argument for free speech. The first amendment is likely what saved the lady from a frivolous lawsuit/censorship from those who abuse the power to regulate other's speech. What you want is that power to reside with a cabal that aligns with your politics, you want a thought-police you approve of, all while citing a case where someone was literally sued for a thought-crime. I hope you see the irony, and that power often shifts with wild swings. Someday, you might find yourself at the wrong end of a thought-policing policy you shilled for, because those in power aren't aligned. Hence the case for constitutional free speech protections. [1]: https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/11/08/562823691/charges-dropped-against-woman-who-laughed-during-sessions-hearing https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/11/08/562823691...