Subj : Re: Computer Kits To : Jeff From : boraxman Date : Mon Jan 31 2022 19:16:21 Je> So you're saying that passing judgment on others is ok, but having Je> judgment passed on oneself for passing judgment on others is not? Je> Interesting. Je> Passing judgement is fine. What you cannot do is FORCE or COERCE someone. You are not entitled to make other people believe what you want them to believe. You and I probably disagree politically, but I will NOT try to get you fired, doxxed, exposed, or lead others who are prone to violence to your personal details. I do not have to approve if you, nor you of me. But we have to respect each others right to free expression, and to live our lives the way we see fit. I don't think we disagree here. Je> No one is "policing" what you think. In terms of actual "policing," your Je> speech is largely protected (with a few exceptions) from legal Je> consequences. In terms of metaphorical "policing," your speech is Je> nowhere guaranteed to be protected from social consequences. Je> Lynch mobs is vigilante justice. Extra-judicial punishment. People are policing speech by acting as if they were the state, and taking on rights and responsibilities they do not have the right to take on. Je> Only if you feel that you are entitled to a forum and an audience for Je> your speech, and believe that free speech should be free of Je> consequences, neither of which is true. Je> Je> Social pressure can be used for good or evil. It's how a society Je> self-regulates, whether that society is a national population or a Je> bowling league. Je> It is also how society stagnates, and becomes authoritarian, despotic and violent. In the West, we've learned through experience that freedom of expression is an overall good. Supression of speech just doesn't work out well. Ever. It doesn't matter how 'noble' the attempt is, once people start using coercion to maintain an orthodoxy, things turn south. Je> as I'm aware, we're not talking about people being murdered for Je> expressing unpopular views on social media. Je> Je> Perhaps a more appropriate example would be the blacklisting of accused Je> socialists by the House Committee on Un-American Activities during the Je> McCarthy era, although that was more than social pressure in that it had Je> the force of government behind it. Je> The same thing is going on now. AOC wanted a LIST of people who supported Trump to take action against them! Neither the blacklisting back then, or now, should be condoned. Once you're making blacklists of people for beliefs, you're evil. Period. Je> The cases we're dealing with don't involve this sort of evil. Comparing a Je> boycott to, for example, the Chinese Cultural Revolution is a massive Je> exaggeration. Je> I didn't compare it to the Chinese Cultural Revolution. But things could turn that bad in the USA, I really do think so, because "Cancel Culture" uses the same techniques and justifications. --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/11/06 (Linux/64) * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101) .