Ken WhiteDec 16, 2022
Elon being Elon is familiar -- so familiar that it's no longer even particularly grotesque. But Elon fans tying themselves in knots trying to explain how WELL ACTUALLY all of this is PERFECTLY CONSISTENT with free speech absolutism he promised . . . . well, that's showing some new lows in groveling and abasement.
Show threadRich Puchalsky Dec 16, 2022

@Popehat

I reply-guy this a whole lot, but this attitude towards free speech is perfectly consistent and everyone has it: they approve of speech that they like and want to get rid of speech they don't like. Lawyers have the idea that this is not how the US legal system works under the First Amendment, but the history of the left (including of course the whole "fire in a crowded theatre" thing) shows otherwise.

Show threadLacesDec 16, 2022
@RichPuchalsky @Popehat The history of the left??? You mean like the ACLU protecting literal Nazis right to protest?? Lol, no one 'on the left' ever pretended free speech meant a right to a platform. That always came from the "cancel culture" cons.
Show threadRich Puchalsky Dec 16, 2022

@Laces

I'm on the left: you've misread this. The fire in a crowded theatre case involved a socialist being imprisoned for political speech in the US

Show threadLaces
@RichPuchalsky Schneck was mostly overturned by Brandenburg in 1969. The fire in a crowded theater still stands though, i.e., making knowingly false police reports or 911 calls is still against the law.
Dec 18, 2022 at 2:53pmWeb
Show threadLacesDec 18, 2022
@RichPuchalsky I'm calling out the "everyone wants to shut down speech they don't like." Because it's not true. If I use my buying power as a form of expression that's my free market choices and nothing to do with free speech guaranteed by the government. I support the ACLU protecting Nazis right to protest, because Larry Flint was correct, the speech you don't like is most important to protect.
Show threadLacesDec 18, 2022
@RichPuchalsky If someone was arrested for attending Jan 6 but never trespassed, vandalized, or broke any laws, then everyone I know "on the left" would be opposed to that arrest because it would be a clear violation of 1st amendment protections and we don't agree with those people at all. Perhaps that's not what you were saying but I'm so very tired of people conflating the right to disagree with having anything to do with the 1st amendment.