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posted by cmn32480 on Monday April 17 2017, @10:24AM   Printer-friendly
from the not-listening-to-all-sides dept.

Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard

An editorial in the Wellesley College student newspaper that called for "shutting down" some forms of hateful rhetoric became the latest flashpoint in a contentious national debate over free speech and its limits on college campuses.

The editorial, published Wednesday in the Wellesley News, argues that the campus community will "not stand for hate speech, and will call it out when possible."

"Shutting down rhetoric that undermines the existence and rights of others is not a violation of free speech; it is hate speech," the editorial states. "The spirit of free speech is to protect the suppressed, not to protect a free-for-all where anything is acceptable, no matter how hateful and damaging."

The editorial was widely criticized on social media as antithetical to the free exchange of ideas that is critical in a democracy and in liberal arts education. It comes as colleges across the country are wrestling with how to protect free speech in an era of trigger warnings, safe spaces, and even assaults on incendiary speakers invited to campuses.

Free speech for all. Unless they disagree with us on something...

Source: https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/04/14/wellesley-college-student-newspaper-ignites-free-speech-debate/NHVrp8nNensXxCQHaPLHPJ/story.html


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  • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday April 17 2017, @02:59PM

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Monday April 17 2017, @02:59PM (#495270) Journal

    First it's not the Wellesley College students home, they don't get to decide the rules (although they're trying very hard).

    Then it's up to the owners of the home to apply a correction (if they think is necessary), not everybody's damned business.

    Secondly, you contradict yourself. These students are the ones who are trying to "politically kill the other guy" by trying to kill free speech. It used to be that those with the best arguments won a debate

    Look, the right to free speech doesn't automatically implies your speech will be listened or accepted by each and everyone, deal with it.
    For example: you may turn blue in your face with arguments or just rhetoric, I'm simply not going to listen to you if you advocate slavery or genocide or flat earth (yes, there are such things that aren't subject of debate. At least speaking for myself, any attempt to argue those is a waste of time).
    I won't stop you either in your attempts to convince others, if your words does not imply/conduce-to a psychical threat to myself.

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
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