Word for word, I feel pretty much exactly the same about your posts. I don’t feel that you’ve persuaded me that my arguments have been wrong. How about we just leave it there? Why must we continue beating this dead horse?
I’d definitely take that bet. I also come by this opinion honestly, from interacting with Trump folks and also my reading about the history of the extreme right in Europe.
Are you thinking of the Scottish hate speech law?
Yes. Plus letters like this one in Ireland, calling for women to be denied political representation for defending biology. It was signed by Amnesty Ireland.
I wish I was making this up.
Oh good. It’s officially and irrevocably another thread about how transphobia is feminist. Aight, I’m out.
Where is that ‘thumbs up’ when I need it?
There are some very authoritarian right-wing governments in Europe. Russia is no friend to free speech - or feminists. That bet might be closer than you think.
What we’re seeing is the rise of authoritarianism everywhere, both on the left and the right. Neither side will stand for criticism of their policies, because neither side’s policies can stand up to criticism.
People in Britain have already had the police knocking at their doors because of something they tweeted. Not threats, but things others found offensive. The police also record ‘hate incidents’, which are not crimes, the ‘offenders’ do not have to be notified or shown the evidence of their non-crimes, and have no chance to defend themselves, but they appear in criminal records checks.
As for Scotland, I used to think the SNP were doing a pretty good job. This proposed law isn’t the only thing that shows they’ve lost the plot. If I lived in Scotland there’s no way I’d vote for them now.
And Ireland is showing that despite ditching the influence of the Catholic Church, women still come last. They’re not only putting violent male offenders in female prisons if they sign a GRC, but also creating mixed sex units for young offenders, which in practice means locking up one under 18 girl with ~15 under 18 boys, including several violent and sexual offenders, one of whom is the murderer of a 14 year old girl. All to save money.
I’m sure we can live without more analogies comparing wrongthink to sexual assault.
I’m not saying it wouldn’t be close. If I know about the shit in Ireland, obviously I know about the shit in Poland and Russia. I’ve also been following the shit happening in Nigeria with the police protests.
The reason I’m concerned about the left in the US is because with the ousting of Trump, we are more apt to go in a similar direction as Scotland and the UK.
“We” is the wrong pronoun, as you’re the only person refusing to parse analogies correctly.
Same.
Fair enough. I didn’t realise you were speaking specifically about the US. And the media isn’t exactly great at reporting everything that’s happening; we hear plenty about the protests in the US, but very little about the ones in Nigeria, and I get the impression US media is even more insular.
I think you’re right there. Trump would have loved to do a little censoring, but the media would fight him tooth and nail, and big tech was not on his side. Whereas for Biden and the Democrats they will be happy and complaisant. The risk is that in trying to stop fake news, they’ll put the government, or unelected tech companies, in charge of deciding what is fake, and thus, what we are allowed to know and share and talk about online.
At least in the US you’re protected from these over-zealous hate speech laws.
More criticism of the ACLU these days:
Meh? The author herself admits that the ACLU is continuing its core work of defending civil liberties in hundreds of ongoing court cases. ISTM that that’s more significant than the organization’s more gossip-friendly involvement with a notorious Hollywood divorce drama.
Please don’t bump old GD threads with only a somewhat related post.
{Over a year since the last post is old.}
I’m going to leave this thread closed.