a thoughtful web.
Good ideas and conversation. No ads, no tracking.   Login or Take a Tour!
comment by user-inactivated
user-inactivated  ·  2128 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: The ACLU Retreats From Free Expression

Can you fight someone politically, like neo-nazis, without attacking their right for free speech? "You can speak up, but I really don't like the way you do"?





WanderingEng  ·  2128 days ago  ·  link  ·  

It's more important to attack their speech than their right to speech. Drawing their ideas into the open allows for dismantling them publicly and eroding their support.

user-inactivated  ·  2128 days ago  ·  link  ·  

That's my point. If you value the principle of free speech, it doesn't mean you automatically value every kind of speech. You may argue for free speech but against the hate speech already spoken.

So, why aren't ACLU doing it? From what limited overview I have as a non-American, the ACLU is one of the big names in what I will broadly call "support for democracy". This seems like a worse move than they could have made.