Here’s how the Cambridge Dictionary defines hate speech: “public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation.”
I have frequently challenged Andy Norris on this platform and I imagine that might put me on Andy’s list of “war pigs.” So what?
I submit that whatever you may think of them, many of Andy’s comments reflect HIS hatred toward things in our society that actually ARE NOT right. He’s not encouraging YOU to hate. Does he go way, way overboard in how he expresses himself? Yes, indeed. Is he too captivated by shiny conspiracy theories, e.g. chemtrails? Yup.
But here’s my point: expression has value and silence can be complicity.
One of the downsides of our utopian tri-village community is that we spend too much effort trying to turn it into a virtual gated community, free from the weight of the world. The latest example on this platform was a request by john@bainassociatesinc.com to “depoliticize [BBQ]… so that it can serve the needs of the users without triggering acrimony or conflict.”
We LIVE in an era of acrimony, conflict and loss of basic rights! How does it serve us to ban any mention of this in a public forum?
Grow a spine! Far worse is yet to come.
Gene Dieken
