Poll: 71% of Americans Say Political Correctness Has Silenced Discussions Society Needs to Have, 58% Have Political Views They’re Afraid to Share
Posted: November 1, 2017 Filed under: Censorship, Think Tank | Tags: CATO, Conservative, Free speech, Freedom of Expression, Intolerance, Liberal, Opinions, Politically Correct, Tolerance 1 CommentEmily Ekins reports: The Cato 2017 Free Speech and Tolerance Survey, a new national poll of 2,300 U.S. adults, finds that 71% Americans believe that political correctness has silenced important discussions our society needs to have. The consequences are personal—58%
of Americans believe the political climate prevents them from sharing their own political beliefs.
Democrats are unique, however, in that a slim majority (53%) do not feel the need to self-censor. Conversely, strong majorities of Republicans (73%) and independents (58%) say they keep some political beliefs to themselves.
[Full survey results and report found here.]
It follows that a solid majority (59%) of Americans think people should be allowed to express unpopular opinions in public, even those deeply offensive to others.
[Also see – Free Speech in the Good War]
On the other hand, 40% think government should prevent hate speech. Despite this, the survey also found Americans willing to censor, regulate, or punish a wide variety of speech and expression they personally find offensive:
- 51% of staunch liberals say it’s “morally acceptable” to punch Nazis.
- 53% of Republicans favor stripping U.S. citizenship from people who burn the American flag.
- 51% of Democrats support a law that requires Americans use transgender people’s preferred gender pronouns.
- 65% of Republicans say NFL players should be fired if they refuse to stand for the anthem.
- 58% of Democrats say employers should punish employees for offensive Facebook posts.
- 47% of Republicans favor bans on building new mosques.
Americans also can’t agree what speech is hateful, offensive, or simply a political opinion:
- 59% of liberals say it’s hate speech to say transgender people have a mental disorder; only 17% of conservatives agree.
- 39% of conservatives believe it’s hate speech to say the police are racist; only 17% of liberals agree.
- 80% of liberals say it’s hateful or offensive to say illegal immigrants should be deported; only 36% of conservatives agree.
- 87% of liberals say it’s hateful or offensive to say women shouldn’t fight in military combat roles, while 47% of conservatives agree.
- 90% of liberals say it’s hateful or offensive to say homosexuality is a sin, while 47% of conservatives agree.
Americans Oppose Hate Speech Bans, But Say Hate Speech is Morally Unacceptable
Although Americans oppose (59%) outright bans on public hate speech, that doesn’t mean they think hate speech is acceptable. Read the rest of this entry »
‘If you’re a lawyer arguing against free speech at the Supreme Court, be prepared to lose’
Posted: June 19, 2017 Filed under: Law & Justice, U.S. News | Tags: Berkeley, David French, First Amendment to the United States Constitution, Freedom of Expression, Freedom of speech, Lawsuit, Liberty, National Review, SCOTUS, Ted Wheeler, United States, University of California Leave a commentFree Speech Wins (Again) at the Supreme Court
David French writes:
… Given existing First Amendment jurisprudence, there would have been a constitutional earthquake if SCOTUS hadn’t ruled for Tam. The Court has long held that the Constitution protects all but the narrowest categories of speech. Yet time and again, governments (including colleges) have tried to regulate “offensive” speech. Time and again, SCOTUS has defended free expression. Today was no exception. Writing for a unanimous Court, Justice Alito noted that the Patent and Trademark Office was essentially arguing that “the Government has an interest in preventing speech expressing ideas that offend.” His response was decisive:
[A]s we have explained, that idea strikes at the heart of the First Amendment. Speech that demeans on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, disability, or any other similar ground is hateful; but the proudest boast of our free speech jurisprudence is that we protect the freedom to express “the thought that we hate.”
Quick, someone alert the snowflakes shouting down speeches on campus or rushing stages in New York. There is no constitutional exception for so-called “hate speech.”
Indeed, governments are under an obligation to protect controversial expression. Every justice agrees. The ruling is worth celebrating, but when law and culture diverge, culture tends to win. The law protects free speech as strongly as it ever has. The culture, however … (read more)
Source: National Review
In two First Amendment rulings released this week, the justices argue they’re saving would-be censors from themselves.
Matt Ford reports: The U.S. Supreme Court handed down two notable victories for free-speech advocates on Monday as it nears the end of its current term. The two First Amendment cases came to the Court from starkly different circumstances, but the justices emphasized a similar theme in both rulings: Beware what the free-speech restrictions of today could be used to justify tomorrow.
In the first case, Matal v. Tam, the Court sided with an Asian-American rock band in Oregon named The Slants in a dispute with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The PTO had denied band member Simon Tam’s application to register the group’s name as a trademark, citing a provision in federal law that prohibits the office from recognizing those that “disparage” or “bring … into contempt or disrepute” any “persons, living or dead.” Read the rest of this entry »
[VIDEO] Five Clichés Used to Attack Free Speech
Posted: June 16, 2017 Filed under: Censorship, Crime & Corruption, History, Mediasphere, Politics, Think Tank, U.S. News | Tags: Antifa, Donald Trump, First Amendment, Free speech, Freedom of Expression, news, Nick Gillespie, Radical Left, Reason (magazine), Reason.tv, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, video Leave a comment
[VIDEO] What’s Wrong With Canada’s Islamophobia Motion? A Muslim Answers
Posted: April 6, 2017 Filed under: Censorship, Law & Justice, Mediasphere | Tags: Canada, Clarion Project, Free speech, Freedom of Expression, Islam, Islamofacsism, Islamophobia, Jihadism, Muslim Brotherhood, Raheel Raza, Sharia Law, video Leave a commentClarion’s Raheel Raza is unhappy with what she sees as a challenge to free speech, something enshrined in Canadian law.
[VIDEO] Roger Scruton: Offensive Jokes
Posted: February 26, 2017 Filed under: Humor, Mediasphere, Think Tank | Tags: 1st Amendment, Free speech, Freedom of Expression, Jokes, Offensive Jokes, Roger Scruton, Speech Codes, Tolerance, video Leave a commentMythical Voltaire’s Free Speech for Millennials
Posted: May 15, 2015 Filed under: Censorship, Education, Humor, Mediasphere, Politics | Tags: Academia, college, First Amendment, Free speech, Freedom of Expression, hate speech, Neo-Victorian, Political Correctness, Progressivism, Speech Codes, The Enlightenment, University Leave a commentImagine Theres No YouTube
Posted: September 25, 2012 Filed under: Mediasphere | Tags: First Amendment, Freedom of Expression, Global, journalism, media, YouTube Leave a commentAs protests against “The Innocence of Muslims” video span the globe – and U.S. officials pressure YouTube’s owner Google to restrict free expression – Remy imagines a world where politicians cave to angry mobs and dictate what we can see on YouTube.
Written and performed by Remy. Produced by Meredith Bragg.
About 2:30 minutes.