April 19, 2024

THIS is how to rant. Follow the link to read the whole thing, but revel in this exercise in spleen venting:

3. Similarly, this case illustrates the problem with an approach to freedom of expression premised on “sensitivity” and making people feel “welcome, safe and secure.” “Sensitivity to hurt feelings” is not, in fact, a First Amendment value or a justification for censorship. In fact, stopping people from speaking because the speech hurts people’s feelings is the essence of censorship. A system in which what we can say is premised upon the likely reactions of the mentally ill and the undernourished pussywillows of the world is a system that encourages suppression of all unpopular, forceful, interesting, or challenging speech. The irrational and the morally and mentally weak are not entitled to have their feelings protected through the force of law, however prevalent they are on campus.

via University of Wisconsin-Stout Chancellor Charles W. Sorensen Defends Firefly Poster Censorship | Popehat.

I wish I had been able to write this when the whole Florida dumb-speech suppression law was announced.