Tag: free speech

The threat to free speech is universal

A culture of fear is undermining ordinary people’s freedom of expression, as a new report into self-censorship in the US attests.

The headline statistic of the report, produced by the Cato Institute, is that 62 per cent of Americans agree with the statement, ‘The political climate these days prevents me from saying things I believe because others might find them offensive’. This figure has risen from 58 per cent in 2017.

The report demonstrates a number of key points. One is that concern for the health of free speech is not the preserve of the right. Though conservatives are more likely to say they self-censor (77 per cent), just over half of liberals (52 per cent) and nearly two thirds of moderates (64 per cent) say they do, too. Indeed, ‘strong liberals’ are the only group who disagree with the above statement by a majority – and even among them, there has been a 12 percentage-point increase since 2017 in those who feel they have to self-censor. This is a greater increase than that among moderates and conservatives.

As for the percentage of those who fear for their job prospects due to their views, this is very similar across political lines: 34 per cent of conservatives, 31 per cent of liberals and 30 per cent of moderates ‘worry they could miss out on job opportunities or get fired if their political views became known’.

Free-speech worries cross ethnic divides, too. Sixty-five per cent of Latino Americans – one percentage point more than white Americans – ‘have political views they are afraid to share’. Meanwhile, 49 per cent of African Americans are in the same position.

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Police Confiscate Man’s Firearm After Anonymous “Antifa” Members Accuse Him of Being a “Racist”

A California man had his registered firearm seized by local police after “antifa” members on social media accused him of being racist on the internet — the first case of its kind.

On July 7th/8th, left-wing extremist twitter user @anonymouscommie doxed a Sacramento resident named Andrew Casarez. The anonymous account accused him of being a “neo-Nazi troll.”

On the very same day, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office opened up an investigation into him. During a background check, they found that Casarez was a registered gun owner. On July 13th, 2020, Sergeant Nate Grgich executed a search warrant for his home and car.

Nothing illegal or of a criminal nature was found during the search, but Sgt. Grgich was able to get a judge’s permission to seize Casarez’s handgun, a pair of pants and a “racist” t-shirt using a new law enforcement tool called a “gun restraining order,” which was signed by Judge Jaime R. Roman.

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office is bragging about being the first in the country to seize a firearm using primarily the owner’s political ideology as the excuse.

On the case, spokesperson Lacey Nelson was quoted as saying “This search warrant it’s the first of its kind at least in the country. As far as how we obtained it and were able to serve it […] He was posting enough racist rhetoric and propaganda on Facebook that it was concerning that his behaviors could become violent in retaliation.”

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Couple flaunt swastika face masks at southwestern Minnesota Walmart

Just before noon Saturday, police officers in Marshall, Minn., were called to the town’s Walmart on a report that two shoppers were wearing masks emblazoned with swastikas.

Another shopper, Raphaela Mueller, the vicar of a southwest Minnesota parish, filmed the swastika-wearing man and woman as they were confronted by others in the store. Then she posted the video on Facebook, where it went viral.

“If you vote for Biden, you’re going to be living in Nazi Germany,” the woman with the swastika mask told Mueller, as her companion bagged up toilet paper and an enormous canister of cheeseballs. The two were apparently using the masks to protest Minnesota’s mask mandate, which took effect Saturday.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY RAPHAELA MUELLERA couple wearing swastika masks (behind the front customer) made defiant gestures at other shoppers who reacted negatively to their masks on Saturday at the Wal-Mart in Marshall, Minn.TEXT SIZEEMAILPRINTMORE

Just before noon Saturday, police officers in Marshall, Minn., were called to the town’s Walmart on a report that two shoppers were wearing masks emblazoned with swastikas.

Another shopper, Raphaela Mueller, the vicar of a southwest Minnesota parish, filmed the swastika-wearing man and woman as they were confronted by others in the store. Then she posted the video on Facebook, where it went viral.

“If you vote for Biden, you’re going to be living in Nazi Germany,” the woman with the swastika mask told Mueller, as her companion bagged up toilet paper and an enormous canister of cheeseballs. The two were apparently using the masks to protest Minnesota’s mask mandate, which took effect Saturday.https://cdn.iframe.ly/H8N5yOO?v=1&app=1

Per the store’s request, law enforcement served trespass notices to the 59-year-old man and 64-year-old woman, warning them that if they will face arrest should they return. The two departed without incident and charges were not pursued.

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A Taxonomy of Fear

We live in a time of personal timorousness and collective mercilessness.

There might seem to be a contradiction between being fearful and fearless, between weighing every word you say and attacking others with abandon. But as more and more topics become too risky to discuss outside of the prevailing orthodoxies, it makes sense to constantly self-censor, feeling unbound only when part of a denunciatory pack.

Institutions that are supposed to be guardians of free expression—academia and journalism in particular—are becoming enforcers of conformity. Campuses have bureaucracies that routinely undermine free speech and due process. Now, these practices are breaching the ivy wall. They are coming to a high school or corporate HR office near you.

The cultural rules around hot button issues are ever-expanding. It’s as if a daily script went out describing what’s acceptable, and those who flub a line—or don’t even know a script exists—are rarely given the benefit of the doubt, no matter how benign their intent. Naturally, people are deciding the best course is to shut up. It makes sense to be part of the silenced majority when the price you pay for an errant tweet or remark can be the end of your livelihood.

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