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posted by on Sunday February 12 2017, @03:18AM   Printer-friendly
from the free-speech-for-all dept.

The fine folks over at The Tennessean bring us this interesting bit of news:

Inspired by a Breitbart News editor whose speeches have spurred protests at colleges across the country, state lawmakers on Thursday touted a bill that they said would protect free speech on Tennessee campuses.

While discussing the bill in a news conference, sponsors Rep. Martin Daniel and Sen. Joey Hensley referenced the protests against controversial conservative Milo Yiannopoulos, who is a senior editor at Breitbart. Violence erupted at a protest against a planned Yiannopoulos speech at the University of California, Berkeley, prompting officials there to cancel the speech. The lawmakers indicated that the violence had hampered the expression of conservative ideas at Berkeley. Similar issues have cropped up in Tennessee, they said.

Daniel, R-Knoxville, called his legislation "the Milo bill," and said it was "designed to implement oversight of administrators' handling of free speech issues."

Hensley, R-Hohenwald, said the bill was specifically tailored to defend students with conservative views that he said had been silenced in the past.

"We've heard stories from many students that are honestly on the conservative side that have those issues stifled in the classroom," Hensley said. "We just want to ensure our public universities allow all types of speech."

Glad to see my state getting this correct even though they can't pull their heads out of their asses about broadband competition.

[Ed. Note: The current bill has no summary on the Tennessee General Assembly site, but it is likely similar or identical to the previous year's version from the same sponsors which died in committee.]


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  • (Score: 5, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @03:24AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @03:24AM (#465978)

    Nothing more than a republican virtue signaling to his base of bigots.

    This is at least the second time the bill has been submitted and yet the author is unable to cite a single case of censorship at UT. Last year the republicans withdrew the bill when it was pointed out that ISIS could also recruit on campus. The bill's author wrote a weaselly excuse [local8now.com] that yes ISIS should be allowed to recruit but giving support to ISIS is illegal so they wouldn't actually be allowed to recruit. Its nice to have your cake and eat it too.

    And of course there is no mention that Yiannopoulos's whole schtick is to wink-wink advocate for violence and harassment. [jsonline.com] When he says that he didn't literally call for anyone to be harmed, the only people fooled are the kind of motivated simpletons who think that if you don't say the n-word out loud that's proof you aren't racist. His well-documented history of harassment should be enough to deny him the use of university resources to potentially do it again [lgbtqnation.com] because regardless of what he has to say, harrassment is illegal but this virtue-signaling bigot doesn't care about that...

    Meanwhile Tennessee republicans came down crazy hard on the university's diversity office for having the temerity to merely suggest that people use gender neutral pronouns. [insidehighered.com] They so utterly lost their shit over it that they actually killed the entire diversity office. [tennessean.com] Big proponents of freedom expression there.

    And then there was the state-wide collective freak-out over public schools teaching about islam in social-studies class. The republicans were only too happy to indulge in yet more censorship and actually passed a bill to eliminate nearly the entire curriculum from public schools. [qz.com] Of course there was no such restriction on teaching about christianity in class. In fact there are entire programs devoted to studying "bible history" in TN public schools. [bibleintheschools.pr.co]

    So, no buzzard, your state is not doing the right thing. Its a bunch of hypocrites pretending to stand up for freedom of expression when all they care about is freedom of repression.

    Same as it has always been.

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  • (Score: 0, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @03:28AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @03:28AM (#465980)

    So, it's okay when it's _not_ Republicans doing it? Can you clarify a bit about when it's okay and not okay?

    • (Score: 5, Informative) by aristarchus on Sunday February 12 2017, @03:57AM

      by aristarchus (2645) on Sunday February 12 2017, @03:57AM (#465986) Journal

      It is not ok when the primary purpose of speech is to cause violence. Milo has come really close to being nothing but this, and if some alt-right types want to flaunt the bloody shirt of free speech about this, well that is just more of the same. Incitement.

      So I would propose a test for free speech: First, it has to be speech. That means actual communication of ideas, not just dog-whistles and race-baiting and being all gay only for effect. Second, it has to be sincere. If someone is making an argument they do not actually hold, just for the purpose of lulz or in the service of The Order of the Golden Apple, they have no right to be heard. Third, the criteria for hate speech always apply. If the purpose of such speech is to implicitly intimidate, frighten, scare, or silence anyone, such speech can be opposed, and opposed prior to its execution. Even when the "chilling effects" are unintentional.

      An example: Philosopher Peter Singer holds some rather extreme views on several issues, which is fine. One of these view is the idea that, from a utilitarian point of view, persons whose lives promise more suffering than pleasure would be better off being euthanized. Yes, we could debate all day about this. But Professor Singer was invited to give a talk at a German University on this subject. There were protests, he was shut down, not allowed to give his lecture. His response, much like the Morgany Buzzington, is that the Germans have not really learned the value of free speech. But anyone with a moral compass would say, you do not give a talk about euthanizing persons with birth-defects in a country where only a generation or two ago that was Nazi policy. Political Correctness? Damn straight. Other people call it, manners.

      Milo is doing much the same thing, but probably intentionally where Singer just seems to be oblivious. Being given a voice by a university does in fact lend a smidgen of credence to the ideas being presented. No respectable university would allow an Electric Universe proponent to give a talk, or a Scientologist, or a National Socialist Workers Party representative. There are somethings that we can talk about, we can disagree on. But there are others that we risk giving standing to, by even allowing them into the conversation. Fake news? Alt-right? They just want to be allowed to sit at the adult table. But any adult knows that would be a serious mistake. So I say, a ball-gag for Milo! He will probably enjoy it, and he will then be able to tell us all about the violence inherent in the political correctness system. "Did you see that? This is what I'm on about! The mainstream media is trying to silence those of us with "different" opinions!" Poor Milo. So sad. It's true. So sade. Marquis de Sade.

      • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @04:08AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @04:08AM (#465992)

        Do you truly care more about political correctness than the free exchange of ideas? In that case, I cannot agree with you in any way. If you refuse to allow an argument because it is "offensive", then you can refuse to allow any argument whatsoever for the same reason. I am offended by your argument on this matter, so it should cease to be presented. I demand that you never make postings such as this one again, because to do so is bad manners.

        • (Score: 1, Troll) by aristarchus on Sunday February 12 2017, @04:20AM

          by aristarchus (2645) on Sunday February 12 2017, @04:20AM (#466000) Journal

          I cannot agree with you in any way.

          And I to you, oh amphibolous Anonymous Coward, cannot reply, since you clearly do not comprehend the difference between "ideas" and "offence". Here is an example. Racism is wrong because it treats your fellow human beings differently when there is no legitimate reason to do so. That is an idea, and I could make an argument. But if you say, "Reverse Racism! Political Correctness Run Amok!", that is not an idea. It is you. And you have no ideas, because you are stupid, racist, and probably have had carnal relations with Milo. See what we did there? We went from a potentially intellectual discussion about justice and human rights, to me calling you out like the cowardly backwards racist son-of-a-barnacle that you are! I wish you would not make me reduce myself to your level so much. It really is quite offensive.

          • (Score: 2, Flamebait) by art guerrilla on Sunday February 12 2017, @02:59PM

            by art guerrilla (3082) on Sunday February 12 2017, @02:59PM (#466163)

            thank you for proving you know nothing of the principles of free speech, nor freedom in general...
            (go back and re-read your chomsky, moron)
            what *is* amusing is the complete lack of self-awareness in your custom-made definitions to fit your 'morals', never for a second realizing you are acting in the EXACT mirror-image of the presumptuous and dictatorial manner as your adversaries...
            we *are* amused...
            oh, by the by, there is also no such thing as 'hate speech', 'hate crimes', and all the rest of that snowflake claptrap...
            you have the right to NOT be assaulted; you do NOT have the right to NOT be insulted...

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 13 2017, @05:29PM

              by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 13 2017, @05:29PM (#466668)

              here, here!

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 14 2017, @12:15AM

                by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 14 2017, @12:15AM (#466791)

                There, there. Poor thing.

        • (Score: 3, Informative) by https on Sunday February 12 2017, @06:01AM

          by https (5248) on Sunday February 12 2017, @06:01AM (#466027) Journal

          There are quite a few ideas that don't qualify for the moniker "civil discourse". For example, Milo & crew's inference that being black means you deserve a premature and violent death is an idea that doesn't need free exchange - it needs a kick in the balls. With a baseball bat.

          Suggesting such arguments are being shouted down because they are offensive (1) is false, and (2) and says a fuck of a lot about you.

          --
          Offended and laughing about it.
          • (Score: 5, Informative) by jmorris on Sunday February 12 2017, @06:17AM

            by jmorris (4844) on Sunday February 12 2017, @06:17AM (#466034)

            Citation needed because I have watched the live stream of several of Milo's stops in his "Dangerous Faggot" tour and never seen anything that, in a sane world, would be all that objectionable. Trollish? Often. Intended to provoke a bit? Yes. Stand up comedy? Yes. Incitement to violence? No. Mostly what he is doing is what used to be called "Speaking truth to power." The Left wants to pretend, when it suits their purposes, that they are not "the Man" now, that plucky malcontents aren't going to now be poking their system to try to get a reaction in exactly the same way they themselves did a generation ago.

            If you can't see that Cultural Marxism and "Intersectionality" doesn't have far more opportunity for ridicule and baiting than any old "sexually repressed" establishment authority figure in the '60s it only means you are the one getting laughed at. The modern university campus is what is called a "target rich environment" for people like Milo. And get used to it because he will become legion as it doesn't take much to duplicate what he has done.

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @06:47AM

              by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @06:47AM (#466043)

              If you can't see that Cultural Marxism

              Could some one please kick jmorris in the balls? It will probably be the closest to "sex" that he gets this decade! Maybe.

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @12:20PM

                by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @12:20PM (#466112)

                Silly fungus - you're jealous of the Morris!

            • (Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @07:20AM

              by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @07:20AM (#466049)

              My god your reliance on buzz words is annoying! You have no original thoughts, just key phrases dropped by talk radio and promoted throughout the news cycle. They are manipulating you, manufacturing consensus by seeding specific words and phrases so that all your buddies say the same things and you go "omg this guy gets it too!". Sadly your both brainwashed pawns... Gj on being a sucker.

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @12:22PM

                by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @12:22PM (#466113)

                "My god your reliance on buzz words is annoying! You have no original thoughts, just key phrases dropped by talk radio and promoted throughout the news cycle. They are manipulating you, manufacturing consensus by seeding specific words and phrases so that all your buddies say the same things and you go "omg this guy gets it too!". Sadly your both brainwashed pawns... Gj on being a sucker."

                That's EXACTLY what I told the annoying progressive who followed me around Walmart last weak.

                • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @06:44PM

                  by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @06:44PM (#466248)

                  Even the AC who sticks up for jmorris can't come up with an original thought! "What you said, but in Wallymart!" It's almost too perfect of a setup, right down to the shopping venue, but I can't imagine someone sarcastically defending jmorris.

            • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @01:01PM

              by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @01:01PM (#466127)

              never seen anything that, in a sane world, would be all that objectionable

              He didn't get kicked off twitter for being a swell guy.
              That's one of those statements that has everything to do with who you are and nothing to do with the topic at hand.
              Half your posts on soylent are nothing more than animus directed at racial and sexual minorities.
              Of course you wouldn't find any of it objectionable. You are too busy cheering him on.

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @09:11PM

                by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @09:11PM (#466300)

                He didn't get kicked off twitter for being a swell guy

                Back on January 24, I submitted a thing about violent vigilantism.
                It was "Accepted" but never made the front page.

                The New National Debate: Is It Ever OK to Punch a Nazi? [soylentnews.org]

                On [January 20], Richard Spencer, president of the white nationalist think tank National Policy Institute and advocate for "peaceful ethnic cleansing", was punched in the face while bragging about the success of white supremacists in getting Donald Trump--whom they love--elected president.

                -- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]

          • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Anal Pumpernickel on Sunday February 12 2017, @07:23AM

            by Anal Pumpernickel (776) on Sunday February 12 2017, @07:23AM (#466050)

            There are quite a few ideas that don't qualify for the moniker "civil discourse". For example, Milo & crew's inference that being black means you deserve a premature and violent death is an idea that doesn't need free exchange - it needs a kick in the balls. With a baseball bat.

            What, specifically, are you saying should happen to such people? That people should use their own free speech to launch vicious insults at them? That people should use violence against them? That universities and other places shouldn't allow them to give speeches? I would agree with the first one but not the other two, since I value the concept of freedom of speech even if I think the speech is horrendous.

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @10:04AM

              by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @10:04AM (#466079)

              What, specifically, are you saying should happen to such people?

              That they should die in a fire? That they should die in a fire, with a red hot poker up their ass? I really have a hard time imagining the appropriate treatment for the alt-right racist idiots that have foisted Trump on the American people. But Chinese Buddhist afterlife porn is helpful! Dead, by a thousand cuts? Dead by being tied to a chimney and slowly roasting to death? Dead, by demons with phalluses with the most amazing innovations, not for your pleasure. Death by having the entire civilized world ridicule you, and your President, and his "Cabinet", and Kellyane and Ginger and Spicy, and their little dog too. Wait. Trump does not have a dog? Fuck, even G W Bush had a god-damned Whitehouse dog! What the hell is he doing? Grabbing Pussies in the Whitehouse? Well, we saw how well that worked out a couple of administrations ago.

            • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday February 12 2017, @12:27PM

              by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Sunday February 12 2017, @12:27PM (#466114) Journal

              ^ this ^

              Whatever happened to the concept, "I despise what you're saying, but I'll defend your right to say it to the death if necessary."

              Let's take televangelists for instance. I've never heard one, or even heard OF one, that I can respect. If/when I get trapped into listening to one for even a minute or two, I'm thinking, "Why don't you STFU you cretin?" At the very same time, if some left/dem/progressive/liberal/whatever attempted to silence the inane imbecile, I'd be far more "offended" than I am by the babbling fool himself.

        • (Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Sunday February 12 2017, @07:05AM

          by bzipitidoo (4388) on Sunday February 12 2017, @07:05AM (#466046) Journal

          You can care about both. They aren't mutually exclusive. Freedom of speech is not an absolute, not license for anyone to say anything whatsoever anywhere and anytime they want, no. We have laws against libel and slander. That means, you can't fabricate a video of people you dislike that seems to show them molesting children or swindling seniors or something else heinous, then spread it around, trying to fool others into believing those fabricated activities really happened. That's libel. You also can't yell "fire" in a crowded theater if there is no fire. Would it be okay, would it be free speech, to post the names and addresses of every police officer in the city on a public site?

          In this specific case, sure, this Milo can say what he wants. But universities are not obliged to let him visit their campuses and disrupt the school day.

          This ugly attack on a transgender person is similar to McCarthy's last days. McCarthy resorted to talking trash about a young law graduate that everyone already knew was a Communist sympathizer, merely to avoid having to talk about more substantive subjects. A random person's career and good name was less important to McCarthy than a few more minutes of evading questions he had to answer anyway soon after. The reply was the famous line: "Have you no sense of decency, sir?" That was what sunk McCarthy. People saw loud and clear the sheer meanness and cruelty of the man, and abandoned him in droves.

          • (Score: 2) by Anal Pumpernickel on Sunday February 12 2017, @07:29AM

            by Anal Pumpernickel (776) on Sunday February 12 2017, @07:29AM (#466052)

            We have laws against libel and slander.

            Which you don't have to agree with.

            You also can't yell "fire" in a crowded theater if there is no fire.

            Straight out of a case that resulted in war protestors being imprisoned. Of course, I don't even agree with the logic. If someone reacts to your speech by being violent or causing damage, that's on them.

            Would it be okay, would it be free speech, to post the names and addresses of every police officer in the city on a public site?

            I think so, yes.

            In this specific case, sure, this Milo can say what he wants. But universities are not obliged to let him visit their campuses and disrupt the school day.

            Then they can't claim to value free speech very much. I also don't think they should be accepting money from the government in that case.

            • (Score: 2) by Scruffy Beard 2 on Sunday February 12 2017, @07:49AM

              by Scruffy Beard 2 (6030) on Sunday February 12 2017, @07:49AM (#466056)

              IMO, when you start making shit up, to incite outrage directed at a specific group (one person in the case of libel), you cross the line into hate speech.

              • (Score: 2) by Anal Pumpernickel on Sunday February 12 2017, @09:32AM

                by Anal Pumpernickel (776) on Sunday February 12 2017, @09:32AM (#466072)

                Even if it is hate speech, hate speech should be legal.

                • (Score: 3, Insightful) by aristarchus on Sunday February 12 2017, @10:18AM

                  by aristarchus (2645) on Sunday February 12 2017, @10:18AM (#466084) Journal

                  hate speech should be legal.

                  Yeah, but speech that hates hate speech should not. And speech that tries to stop hate speech, well we obviously cannot allow that! And speech that shots paint balls into the heads of hate speakers, not cool! But lead projectiles at random proponents of free speech? OK? Nah, I always say, encourage the racists and the Nazis, take pictures of the bastards, and dry-gulch them when the least suspect it. Not that any law abiding person would ever do such a thing! But we could, if we wanted to. So perhaps, maybe, it is alright to shut down such rancid provocateurs such a Milo, before things come to such a pass? Or are you a Anal Pumpernichal Nazi? Well, are you?

                  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 13 2017, @01:42AM

                    by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 13 2017, @01:42AM (#466407)

                    What about your imbecilic comments? They contribute nothing other than more posts to sort through in favor of actual insight.

                • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday February 12 2017, @12:02PM

                  by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Sunday February 12 2017, @12:02PM (#466104) Homepage Journal

                  Hate speech is legal.

                  --
                  My rights don't end where your fear begins.
                • (Score: 2) by Scruffy Beard 2 on Monday February 13 2017, @03:16AM

                  by Scruffy Beard 2 (6030) on Monday February 13 2017, @03:16AM (#466431)

                  The problem with hate speech is that it leads to genocide.

                  That is why it is illegal in many jurisdictions.

              • (Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Monday February 13 2017, @05:33PM

                by hendrikboom (1125) Subscriber Badge on Monday February 13 2017, @05:33PM (#466671) Homepage Journal

                In Canada, hate speech is against the law. It is defined as knowingly spreading false news to incite hatred against an identifiable group. It is extremely difficult to get a conviction in a case of hate speech.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @07:37AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @07:37AM (#466054)

            And we're back to those days with the rise of Trump. He can say the most vile and factually incorrect shit, but when he is criticized legitimately he throws a hissy fit more appropriate to a 5 year old. The bigots have had enough shaming (and to be fair PC has gotten ridiculously out of hand) and are pushing back. Too bad for them but the world is comprised of more decent folk than bigoted blowhards, so this is just the dying gasp for relevancy.

            Also, free speech doesn't mean you're guaranteed a platform wherever you'd like.

            • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @09:33AM

              by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @09:33AM (#466073)

              The bigots have had enough shaming (and to be fair PC has gotten ridiculously out of hand

              No, and no. Bigots never get enough shaming, until they cease to be bigots. This is why certain allegedly Native Americans need to get their shit together and figure out which side they are on. Because they are not on the side they think they are on. And PC? Fuck your PC, shove it right up your ass (not you, AC, but those to whom you refer), because it does not fucking exist, anymore than the mythical SJWs! And I ought to know, since I am one. So fuck Trump, fuck dTrumpf, fuck his supporters, fuck those who voted from him! OK, you made your point. Now do the right thing to save your own ass and that of your country. White people are stupid, we know that. Trump products suck, we know that. Jeff Sessions is a racist asshole, and the Attorney General of the United States of the Confederacy. Oh, Shit. So, fuck you, racists! Fuck you, anti-semites! Fuck you, misogynists and zenophobes, and arachniphobes, and acrophobes, and trisdecacalliaphobists! All of you scaredy bastarts! Boo!, Trump! Boo!

      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday February 12 2017, @11:47AM

        by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Sunday February 12 2017, @11:47AM (#466097) Homepage Journal

        Sweety, the only violence caused by Milo's speaking has been from the left.

        --
        My rights don't end where your fear begins.
      • (Score: 2, Flamebait) by Runaway1956 on Sunday February 12 2017, @12:06PM

        by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Sunday February 12 2017, @12:06PM (#466106) Journal

        FFS, who mods this shit up? Aristarchus is in effect telling us, "Censorship is bad, unless censorship conforms to my expectations!" Or, maybe more accurately, he is saying, "You're doing censorship all wrong, let me show you how it should be done!"

        And, for that, he gets modded "insightful"?

        • (Score: 2) by linkdude64 on Sunday February 12 2017, @06:43PM

          by linkdude64 (5482) on Sunday February 12 2017, @06:43PM (#466246)

          I am convinced that this site has been targeted for wrongthink, and is being shilled on accordingly. Suddenly, after Trump's victory, this site went from about 50-50 wrongthink vs progressive, and now the modding is like 20-80.

          Call me paranoid, but I can post objective fucking documented proof that the CIA was studying memes and how to control and combat them. Nothing is beyond possibility anymore.
          Look up "Media Matters", their ties to Clinton, and their stated internal purpose - to "dynamically influence" opinon and content on the internet through ratings and pageviews.

          Also note that major MSM sites have been buying traffic from China according to Alexa

          http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2017/02/fake-news-fake-stats-half-ny-times-wapo-guardian-traffic-china-wth/ [thegatewaypundit.com]

          We live in dangerous times.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 13 2017, @12:37AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 13 2017, @12:37AM (#466377)

            I am convinced that this site has been targeted for wrongthink, and is being shilled on accordingly. Suddenly, after Trump's victory, this site went from about 50-50 wrongthink vs progressive, and now the modding is like 20-80.

            Look up "shilling", it does not mean what you think it means. And loud does not indicate numbers or even percentages. We (progressives) surround you!

            Call me paranoid, but I can post objective fucking documented proof that the CIA

            Oh look! Someone from Infowars! How quaint! Or it could just be that the real support for the far right in America, let alone on this site, is around 12%, same as the deadender death-eaters that supported Bush at the bitter end.

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 13 2017, @01:51AM

              by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 13 2017, @01:51AM (#466413)

              You surround everything in the same way that a rancid hunk of feces surrounds my cock as I push deeper and deeper into your rectum.

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 14 2017, @02:33AM

              by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 14 2017, @02:33AM (#466819)

              "We (progressives) surround you!"

              Something like the other AC said. You surround us like the stench of meat rotting in a septic tank.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @07:32PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @07:32PM (#466263)

        > So I would propose a test for free speech: First, it has to be speech. That means actual communication of ideas, not just dog-whistles and race-baiting and being all gay only for effect.

        Hypothetically: an artist goes "all gay" to make people react and think about their reactions. Unfortunately any communication is communication of ideas, yes even race-baiting communication, so this can't discriminate.

        > Second, it has to be sincere. If someone is making an argument they do not actually hold, just for the purpose of lulz or in the service of The Order of the Golden Apple, they have no right to be heard.

        Many Christians say that divorce is wrong but then get divorced. How could sincerity be objectively judged?

        > Third, the criteria for hate speech always apply. If the purpose of such speech is to implicitly intimidate, frighten, scare, or silence anyone, such speech can be opposed, and opposed prior to its execution. Even when the "chilling effects" are unintentional.

        Yes to the former. To unintentional cases - no! I myself used EXTREMELY race-baiting imagery in a publication once, unintentionally. Because I don't live in the USA, I simply didn't know that some actions and images are 'club patch' equivalents for lynch-mob racists. I literally did not know. It's probably my most embarrassing moment. But nobody should go to jail for a mistake they could not have reasonably forseen. I wasn't driving with my eyes closed, and my (normally diligent) editor was in a rush and didn't read it, just ran a spellchecker; she isn't at fault either, and also doesn't deserve to be a criminal.

        > So sade. Marquis de Sade.

        3 u aristarchus. I hope you and Milo end up together, and that you hold the reins, but don't hold back.

      • (Score: 2) by krishnoid on Sunday February 12 2017, @11:56PM

        by krishnoid (1156) on Sunday February 12 2017, @11:56PM (#466361)

        Political Correctness? Damn straight. Other people call it, manners.

        And philosophers would call it philosophizing (assuming that's the term they use in that discipline).

  • (Score: 3, Informative) by Ethanol-fueled on Sunday February 12 2017, @04:03AM

    by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Sunday February 12 2017, @04:03AM (#465988) Homepage

    Freedom of speech is not about Milo or any one person.

    It is about affording the constitutional rights of every person while the same people were bitching about and attempting to subvert the constitution suddenly cared about it while 2 weeks before they were attempting to subvert it as an antiquated document, and only now do they care about states' rights. and the first amendment.

    Let these Soros-funded chickshit yellow bastards BURN.

    • (Score: 3, Funny) by Azuma Hazuki on Sunday February 12 2017, @05:30AM

      by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Sunday February 12 2017, @05:30AM (#466023) Journal

      Eth...the first rule of drug dealing is: DO NOT SAMPLE THE MERCH. You're a hilarious troll, but the instant you start actually believing the shit you spew, it's game over.

      --
      I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @07:17AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @07:17AM (#466048)

      You do realize you are describing the conservative base of the US right? If not you'd better link some sources for your wild claims.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @10:16AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @10:16AM (#466082)

        Wowee Free Speech is bad now that the other party is advocating for it! So many unprincipled partisan idiots on soylent lately.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @10:09PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @10:09PM (#466316)

        Actual Conservatives are the broad middle who like things pretty much as they are and want to preserve/conserve that.

        That's not the bunch to which you are referring.
        That bunch is NOT Conservative; they are RADICAL .
        They don't like workers having rights, they don't like women being able to vote, and they think that people of color having lesser rights--even being property--is a natural state of affairs.
        The word for those people who want the status quo ante is Reactionary.

        -- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @11:31PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @11:31PM (#466346)

          Thanks, good point. I'll call them reactionaries or extremists, more nonpartisan too!

  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @04:03AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @04:03AM (#465989)

    I have read the article you linked in regards to Milo. I have not found any sort of "wink-wink advocating for violence and harassment". Did you link the wrong article?

    They so utterly lost their shit over it that they actually killed the entire diversity office.

    So-called "diversity offices" are usually focused around diversity of skin color rather than diversity of opinions or the free exchange of ideas. In my opinion, diversity of skin color is neither meaningful nor valuable.
    What kind of diversity office was this one?

    • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @04:18AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @04:18AM (#465999)

      I have read the article you linked in regards to Milo. I have not found any sort of "wink-wink advocating for violence and harassment".

      If you can't see that putting her face up on the giant screen, naming her and then proceeding to call her a man who just wants to follow women into the bathroom is not incitment to violence against her, then you are a motivated simpleton. Trans people get beat [stevewessler.com] up [oregonlive.com] and killed [satiratribune.com] for [nydailynews.com] that [rawstory.com] all [towleroad.com] the [wnep.com] time. [ketv.com]

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @04:21AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @04:21AM (#466001)

        If you can't see that putting her face up on the giant screen, naming her and then proceeding to call her a man who just wants to follow women into the bathroom is not incitment to violence against her, then you are a motivated simpleton.

        That isn't incitement to violence, no matter how reprehensible and idiotic it is. You need to go farther than that for it to be incitement. If someone responds to the speech in a violent way, that's entirely their own doing.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @04:31AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @04:31AM (#466003)

          That isn't incitement to violence,

          incitement [oxforddictionaries.com]
          noun

                  [mass noun], [often with infinitive] The action of provoking unlawful behaviour or urging someone to behave unlawfully.
          ————————————————————————————————————————————————

          Keep playing stupid, the only people you are fooling are the people who want to be fooled.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @04:36AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @04:36AM (#466004)

            This isn't provoking unlawful behavior unless he actually intended for violence to occur. Do you have evidence that he had such intent?

            • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @04:43AM

              by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @04:43AM (#466007)

              There was no other reason to identify her by name and image.
              Any other point he could have made could have been made equally as well without that.
              She was not a public figure.

              • (Score: 3, Informative) by Arik on Sunday February 12 2017, @05:15AM

                by Arik (4543) on Sunday February 12 2017, @05:15AM (#466021) Journal
                You're simply and demonstrably wrong, he was very much a public figure already.

                He did indeed sue the university to force his way into the women's facilities, which naturally attracted press coverage, and his face and name were widely published in many places as a result. Milo apparently referred to the student newspaper for it, but he could have also gone to the local tv station ( http://www.tmj4.com/news/local-news/uwm-student-says-shes-been-discriminated-against-at-the-klotsche-center ) or a very sympathetic article from a prominent left wing site ( https://thinkprogress.org/at-university-of-wisconsin-milwaukee-trans-students-may-have-finally-won-true-locker-room-access-2e3ddeb156e1 ) or even a less sympathetic writeup from a more conservative site (http://www.dailywire.com/news/5419/man-angry-university-not-letting-him-show-his-junk-amanda-prestigiacomo) for the info, and even if he had chosen not to use the name anyone that was curious could have found it with a single search (or would have already known it.)

                --
                If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
                • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @06:02AM

                  by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @06:02AM (#466030)

                  You're simply and demonstrably wrong, he was very much a public figure already.

                  Incorrect.

                  Filing a lawsuit and being reported on does not make one a public figure.

                  even if he had chosen not to use the name anyone that was curious could have found it with a single search (or would have already known it.

                  That's the disingenuousness of a motivated simpleton. The fact that someone who wanted to hunt her down could do it on their own is not the equivalent of deliberately hand-feeding that information to a crowd while inveighing that she is a deviant intent on doing harm.

                • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @06:50AM

                  by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @06:50AM (#466044)

                  he was very much a public figure already.
                  ...
                  He did indeed sue the university to force his way into the women's facilities
                  ...
                  his face

                  You just couldn't help yourself, could you?

                  If anyone thought you were arguing in defense of free speech instead of against a minority you hold in contempt, you just gave yourself away.

                  Just admit it — you are happy that she was singled out for harassment. Everything else you've said is just a smokescreen to rationalize that.

                  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @07:26AM

                    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @07:26AM (#466051)

                    Yup, welcome to the shit stains that inhabit soylent news. They really don't see their prejudice and bias, they think they are freedom loving fair folk, but they would gladly slam boots on faces if it was socially acceptable. The silver lining of Trump's victory, letting the assholes think their shit is suddenly palatable. Gonna be a long four years, hopefully the jerks get enough feedback from their crazy rantings and realize that "oh shit, maybe we're the problem?"

                    I can dream

                    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @12:44PM

                      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @12:44PM (#466118)

                      Well, shit stain, stop hating on real people so much. Most of the country is sick of your politically correct shit, and the stain it leaves in public places. At least have the courtesy to keep your stained self hidden.

                      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @11:39PM

                        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @11:39PM (#466350)

                        Denial only makes your problem worse. The world is moving on from horrible ideologies, except in the middle east where such crap was intentionally implemented by the US in pursuit of cheap oil and world power. So congrats, you are the next homegrown supporter of violence. Where are these PC stains in public spaces? You're full of it, stop listening to the media filling g your head with lies.

                  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @08:45AM

                    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @08:45AM (#466065)

                    A man who wishes to be a woman is still a man.

                    • (Score: 4, Funny) by aristarchus on Sunday February 12 2017, @10:48AM

                      by aristarchus (2645) on Sunday February 12 2017, @10:48AM (#466089) Journal

                      A man who wishes to be a woman is still a man.

                      Oh, calm down, you silly clit! The way I heard it, from someone much older and wiser than me, who had heard it from Tiresias himself, is that "When women dress like men, they are after socio-economic power. When men dress like women, they are seeking god." So, a woman who wished to me a man, is still a man? Be clear here, AC! What are you saying!

                  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @12:42PM

                    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @12:42PM (#466117)

                    he was very much a public figure already.
                    ...
                    He did indeed sue the university to force his way into the women's facilities
                    ...
                    his face

                    Let it be noted that he has a kind face. It's the kind of face most of us would like to kick. It's the kind of face that some of you would like to fuck. That distinction is what separates the men from the fruitcakes.

                  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Arik on Sunday February 12 2017, @02:21PM

                    by Arik (4543) on Sunday February 12 2017, @02:21PM (#466149) Journal
                    You're actually tipping your hand instead, you're that out of touch.

                    You actually think that speaking proper grammatical English is a signal of contempt for minorities. You'll actually argue that with a straight face.

                    You have no idea what my actual attitudes are, you know nothing about my history of actions, and the thing is you're just dead sure you don't need to know. The fact that I have the nerve to speak (in this case, write) proper English is enough right there for you to dehumanize me completely.

                    --
                    If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
                    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @02:47PM

                      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @02:47PM (#466159)

                      You actually think that speaking proper grammatical English is a signal of contempt for minorities.

                      Keep on digging.
                      Deliberately using incorrect pronouns is literally the opposite of proper english.

                      dehumanize me completely.

                      Wah! You are a hypocrite for judging me for my judgments!

                      • (Score: 2) by Arik on Sunday February 12 2017, @04:01PM

                        by Arik (4543) on Sunday February 12 2017, @04:01PM (#466176) Journal
                        "Deliberately using incorrect pronouns is literally the opposite of proper english."

                        Exactly! Which is why I avoided doing it.

                        "Wah! You are a hypocrite for judging me for my judgments!"

                        You're judging me based on sheer prejudice. You don't know my positions, and you show no interest in learning about them. You needed only one piece of information - that I use English traditionally, rather than mangling it in the way prescribed by your church, therefore I am clearly not a member. I might be much closer to your position than the majority, you don't care, that isn't good enough. I have conspicuously refrained from emitting a specific signal you demand as a sign of orthodoxy, and that's all you needed to condemn me.
                        --
                        If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
                        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @04:15PM

                          by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @04:15PM (#466185)

                          I have conspicuously refrained from emitting a specific signal

                          Lol. That's so fucking hilarious that you would even try to claim that.

                          Dude, you lit up the fucking bat-signal.
                          The Frank Miller version of the bat-signal.

                        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @11:42PM

                          by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @11:42PM (#466353)

                          So you bait someone into misunderstanding you then cry about it? Ha ha HAAAAAA, what a maroon!

                          • (Score: 2) by Arik on Monday February 13 2017, @12:17AM

                            by Arik (4543) on Monday February 13 2017, @12:17AM (#466371) Journal
                            I didn't bait anyone, they chose to leap to conclusions, which seems to be something they learn at 'church' these days.
                            --
                            If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
                    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 13 2017, @07:20AM

                      by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 13 2017, @07:20AM (#466500)

                      The fact that I have the nerve to speak (in this case, write) proper English is enough right there for you to dehumanize me completely.

                      Yes, you are a brave boy for using "proper english."
                      A real hero, fighting the good fight!

                      God, do you ever listen to yourself?

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @12:39PM

                by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @12:39PM (#466116)

                Obviously, then, liberals intend for gunowners to be killed when they post those gunowner's names and addresses on the internet, along with GPS coords superimposed on a map.

                See how that works? What's good for the goose is good for the goose fuckers.

                • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @01:05PM

                  by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @01:05PM (#466130)

                  Obviously, then, liberals intend for gunowners to be killed when they post those gunowner's names and addresses on the internet, along with GPS coords superimposed on a map.

                  Absolutely.

                  What's good for the goose is good for the goose fuckers.

                  Just because you hate them all doesn't make them the same person.

                  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @11:45PM

                    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @11:45PM (#466356)

                    Was gonna say...

                    This thread is not actually funny, but I can't help but think about all the people calling for Muslims to condemn the extremists, yet when it comes to fuckers like Milo they get all defensive and lose perspective. Hypocrites hoorah

                    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 13 2017, @12:23AM

                      by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 13 2017, @12:23AM (#466374)

                      What Milo has done (that is, nothing, as far as this thread has shown) is nothing compared to what those "extremists" do.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @04:42AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @04:42AM (#466006)

            Are you arguing that his speech was/should be recognized as illegal, or that his speech could be categorized as incitement according to certain definitions of the word?

      • (Score: 2) by Arik on Sunday February 12 2017, @04:39AM

        by Arik (4543) on Sunday February 12 2017, @04:39AM (#466005) Journal
        That's absolute horseshit. He in no way shape or form called for any violence, that was not there in word or in tone.
        --
        If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @04:44AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @04:44AM (#466009)

          You just have to read his mind to know his intentions, or be able to read the Secret Code. Making such accusations based on such vague, flimsy reasoning is just fine. Twist your head sideways to see The Tower, then you'll reach enlightenment!

        • (Score: 2) by Whoever on Sunday February 12 2017, @06:30AM

          by Whoever (4524) on Sunday February 12 2017, @06:30AM (#466040) Journal

          "Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?"

          Do you see an explicit call for violence in that? What happened as a result?

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @07:34AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @07:34AM (#466053)

            If anyone acts on the speech by being violent, that's entirely their fault.

      • (Score: 0, Flamebait) by Runaway1956 on Sunday February 12 2017, @12:37PM

        by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Sunday February 12 2017, @12:37PM (#466115) Journal

        Cross dressing dude who demanded to use the women's restroom? And, you call it a "she"? Your gaydar is fubar'd.

      • (Score: 2) by jmorris on Sunday February 12 2017, @05:33PM

        by jmorris (4844) on Sunday February 12 2017, @05:33PM (#466216)

        No, what Milo did was far, far worse than inciting violence, so horrible you can't even speak it. He put him up on the screen to make him an object of ridicule, so everyone in the room could laugh at the mentally challenged 'tard and the evil people who refuse to explain reality to him because they are too busy using his disability as a weapon. Now normally that would be a social faux pas but the fact these people are being used as weapons by the Left means they are unfortunately political actors and once you are in the political arena it is more dangerous to NOT attack them. For if some political actors are immune to criticism, no matter how stupid their positions, they will quickly end up running things. Which is pretty much where we were heading, at warp speed, until The Trumpening.

        If you support, like I do, keeping the mentally disabled out of the rough and tumble of the political world you guys need to stop using them as mascots.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @06:46AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @06:46AM (#466042)

    I'm just glad the regressives on the left all trying to win the fascism olympics and control what we can see, hear and say are getting such a strong pushback. Our society is not dying after all. Censorship pushed by the left wing to suppress anything that doesn't further their agenda won't stand, it just isn't tolerated anymore, it was a terrible failure of an idea, plus there are more channels to turn to now, thank God freedom is not dead!

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @10:09AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 12 2017, @10:09AM (#466081)

    Why do you hate free speech? Yes diversity offices should be killed, there is no need for thought police.