What an irony that free speech should have become a difficult thing to discuss. But it has. For parts of the left, the very slogan “free speech” has become a red rag.
On occasion it can be a cover for chauvinism. Much of the anxiety about “no platforming”, “trigger warnings” and “safe spaces” in universities comes from media pundits who have not been near a college campus in decades. If instead of angsting in an armchair you ask smart student journalists what’s going on, you’ll discover those much-mocked “trigger warnings” don’t stop anyone saying anything, they just give traumatised individuals a chance to steel themselves or, if need be, look away – like a “you may find some scenes distressing” announcement on the news. And when you look beyond the headlines, most of the big “no platforming” rows actually turn out to be cases of “if he’s on that stage, I’m not standing next to him”. Petty? Very likely. But ideas or opinions being censored? Almost certainly not.
Continue reading...from US news | The Guardian http://ift.tt/2F6cItC
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