Monday, March 13, 2017
#FreeSpeech in the News: March 13, 2017
As the Citadel of Free Speech here in Cleveland, we work to protect and promote the basis of our democracy by sharing related stories, commentary, and opinions on free speech in the 21st century. Here's what's making the news - and what you should know about - this week.
"When leftists protest right-wing speakers on campus, they often deny that they are infringing upon free speech. Free speech, they insist, does not require their university to give a platform to people with offensive views.”
A Violent Attack on Free Speech at Middlebury, The Atlantic
“As a human being, your ability to express yourself is a necessary by-product of your right to exist; if it is denied or suppressed, your humanity itself is being compromised.“
Free speech is more than a right, The Crimson
“Government surveillance relating to national security poses a unique threat compared to other criminal investigations. The president possesses significant authority to investigate foreign threats. The exercise of that authority, though, threatens U.S. citizens’ First Amendment freedom of speech rights.”
How the surveillance state threatens free speech, The Hill
“The choice appeared stark: I could either protect Murray’s academic freedom and our college’s commitment to intellectual debate, or I could stand up for those students — black, Latino, female and lower income — whom Murray, in his book “The Bell Curve,” claimed are in an unequal position in society seemingly because of their genetic inferiority."
Discord at Middlebury: Students on the Anti-Murray Protests, The New York Times
“But both sides are now accusing each other of stifling free speech, with Turkish officials charging that they are being blocked from campaigning in Germany.”
Turkish Referendum Has Country Trading Barbs With Germany Over Free Speech, The New York Times
“Without free speech, life shrinks, goodness shrinks, meaningfulness shrinks.”
Don’t like a point of view? Free speech protects it, anyhow, The Seattle Times
“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government is putting Muslim feelings above free speech.”
Canada’s Parliament wants to fight Islamophobia by killing free speech, The Washington Post
"To say, 'Well, this is a matter of free speech,' or 'All views need to be heard,' ignores the fact that some views reinforce institutional and culturally dominant norms and others are still just trying to be heard."
At Wellesley, A Provocative Writer Talks Free Speech And Feminism – And Students Talk Back, WBUR 90.9
