Category Archives: Free Speech

wbur

August 15, 2017 Updated August 15, 2017 8:54 AM

Following the fatal violence at a white supremacist gathering in Virginia, public safety officials in Boston are preparing for weekend demonstrations on Boston Common. But they admit they're unsure just what to expect, partly because city officials have been unable to contact organizers of a controversial rally planned for Saturday.

"All we know is what we're seeing on social media," Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said at a Monday press conference during which he and Gov. Charlie Baker denounced the message of hate groups.

The rally,organized by a group called Boston Free Speech, got the attention of local officials because it promoted speakers who were also in Charlottesville last weekend.

"As the police said, as Commissioner [William] Evans said, they're working trying to find out who this group is, what they're all about," Walsh added. "And we're certainly going to encourage them not to march in our city."

As Boston officials look for information about the organizers, they're asking reporters what leads they have. WBUR's Bruce Gellerman has been looking into the planned rally and speakers, and joined WBUR's Morning Edition to discuss what he's found.

Bob Oakes: So an unusual step, asking reporters what information they have.

Bruce Gellerman: Very strange. I've never heard that from any official ever.

Alright, so tell us what you found.

Well it's been frustrating to say the least. I kind of feel like I've been walking on a wet sponge as I've been trying to report this story everything about it feels squishy. You know, I live by an old journalism adage that says: "If your mother says she loves you, you check it out." But every step I've taken trying to track down the facts of this one, even the simple stuff, has been really tough.

How so?

Well, you just heard Steve Brown's story about Boston Mayor Walsh saying the organizers of the Free Speech Rally hadn't filed for a permit. But in The Boston Globe they reported the name of a 23-year-old guy from Cambridge who said he had applied. I tried to check it out, I tried to check him. I called him several times, got no answer. I called the Parks Department, which issues these kinds of permits and wound up getting a call from the mayor's office. They said they'd get back to me but the never did.

So we don't know about the permit regarding the rally on Boston Common.

Right, something that simple. But it gets even a lot stranger. A flier promoting the rally appears on what purports to be the Boston Free Speech Facebook page. It lists several people as speakers and yesterday on Radio Boston, host Meghna Chakrabarti spoke with one of the people, Shiva Ayyadurai.

He's one of the Republicans running for the U.S. Senate seat held by Elizabeth Warren.

That's right. He's got four degrees from from MIT, including an Ph.D., and he's from India. He said he sent Warren a DNA kit, challenging whether she's a Native American Indian. Anyway, Meghna spoke with him:

Meghna Chakrabarti: Just so I can get some clarity here, who specifically invited you to speak this weekend on Boston Common?

Shiva Ayyadurai: I think one of the organizers from there called my assistant. You know, I get a lot of calls as a public figure, and I was just very happy to attend a free speech event.

So he says he didn't even know who invited him. It was tough to find an answer even to a simple question like that.

So we don't even know who's planning the rally?

I don't, and couldn't find out. But let me give you another example. The rally Facebook page responded to my message asking for information and they sent me a press release condemning the Charlottesville, Virginia, violence. They flatly deny any association with groups that organized that event and they say they're going to hold a moment of silence this Saturday. But another person on their Facebook flier listed as a speaker was Augustus Invictus.

Invictus, who ran in the Republican primary against Florida U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio last year?

That's right. You might remember he got about a thousand votes and during the campaign he said he once killed and drank goats blood in a pagan ritual. He runs the website The Revolutionary Conservative. He denies he's a racist, but says he opposes "feminism, deviancy and the futile denial of biological reality." He says "leftism is an ideology of death and must be defeated." So I called him up and asked him who invited him to the Boston Free Speech Rally.

Augustus Invictus: I know who invited me. I couldn't tell you however who is organizing the event. I was invited by someone who was in contact with the organizers and I can't give his name because he's a private citizen, but he just made the connection.

It's bizarre Bob. He couldn't or wouldn't say. And then he told me he had been disinvited.

Augustus Invictus:I found out from yet a fourth person that my appearance was cancelled because of the threats of violence by the left. The right doesn't threaten rallies to shut them down. The right never threatens violence. The right only responds with violence when attacked.

And then he told me he just might show up anyhow in Boston and speak this Saturday because of the statements Mayor Walsh made during yesterday's news conference.

So that's not everyone?

No. There's a guy named Joe Biggs. He was also noted as a speaker on the free speech facebook page. Biggs is a decorated combat war veteran. He was a reporter for Infowars, that's the Alex Jones, kind of far right, conspiracy theorist online blog. And I spoke with Biggs and he couldn't tell me who invited him to the rally.

Joe Biggs: One of the Twitter accounts called Proud Boys USA or something. I saw the flier and I go man, I was like I'd love to go speak at that. I was like I've always wanted to go to Boston, I've never been there before. So they're like well **** man we'll add you onto the thing as a speaker.

Biggs disavowed any support for racists, telling me that his wife was from Guyana. But on his Twitter feed last Saturday he said: "There's nothing wrong with white people being proud of being white." He says he's just all about free speech.

He mentioned the Proud Boys USA when he spoke with you?

Yeah, that's right. That's a group that calls themselves "Western chauvinists." They're led by a guy named Gavin McInnes. I tried to reach him, couldn't. He was named as a speaker at the Boston free speech rally website. He co-founded Vice Magazine and he has a reputation for vulgar, sexist rants. I think he'd make Lenny Bruce blush. But McInnes now says he's not coming to Boston. He accused city officials of trying to incite a riot to discredit right wing activists who planned to rally in Boston.

So kind of strange and frustrating story that you are going to keep on top of this week Bruce?

You bet.

The audio atop this post includes the above transcribed conversation with Bruce Gellerman, as well as a story from WBUR's Steve Brown about the city's preparations for the weekend demonstrations.

This segment aired on August 15, 2017.

Read the original:
As Boston Prepares For Demonstrations, Here's What We Know About 'Free Speech' Rally Organizers - WBUR

TORONTO/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The neo-Nazi website Daily Stormer had its internet domain registration revoked twice in less than 24 hours in the wake of the weekend violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, part of a broad move by the tech industry in recent months to take a stronger hand in policing online hate-speech and incitements to violence.

GoDaddy Inc, which manages internet names and registrations, disclosed late on Sunday via Twitter that it had given Daily Stormer 24 hours to move its domain to another provider, saying it had violated GoDaddy's terms of service.

The white supremacist website helped organize the weekend rally in Charlottesville where a 32-year-old woman was killed and 19 people were injured when a man plowed a car into a crowd protesting the white nationalist rally.

After GoDaddy revoked Daily Stormer's registration, the website turned to Alphabet Inc's Google Domains. The Daily Stormer domain was registered with Google shortly before 8 a.m. Monday PDT (1500 GMT) and the company announced plans to revoke it at 10:56 a.m., according to a person familiar with the revocation.

As of late Monday the site was still running on a Google-registered domain. Google issued a statement but did not say when the site would be taken down.

Internet companies have increasingly found themselves in the crosshairs over hate speech and other volatile social issues, with politicians and others calling on them to do more to police their networks while civil libertarians worry about the firms suppressing free speech.

Twitter Inc, Facebook Inc, Google's YouTube and other platforms have ramped up efforts to combat the social media efforts of Islamic militant groups, largely in response to pressure from European governments. Now they are facing similar pressures in the United States over white supremacist and neo-Nazi content.

Facebook confirmed on Monday that it took down the event page that was used to promote and organize the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville.

Facebook allows people to organize peaceful protests or rallies, but the social network said it would remove such pages when a threat of real-world harm and affiliation with hate organizations becomes clear.

Facebook does not allow hate speech or praise of terrorist acts or hate crimes, and we are actively removing any posts that glorify the horrendous act committed in Charlottesville, the company said in a statement.

Several other companies also took action. Canadian internet company Tucows Inc stopped hiding the domain registration information of Andrew Anglin, the founder of Daily Stormer. Tucows, which was previously providing the website with services masking Anglins phone number and email address, said Daily Stormer had breached its terms of service.

They are inciting violence, said Michael Goldstein, vice president for sales and marketing at Tucows, a Toronto-based company. Its a dangerous site and people should know who it is coming from.

Anglin did not respond to a request for comment.

Discord, a 70-person San Francisco company that allows video gamers to communicate across the internet, did not mince words in its decision to shut down the server of Altright.com, an alt-right news website, and the accounts of other white nationalists.

We will continue to take action against white supremacy, Nazi ideology, and all forms of hate, the company said in a tweet Monday. Altright.com did not respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, Twilio Inc Chief Executive Jeff Lawson tweeted Sunday that the company would update its use policy to prohibit hate speech. Twilios services allow companies and organizations, such as political groups or campaigns, to send text messages to their communities.

Internet companies, which enjoy broad protections under U.S. law for the activities of people using their services, have mostly tried to avoid being arbiters of what is acceptable speech.

But the ground is now shifting, said one executive at a major Silicon Valley firm. Twitter, for one, has moved sharply against harassment and hate speech after enduring years of criticism for not doing enough.

Facebook is beefing up its content monitoring teams. Google is pushing hard on new technology to help it monitor and delete YouTube videos that celebrate violence.

All this comes as an influential bloc of senators, including Republican Senator Rob Portman and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, is pushing legislation that would make it easier to penalize operators of websites that facilitate online sex trafficking of women and children.

That measure, despite the non-controversial nature of its espoused goal, was met with swift and coordinated opposition from tech firms and internet freedom groups, who fear that being legally liable for the postings of users would be a devastating blow to the internet industry.

Reporting by Jim Finkle in Toronto and Salvador Rodriguez in San Francisco; Additional reporting by David Ingram and Dustin Volz in San Francisco, and Chris Michaud in New York and Alastair Sharp in Toronto; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Lisa Shumaker

Read the original here:
Tech companies in the crosshairs on white supremacy and free speech - Reuters

Inside Higher Ed

Free speech a focus as Christ starts year as Berkeley's chancellor Inside Higher Ed New chancellor assumes duties amid debate over and scrutiny of university's response to controversial speakers. and more »

Read more:
Free speech a focus as Christ starts year as Berkeley's chancellor - Inside Higher Ed

Gavin McInnes (center) was scheduled to speak at Saturdays planned free speech rally on Boston Common. On Monday, he said he wasnt coming.

Facebook

A Boston Free Speech Rally poster on Facebook.

Three headliners scheduled to speak at a far-right rally in Boston on Saturday backed out Monday, casting doubt on the event amid strong opposition by city officials worried about a repeat of the bloodshed in Charlottesville.

Augustus Invictus, an Orlando activist who took part in the Charlottesville rally, said organizers of Bostons rally texted him on Monday and said it was necessary to cancel the event from a PR standpoint, after the violence in Virginia.

Advertisement

Invictus, who attracted support from white supremacists when he ran for the US Senate as a Libertarian in Florida in 2016, said organizers indicated they were also worried about statements he has made espousing support for a second American civil war.

Im upset that my appearance was canceled, and Im upset the rally was canceled because, to me, it is pure capitulation to the mob of leftists, Invictus told the Globe Monday.

Get Talking Points in your inbox:

An afternoon recap of the days most important business news, delivered weekdays.

Another planned headliner, Gavin McInnes, said he was also backing out. McInnes, who heads a group of self-proclaimed Western chauvinists called the Proud Boys, accused Mayor Martin J. Walsh and city officials of trying to incite a riot to discredit the assortment of right-wing activists who planned to rally in Boston.

A Cambridge Republican candidate challenging Elizabeth Warren plans to speak at a free-speech rally Saturday on Boston Common.

Its a trap! McInnes said in a post on his Twitter feed. And in an e-mail to the Globe, he added: Im out.

A third speaker, Casssandra Fairbanks, also said she was going to cancel. Im not going to speak at the Boston free speech rally, she tweeted. The threats keep escalating and people are unhinged rn, she wrote, using internet shorthand for right now.

Advertisement

A fourth speaker, Joe Biggs, who lives in Austin, Texas, said he was still planning to travel to Boston for the rally, despite the cancellations.

If 10,000 lefties murder me, then so be it, he said in an interview.

A former US Army staff sergeant, Biggs worked until recently for Infowars, a website founded by Alex Jones, the notorious conspiracy theorist. Biggs was among those promoting the Pizzagate conspiracy theory that claimed a pedophile ring with links to Hillary Clinton was operating out of a Washington, D.C., pizzeria.

In an interview, Biggs insisted the rally in Boston is designed to promote free speech not hate or violence. These events are not violent in nature at all but people will defend themselves if provoked and thats what happened in Charlottesville, he said.

He disavowed any support for racists, saying, My wife is Guyanese. I have a mixed baby. Im the furthest thing from a [expletive] Nazi.

But in a video posted on his Twitter feed on Saturday, he talked positively about the Charlottesville rally. Theres nothing wrong with white people wanting to preserve their race, he said. Theres nothing wrong with white people bring proud of being white.

See the original post:
Speakers at 'free speech' rally dropping out - The Boston Globe - The Boston Globe

Is Freedom of Speech really free? 2 Sacramento experts explain

Updated: 11:24 PM PDT Aug 14, 2017

Hide Transcript Show Transcript

WEBVTT WANT AS LONG AS WE DON'T INCITEVIOLENCE.BUT IT DOESN'T ALWAYS FREE USFROM THE FALLOUT.THIS HOT DOG RESTAURANT INBERKELEY IS STAYING BUSY AFTER ANATIONAL CONTROVERSY OVER ANEMPLOYEE, SEEN IN THIS PHOTO ATTHE CHARLOTTESVILLE RALLY.TOP DOG POSTED SIGNS SAYING COLEWHITE RESIGNED.CUSTOMERS SAY IT'S UNFAIR FORTHE RESTAURANT TO BE CRITICIZEDFOR AN EMPLOYEE EXERCISING FREESPEECH NO MATTER HOW HURTFUL TOSOME.>> WE DON'T KNOW WHAT SOMEPEOPLE WERE THINKING.YOU HIRE THEM BELIEVING WHATTHEY TELL YOU.YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'REREALLY THINKING.DANA: PEOPLE HAVE MADE DEATHTHREATS AND CALLED FOR AUNIVERSITY OF NEVADA RENOSTUDENT TO BE EXPELLED AFTERPHOTOS APPEARED OF HIM ATTENDINGTHE RALLY.>> IT WAS A HUGE TRAGEDY.I DIDN'T GO TO SEE ANYONE HURT,ESPECIALLY ANYONE KILLED.DANA: THE SCHOOL SAYS IT WON'TEXPELL PETER CVJETANOVIC, BUTHE'S WORRIED HE WON'T GET INTOLAW SCHOOL OR GET A JOB.>> THAT'S TOO BAD FOR THEMBECAUSE THE CONSTITUTION ISN'TGOING TO HELP THEM.DANA: MCGEORGE CONSTITUTIONALLAW PROFESSOR BRIAN LANDSBERGSAYS THAT'S BECAUSE THECONSTITUTION ONLY PROTECTSPEOPLE FROM GOVERNMENT ACTION,NOT PRIVATE COMPANIES.>> THERE'S SOME PROTECTIONS FORPUBLIC EMPLOYEES BUT EVEN THOSEARE SOMEWHAT LIMITED.DANA: EMPLOYEES CAN TRY TO FIGHTBACK, BUT CHANCES OFSUCCESSFULLY SUING AN EMPLOYERARE RARE.>> THE STATUTORY PROTECTIONS AREPRETTY SPARSE.DANA: AND THEN, THERE'S THECOURT OF PUBLIC OPINION ONSOCIAL MEDIA. >> WE LIVE IN A CONNECTEDSOCIETY NOW.WE CAN FIND PEOPLE LIKE THAT.DANA: THOMAS DODSON EXPLAINSFREEDOM OF SPEECH IS NOT FREEDOMFROM CONSEQUENCES.>> YOU ARE SAYING, NOT JUST TOTHE GROUP THAT IS THERE, YOU'RESAYING TO THE WORLD, THIS IS HOWI BELIEVE.THIS IS WHAT I THINK.IF YOU ASSOCIATE YOURSELF WITHAN EXTREMIST VIEW, ON ANY SIDE,YOU'RE LIKELY TO COME UNDER THEIRE OF YOUR EMPLOYER.DANA: LATER TONIGHT, WE WILLHAVE MORE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERSABOUT FREEDOM OF SPEECH ANDPROTECTIONS FOR EMPLOYEES.THAT WILL BE ON OUR KCRA 3MOBILE APP.BRIAN: WHEN ARE EMPLOYERS NOTALLOWED TO RETALIATE OR FIREYOU?

Is Freedom of Speech really free? 2 Sacramento experts explain

Updated: 11:24 PM PDT Aug 14, 2017

The events in Charlottesville have rekindled debates over free speech and the unintended consequences that come with it.

KCRA 3s Dana Griffin sat down with two experts to talk about the Freedom of Speech and how it works.

Thomas Dodson is co-founder of Above the Fray, a social media awareness organization that empowers safe and responsible social media users.

Brian Landsberg is a Constitutional law professor with the McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento.

Get the full story in the video above.

Read more here:
Is Freedom of Speech really free? 2 Sacramento experts explain - KCRA Sacramento

In the US, freedom of speech is a sacred right. But the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend was not about people exercising that right. What I saw at the University of Virginia, where I am a professor, was an organized campaign to terrorize American citizens and suppress the rights of others.

First of all, white supremacists at Unite the Right mobilized against a town that had democratically decided to move the statues of Confederate rebels to less-prominent locations. There is no Constitutional amendment dictating the types of statues a municipality must display in its town square. At one time, this city chose to erect a statue of General Robert E. Lee, which was legal and their prerogative. At another time in history, we chose to move the statues to another part of the city. This is also within the rights of Charlottesville and its residents.

Second of all, the clear intent of the Unite the Right rally was to incite violence. Its participants mobilized knowing that they were in breach of their permit for 400 people in the small square of Emancipation Park in the center of town. The city, in the interest of public safety, asked them to move to a larger park, where they could exercise their first amendment right to speak their mind. They sued the city to keep the protest in the center of town. There was no way that number of people in such a small space would end peacefully, especially after the alt-right told their people to bring shields and weapons. They came with assault rifles and bullet-proof jackets, ready for battle.

Third, at a peaceful prayer meeting I attended Friday night, where citizens from every faith, denomination, race and sexual orientation, were gathering together to pray, support each other and reaffirm the American values of liberty and justice for allthe white supremacists came with torches. Screaming that they will not be replaced, sieg heil and end immigration, they barred peaceful parishioners from leaving the church where they congregated.

Fourth, mobilizing early in the morning on Saturday, long before their noon-sanctioned assembly time, they started walking the streets toward the central square with guns, AR-15s and shields. Before the demonstration could even get underway, they started punching counter protestors in the face. Violence escalated and Virginia declared a state of emergency. Fearful that the torch-bearing neo-Nazis would come back to campus, the University of Virginia was forced to cancel an entire day of peaceful, civil dialogue programming organized to promote a peaceable democracy.

And then a white supremacist drove full speed into a crowd of peaceful anti-racist counter demonstrators, murdering one citizen and wounding 19 more.

Every American has a right to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly. The alt-right white nationalists want to deny Americans that right. Carrying firearms to rallies, blocking peaceful counterprotestors from leaving the place where they are gathered, and driving full-speed into a crowd are all distinct choices aimed at inciting fear and making Americans stay silent, afraid to leave their homes. Now white supremacists are trolling counterprotestors online and posting the home addresses of witnesses. These people are not calmly expressing their beliefs about fiscal conservativism or small government. They believe that their fellow Americans are lesser citizens, and they are trying to take our rights away. The white supremacists must be held accountable.

Learn how to write for Quartz Ideas. We welcome your comments at ideas@qz.com.

Original post:
Neo-Nazis have the right to free speech. They don't have the right to deny it to the rest of us - Quartz

8/14/2017 12:41PM Opinion Journal: Will Gen X Save America? 8/15/2017 10:08AM Opinion Journal: The Identity Politics Warning 8/14/2017 12:58PM Opinion Journal: North Korea: No Diplomatic Endgame 8/14/2017 12:47PM Opinion Journal: Free Speech in Charlottesville 8/14/2017 12:41PM Opinion Journal: The Cotton-Perdue Immigration Mistake 8/3/2017 1:27PM Opinion Journal: Big Labors Nissan Gamble 8/3/2017 1:19PM Opinion Journal: Throwing Money at ObamaCare? 8/3/2017 1:13PM Opinion Journal: The Supreme Court's Racial Wrangling 8/3/2017 1:08PM Opinion Journal: North Korea Regime Change: The Only Solution? 7/31/2017 1:19PM Opinion Journal: White House Staff Shake-Up 7/31/2017 1:17PM Opinion Journal: Twitter Isnt a Bully Pulpit 7/31/2017 1:15PM Is There a Rise in White Hate Groups? 8/15/2017 6:00AM

This weekend's violence in Charlottesville, Va., raises a host of troubling questions. The biggest one: Is there a rise in white-supremacist groups in the U.S.? WSJ's Gerald F. Seib looks into whether their ranks are actually growing -- or simply becoming more visible. Photo: Getty

On the iPhones 10th birthday, former Apple executives Scott Forstall, Tony Fadell and Greg Christie recount the arduous process of turning Steve Jobss vision into one of the best-selling products ever made.

Every August, Kelly, Ky., holds a festival to celebrate the anniversary of an alleged 1955 UFO and alien encounter. This year, the festival coincides with a total solar eclipse in the U.S. It has locals wondering: "Will they be back?" Photo/Video: Denise Blostein/The Wall Street Journal

This August, the U.S. will experience the first total solar eclipse seen from the U.S. coast to coast in nearly a century. Here's how the eclipse works, and why scientists are keeping a close eye on it. Illustration: Heather Seidel/The Wall Street Journal

President Donald Trump on Thursday said his "fire and fury" comments from earlier in the week may not have been tough enough. Photo: Getty

Theres no age limit for learning about computers, iPads, smartphones and more at New Yorks Senior Planet, a center where anyone 60 and over can get free lessons in the latest tech. Photo: Sangsuk Sylvia Kang/The Wall Street Journal

Watch a clip from "The Hitman's Bodyguard," starring Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson. Photo: Lionsgate

Taggart Matthiesen, Lyft's director of product, talks to MarketWatch about how autonomous vehicles can revolutionize the ride-sharing industry.

See the original post here:
Opinion Journal: Free Speech in Charlottesville - Wall Street Journal - Wall Street Journal (subscription)

Robby Soave"No Free Speech for Fascists!" It's a motto you see on pre-printed signs at protests, including at yesterday's rallies in reaction to the violence and death in Charlottesville, Virginia, this weekend. Paired with a flood of invective against the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) for the group's support of Unite the Right's right to stage a rally at the city's statue of Robert E. Lee in the first place, they make for a troubling trend.

Support for the ACLU has been on the uptick from the left of late, thanks to Executive Director Anthony Romero's decisive legal maneuvering and online sass in response to President Donald Trump's misguided attempts to restrict immigration from several Muslim-dominated countries. But perhaps these new supporters didn't fully understood what they were buying into? Sure, they might have heard about the group's commitment to stick up for intersectional Muslim activists. But were they fully aware of the ACLU's long history of litigating in favor of KKK marches and other exercises in speech and assembly by unpopular minorities? (Or that time they defended NAMBLA, even!) Along came the defense of Milo Yiannopoulos (along with several others, including PETA and a women's health clinic) in a suit against Washington's transit system, and some of the Trump-era donors started getting nervous. Then, Charlottesville happened.

When people live in low-trust societiesthat is, when citizens broadly believe that corruption is rampant and the powerful cannot be relied upon to follow the rulesthey paradoxically tend to call for more regulation and other types of government action. That impulse was on full display in the anti-speech reaction to the cold-blooded murder of Heather Heyer. Many observers looked at what happened in Charlottesville and decided that not only were the neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and alt-righters who gathered in Virginia culpable for egging on those who physically lashed out, the legal and political institutions that defended their speech rights were as well. These are not just angry or grieving laymen; Waldo Jaquith, a member of the board of the ACLU of Virginia, resigned after the protest turned violent, characterizing the group's support for the right to gather as "a fig leaf for the Nazis."

But if fascists are to lose their free speech rights, someone must take them. And if you believe, as many of the counter-protesters do, that the white nationalists and their brethren were emboldened by the presence of a man in the White House who sees them as part of his coalition, then why on God's good green earth would you want to turn around and hand that very man the right to censor anyone whom he labels fascists? Because I can tell you right now, the list of folks that Trump and the restive-but-still-Republican Congress would like to silence sure won't look like the list those sign-wavers have in mind.

The people wielding "No Free Speech for Fascists" placards might as well be holding up signs saying "No Free Speech for Muslims." And in fact, many on the right have been making just that argument against the ACLU for years now, arguing that exceptions to our free speech principles should be made to curtail extreme speech by Muslim religious figures or activists in the name of security, or even (in the stupidest variant of the idea) that the ACLU is part of a radical Islamic conspiracy. But if the justification for restrictions on the speech of one man is violence committed by another, there can be no end to list of people who may be silenced in the name of order.

I have my beefs with ACLU too. I wish they'd see the importance of defending free speech even in situations where money is changing handsto my way of thinking, the group has lately been on the wrong side of a few debates over freedom of conscience and association in the commercial realm. But the ACLU's work on speech in the public sphere is unbeatable. They did the right thing to let Unite the Right gather in Charlottesville. Sticking up for free speech for fascists doesn't mean you love fascists, it means you love free speech.

For more, check out Glenn Greenwald's humongous defense of the ACLU's habit of defending unpopular speech at The Intercept.

See the original post here:
'No Free Speech for Fascists' Is a Truly Terrible Idea - Hit & Run ... - Reason (blog)

Matthew J. Lee/Globe staff

A vigil in support of peaceful anti-fascist protesters in Charlottesville, Va., was held on Boston Common on Sunday.

The City of Boston is making preparations for a conservative rally scheduled for Saturday on Boston Common, following the eruption of violence in Charlottesville, Va., that has raised troubling questions about the rise of extremists views across the country.

After a woman was killed when a car rammed a crowd of counterprotesters and others were injured, Twitter and Facebook exploded with postings about a rally next weekend in Boston that they say might attract white supremacists. Organizers were spreading information about the rally on Facebook, urging supporters to gather from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday on the nations oldest park for a Boston Free Speech rally.

Advertisement

The mayor and Boston police sought on Sunday to reassure residents that violence would not be tolerated in the city.

I dont want that type of hate coming into our city, Mayor Martin J. Walsh said when asked about the upcoming rally. We dont need that. Weve worked real hard to make Boston a tolerant city.

Get Fast Forward in your inbox:

Forget yesterday's news. Get what you need today in this early-morning email.

The police departments Boston Regional Intelligence Center is on alert and State Police and local police pledged to be ready should any problems arise.

Advocates for peace and diversity responded for a second day with demonstrations denouncing hatred, intimidation, and alleged murder at racist rallies in Virginia.

We want to be clear that incidents of violence [or] inciting violence are not going to be tolerated at any events in Boston, said Officer Rachel McGuire, spokeswoman for the Boston Police Department.

McGuire said the intelligence unit was aware of a planned Boston Free Speech rally a while back.

Advertisement

State Police will monitor intelligence from a number of sources, including social media, about the rally and assess any credible public safety threats, according to spokesman David Procopio.

Councilor Tito Jackson, who is running for mayor, also said he condemns any event that allows hatred, anti-Semitism, homophobia in Boston.

We will stand loud and proud and ensure the voices of who we are in Boston are heard, said Jackson.

Governor Charlie Baker said through a spokesman that he is saddened and disturbed by the tragic events in Charlottesville, and believes hatred, bigotry and violence as well as those who promote it have no place in our Commonwealth or country.

Alexander Sender, a 23-year-old Cambridge resident who is a member of the New Free Speech Movement, which is organizing Saturdays rally, said he has received a city permit to hold the event. But city officials said that although the group has filed an application for a permit, it has not received a final approval to rally Saturday.

Monica Cannon, who is helping to organize a counterprotest Saturday, said her group will be on the Common to speak up for civil rights.

We watched what happened in Charlottesville and how people were treated, Cannon said. Not in our city. You dont get to come here or think it is OK without being approached with resistance.

Cannon said protesters heading to the counter-rally, which will include Black Lives Matter groups from Boston and Cambridge, plan to meet in front of the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center and then march to the Common.

She said fliers advertising the event on social media include names of speakers whose Twitter feeds include extremist views.

Another member of the New Free Speech Movement described the group as Libertarian and traditional conservative leaning. He would only identify himself as Louis, citing threats that group members have received.

Louis said his free-speech group is in no way affiliated with the Charlottesville rally organizer Jason Kessler, described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a white nationalist blogger.

We have nothing to do with him, said Louis. The rally in Charlottesville was organized specifically by white nationalists. There is no link whatsoever with the group.

Kessler did not respond to the Globes request for comment.

Gavin McInnes, one of the scheduled speakers for Saturdays rally, said his group known as Proud Boys opposes the kind of people who were in Charlottesville, and the Proud Boys made damn sure we had nothing to do with it, he told the Globe in an e-mail.

The rally on Saturday in Boston couldnt be farther from the rally we just saw, McInnes said. We are socially liberal, fiscal conservatives who think America has a lot to be proud of. ... We are pro-gay, multicultural, pro-Israel, pro-family and anti-Nazi. The alt left will try to twist this into being about bigotry but thats a lie.

Other speakers either did not respond to a Globe inquiry or declined to comment.

The rally and counter-rally have raised concerns with organizers of the New England Cosplay Community, which is planning its sixth annual picnic Saturday at the Commons Parkman Bandstand. The group, whose members dress up in costumes depicting their favorite comic book or TV characters, has a permit to hold its event at the Parkman Bandstand Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the same time and place where the Free Speech rally is scheduled to be held, according to the events page on Facebook.

Ashley Linkevich, a board member, said she is concerned that the rallies might frighten our attendees.

The Free Speech group, which held a rally on the Common in May, began planning a second rally shortly thereafter, Louis said. He said the group had initially eyed this past Saturday, but moved the date because of the rally in Charlottesville, he added.

He and Sender both white males in their 20s said the group is all about freedom of expression. Louis said the group values the right to extreme views, which, he added, are healthy for social advancement. Both disavow the use of violence to hurt or intimidate people.

Sender said the rally will probably attract people from both sides of the political spectrum, noting tensions have been building up over time.

The purpose of its just to do free speech, he said. Thats all its ever been.

Continue reading here:
'Free-speech' rally set for Boston has some concerned - The Boston ... - The Boston Globe

The clip fit perfectly into the Fox News narrative about the dangers of leftist radicalism on campuses. It also perfectly encapsulated the networks hypocrisy about defending free speech.

When it comes to protecting the speech of people who are most vulnerable to being intimidated into silence like people of color and gay people conservatives either are suspiciously quiet or drive further intimidation with wildly negative news coverage.

Its not just the right. Most schools including Princeton, where I teach support their besieged professors. But in recent months, other progressive academics have been investigated, disciplined and even fired for comments they made outside of the classroom. This is an ominous turn. The trend has become so visible that earlier this year, the American Association of University Professors implored institutions to take a stand by resisting calls for the dismissal of faculty members and by condemning their targeted harassment and intimidation.

Progressives deserve the same speech protection as conservatives. The American Civil Liberties Union and the PEN organization have gone out of their way to defend the rights of provocative speakers like Milo Yiannopoulos and Ann Coulter to speak on campuses, but have been virtually silent on cases involving leftist or progressive faculty members who face suspension for provocative comments. Lisa Durden, an adjunct professor at Essex County College in New Jersey, was fired after she appeared on the Fox News program Tucker Carlson Tonight to explain why black people might gather for an all-black celebration of Memorial Day.

Johnny Eric Williams, an associate professor at Trinity College, had to go into hiding after the conservative website Campus Reform blasted his use of racially charged language in critiquing white supremacy. He was besieged with threatening emails and suspended from his position. (Trinity eventually cleared Professor Williams of any wrongdoing.)

Tommy Curry, an associate professor at Texas A&M, faced death threats recently when an old interview he gave about the movie Django Unchained was characterized as racist bilge by the magazine The American Conservative. Texas A&M distanced itself from Dr. Curry and only later, under pressure, expressed its unwavering support for academic freedom.

What is shocking is that while the right-wing media is wringing its hands about suppressive leftists, openly racist and fascist-sympathizing organizations are recruiting young white people on campuses. That conservative pundits have precious little to say when campuses are defiled with swastikas, nooses and racist fliers but cry foul when people like Richard Spencer, Mr. Yiannopoulos and Ms. Coulter are met with protest has become a sick paradox of our time.

In the coming school years, those who are quick to defend the rights of white nationalists and neo-Nazis to speak on campuses must be just as vigilant about protecting the rights of faculty and students to speak out against them or risk revealing their hypocrisy.

Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor is an assistant professor of African-American studies at Princeton.

Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook and Twitter (@NYTopinion), and sign up for the Opinion Today newsletter.

A version of this op-ed appears in print on August 14, 2017, on Page A19 of the New York edition with the headline: Free Speech Isnt Just for The Right.

Continue reading here:
The 'Free Speech' Hypocrisy of Right-Wing Media - New York Times