This is, oddly, a wonderful sign of how much of a violence-free society we live in. Can you imagine Ukrainian children thinking "Words are violence" after being shelled by invaders and seeing their neighbors raped and tortured? Picture the folks who have to hide when warlords or drug cartels come to their villages having an anxiety attack over a difference of political opinion? How about the Uighur's living in concentration camps doing slave labor? Or Taiwanese parents watching enemy rockets pass overhead? Ask older folks who live in the former Yugoslavia about violence. Or those who witnessed the Rwandan genocide first hand.
Do not worry - this sort of thing is self-limiting. The folks who indulge themselves with this will not have the resilience to accomplish much and will die out. The pendulum is swinging already.
Speech is not violence. Violence is violence. Democracies thrive when they teach the difference. Coerced silence only serves those of totalitarian bent.
I think people would do well to teach the classic formulation of free speech from Justice Brandeis in Whitney v California (1927). Brandenburg v Ohio (1969) explicitly overturned Whitney to further expand on the concept of free speech and what was allowed, namely that: The Court held that the government cannot punish inflammatory speech unless that speech is "directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action". it is talking about action here and not words.
But I really like the poetry and resonance of Brandeis's words to today's discussion about speech. "Those who won our independence believed . . . that public discussion is a political duty, and that this should be a fundamental principle of the American government. They recognized the risks to which all human institutions are subject. But they knew that order cannot be secured merely through fear of punishment for its infraction; that it is hazardous to discourage thought, hope and imagination; that fear breeds repression; that repression breeds hate; that hate menaces stable government; that the path of safety lies in the opportunity to discuss freely supposed grievances and proposed remedies, and that the fitting remedy for evil counsels is good ones. Believing in the power of reason as applied through public discussion, they eschewed silence coerced by law -- the argument of force in its worst form. Recognizing the occasional tyrannies of governing majorities, they amended the Constitution so that free speech and assembly should be guaranteed."
Most aren't really experiencing a real threat, they've just been taught to equate political opinions they oppose with hate. Let's call it what it is, a giant Marxist power grab; demonize people you disagree with and call their opinions violence in order to silence them and others; AND IT'S WORKING! And it's not just college students who are experiencing this, this woke sickness is playing itself out in almost every work place in this country. It's also the product of identity politics and rewarding victim status. For years now the Democratic party has promoted this hateful and divisive silencing, canceling, bullying, and slandering of people who dare to stray from the leftist cult narrative. And as much as I'm no big fan of Trump, I have to admit that he's the only Republican that has had the stones to bully these bullies back. That was his appeal and I have to admit that I understand why he was elected. People are fed up with this campaign of Democrat inspired violent protests, urban violence, anti cop, anti male, anti white, and anti American hatred and division. I know I am!
Minor quibble. I looked up the "cry closets". They do not appear to have been set up for safe space from dissenting opinions. They were set up for students on the verge of a nervous breakdown from finals. They were in the library so that students who had been frantically studying for 10 hours straight could take a ten-minute break to curl up and be emotional, then get their shit together and return to studying. That seems pretty reasonable, honestly.
The "free speech" warning sign was hilarious and alarming and a sign of the times. It's like history professors needing to post trigger warnings. OBVIOUSLY history will include the distressing stories and subjects. OBVIOUSLY walking across campus will include encountering different opinions. But we have a bunch of privileged, entitled people who have been taught that the entire world should be arranged to their comfort at all times, and they have a right to advance warning when it will vary from this "norm".
Tim's Maxim: Everyone is mostly wrong about everything always.
Diversity of thought and diversity of perspective are how we learn. All of us develop explanations for the things we experience. We constantly try to make sense of the world. However, our experiences are limited, our perceptions are flawed, and our cognitive faculties are compromised in many different ways. Listening to diverse perspectives is the way we can each challenge our own theories about the world. Alone, I am severely limited in what I can experience and know. Alone to my own, unexamined thoughts I can be of little use to my community.
If the goal of the so called justice warriors is to eliminate all speech, symbols, or so called triggers that send them into a freency, search for the crying room, or demanding someone be silenced, and basically destroy the American foundation. Then eventually the country becomes weak willed and able to be told what and how to conduct themselves.
So you eventually play into the bullies hands, think China and Russia. Ask the Uyghurs or others how much tyrants care about your feelings? These same justice warriors will be the first for identification and re-education. See decent is not allowed and neither is your feelings and wants. You simply exist at the pleasure and choosing of the Government. So if they ever get their wish, I hope the last thing on their mind is, "What the Hell was I thinking"?
The US is becoming a nation of wimps who run and cry whenever their feelings are hurt (see "The Coddling of the American Mind" by Haidt and Lukianoff). The people who will survive and prosper and lead in America are the ones who are willing to listen to others' opinions and either have the fortitude to change their own minds or the critical thinking abilities that are required to counter these other opinions. Open discourse is critical to maturity. I'm just glad I'm not a kid in the 21st century, and I'm thankful to have been raised to deal with these slights, which, in most cases, are very slight.
This is very reasonable and well-argued. As long as disagreements are civil they should be voiced. Not saying what one thinks does harm—and not just to oneself.
Here's one idea on how to begin the change you suggest: WWII movies and documentaries to be shown regularly in every grade from 5 through 12. Require children to see images of Nazi bulldozers burying dead Jews. Require them to see depictions of the D-Day invasions, the fire bombings, and the horrors of the Pacific theater. Make sure they watch films of Hitler's speeches as he was ascending to power and then taking control of a country. Require them to go to the DC Holocaust museum. Require them to see the pictures of dead soldiers on the beach, the burned out ruins of cities. Make sure they understand what real evil an violence looks and FEELS like.
Aug 16, 2022·edited Aug 16, 2022Liked by Rebecca Velo
What a great article! About 18 months ago I read Jonathan Haidt's book, The Coddling of the American Mind, and was blown away by what was happening on college campuses, e.g. Safe Spaces, Crying Closets, et al.
You nailed it with your opening "Sticks and Stones..." and then continued to point out the nonsense of such a flawed ideology.
And with reference to words being "violent" - the word water doesn't make you wet - and until it does, we need to stop propagating such nonsense.
Thank you so much for a well reasoned and written article. As one of those old Boomers who grew up Polish Catholic we were always taught to return violence with love, turn the other cheek and all. As a retired college professor (1973-2017) I saw students change with the generations but this generation has me stumped. How did we learn to be so intolerant of opinions we disagreed with? I enjoy a good challenge from someone who hears things differently than I said them. It happens after sermons often. I am enjoying engaging young and old in the parish I serve on staff. God is good! Thanks again! Padre Dave
There was a time when being offended was not just a legal justification for physical violence, but it was also expected you had to defend your honor against words. Men dueling over insults was a low point in western elitist society, and they knew it, which is why it went away. Now this is all about Marxism. It’s as simple as that - oppressed and oppressor.
This thread has gone far off topic. Certainly I am not blameless in this but it seems that the other topics should be discussed and considered in their own focused sessions. The Original topic raised by HDL merits a focused discussion without distraction.
So. I am "tapping out" so as to not distract from the key point raised in the OP.
I'm interested in practical tools that parents and teachers can use with their children to emphasize the value of free speech. My teen and tween have totally bought in to the idea that words are violence. A common refrain is, "I don't have to have a discussion with anyone who denies my human rights." We talk about this all the time, but my talking isn't getting through. Suggestions?
This is, oddly, a wonderful sign of how much of a violence-free society we live in. Can you imagine Ukrainian children thinking "Words are violence" after being shelled by invaders and seeing their neighbors raped and tortured? Picture the folks who have to hide when warlords or drug cartels come to their villages having an anxiety attack over a difference of political opinion? How about the Uighur's living in concentration camps doing slave labor? Or Taiwanese parents watching enemy rockets pass overhead? Ask older folks who live in the former Yugoslavia about violence. Or those who witnessed the Rwandan genocide first hand.
Do not worry - this sort of thing is self-limiting. The folks who indulge themselves with this will not have the resilience to accomplish much and will die out. The pendulum is swinging already.
Speech is not violence. Violence is violence. Democracies thrive when they teach the difference. Coerced silence only serves those of totalitarian bent.
I think people would do well to teach the classic formulation of free speech from Justice Brandeis in Whitney v California (1927). Brandenburg v Ohio (1969) explicitly overturned Whitney to further expand on the concept of free speech and what was allowed, namely that: The Court held that the government cannot punish inflammatory speech unless that speech is "directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action". it is talking about action here and not words.
But I really like the poetry and resonance of Brandeis's words to today's discussion about speech. "Those who won our independence believed . . . that public discussion is a political duty, and that this should be a fundamental principle of the American government. They recognized the risks to which all human institutions are subject. But they knew that order cannot be secured merely through fear of punishment for its infraction; that it is hazardous to discourage thought, hope and imagination; that fear breeds repression; that repression breeds hate; that hate menaces stable government; that the path of safety lies in the opportunity to discuss freely supposed grievances and proposed remedies, and that the fitting remedy for evil counsels is good ones. Believing in the power of reason as applied through public discussion, they eschewed silence coerced by law -- the argument of force in its worst form. Recognizing the occasional tyrannies of governing majorities, they amended the Constitution so that free speech and assembly should be guaranteed."
Most aren't really experiencing a real threat, they've just been taught to equate political opinions they oppose with hate. Let's call it what it is, a giant Marxist power grab; demonize people you disagree with and call their opinions violence in order to silence them and others; AND IT'S WORKING! And it's not just college students who are experiencing this, this woke sickness is playing itself out in almost every work place in this country. It's also the product of identity politics and rewarding victim status. For years now the Democratic party has promoted this hateful and divisive silencing, canceling, bullying, and slandering of people who dare to stray from the leftist cult narrative. And as much as I'm no big fan of Trump, I have to admit that he's the only Republican that has had the stones to bully these bullies back. That was his appeal and I have to admit that I understand why he was elected. People are fed up with this campaign of Democrat inspired violent protests, urban violence, anti cop, anti male, anti white, and anti American hatred and division. I know I am!
Minor quibble. I looked up the "cry closets". They do not appear to have been set up for safe space from dissenting opinions. They were set up for students on the verge of a nervous breakdown from finals. They were in the library so that students who had been frantically studying for 10 hours straight could take a ten-minute break to curl up and be emotional, then get their shit together and return to studying. That seems pretty reasonable, honestly.
The "free speech" warning sign was hilarious and alarming and a sign of the times. It's like history professors needing to post trigger warnings. OBVIOUSLY history will include the distressing stories and subjects. OBVIOUSLY walking across campus will include encountering different opinions. But we have a bunch of privileged, entitled people who have been taught that the entire world should be arranged to their comfort at all times, and they have a right to advance warning when it will vary from this "norm".
Tim's Maxim: Everyone is mostly wrong about everything always.
Diversity of thought and diversity of perspective are how we learn. All of us develop explanations for the things we experience. We constantly try to make sense of the world. However, our experiences are limited, our perceptions are flawed, and our cognitive faculties are compromised in many different ways. Listening to diverse perspectives is the way we can each challenge our own theories about the world. Alone, I am severely limited in what I can experience and know. Alone to my own, unexamined thoughts I can be of little use to my community.
My concern as an American is simply this:
If the goal of the so called justice warriors is to eliminate all speech, symbols, or so called triggers that send them into a freency, search for the crying room, or demanding someone be silenced, and basically destroy the American foundation. Then eventually the country becomes weak willed and able to be told what and how to conduct themselves.
So you eventually play into the bullies hands, think China and Russia. Ask the Uyghurs or others how much tyrants care about your feelings? These same justice warriors will be the first for identification and re-education. See decent is not allowed and neither is your feelings and wants. You simply exist at the pleasure and choosing of the Government. So if they ever get their wish, I hope the last thing on their mind is, "What the Hell was I thinking"?
The US is becoming a nation of wimps who run and cry whenever their feelings are hurt (see "The Coddling of the American Mind" by Haidt and Lukianoff). The people who will survive and prosper and lead in America are the ones who are willing to listen to others' opinions and either have the fortitude to change their own minds or the critical thinking abilities that are required to counter these other opinions. Open discourse is critical to maturity. I'm just glad I'm not a kid in the 21st century, and I'm thankful to have been raised to deal with these slights, which, in most cases, are very slight.
This is very reasonable and well-argued. As long as disagreements are civil they should be voiced. Not saying what one thinks does harm—and not just to oneself.
Life doesn't come with a trigger warning or cry closets... life is violence!! I feel unsafe and someone needs to do something!!! /s
In all seriousness, thank you for this piece!
Good column.
Here's one idea on how to begin the change you suggest: WWII movies and documentaries to be shown regularly in every grade from 5 through 12. Require children to see images of Nazi bulldozers burying dead Jews. Require them to see depictions of the D-Day invasions, the fire bombings, and the horrors of the Pacific theater. Make sure they watch films of Hitler's speeches as he was ascending to power and then taking control of a country. Require them to go to the DC Holocaust museum. Require them to see the pictures of dead soldiers on the beach, the burned out ruins of cities. Make sure they understand what real evil an violence looks and FEELS like.
What a great article! About 18 months ago I read Jonathan Haidt's book, The Coddling of the American Mind, and was blown away by what was happening on college campuses, e.g. Safe Spaces, Crying Closets, et al.
You nailed it with your opening "Sticks and Stones..." and then continued to point out the nonsense of such a flawed ideology.
And with reference to words being "violent" - the word water doesn't make you wet - and until it does, we need to stop propagating such nonsense.
Thanks for writing!
Thank you so much for a well reasoned and written article. As one of those old Boomers who grew up Polish Catholic we were always taught to return violence with love, turn the other cheek and all. As a retired college professor (1973-2017) I saw students change with the generations but this generation has me stumped. How did we learn to be so intolerant of opinions we disagreed with? I enjoy a good challenge from someone who hears things differently than I said them. It happens after sermons often. I am enjoying engaging young and old in the parish I serve on staff. God is good! Thanks again! Padre Dave
There was a time when being offended was not just a legal justification for physical violence, but it was also expected you had to defend your honor against words. Men dueling over insults was a low point in western elitist society, and they knew it, which is why it went away. Now this is all about Marxism. It’s as simple as that - oppressed and oppressor.
This thread has gone far off topic. Certainly I am not blameless in this but it seems that the other topics should be discussed and considered in their own focused sessions. The Original topic raised by HDL merits a focused discussion without distraction.
So. I am "tapping out" so as to not distract from the key point raised in the OP.
I'm interested in practical tools that parents and teachers can use with their children to emphasize the value of free speech. My teen and tween have totally bought in to the idea that words are violence. A common refrain is, "I don't have to have a discussion with anyone who denies my human rights." We talk about this all the time, but my talking isn't getting through. Suggestions?
I know I have to work very hard to show civility and common decency to a Biden supporter. Man, it can be exhausting...