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A message from Nico Perrino with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression:

In recent years, FIRE has been accused — incorrectly — of being a conservative organization. We’ve defended conservative students from censorship on college campuses, and we reject the idea that “hate speech” is equivalent to violence. So those who don’t understand free speech sometimes lump us in with the right.

But now the pendulum is swinging in the other direction.

Some conservatives now see “woke” as the new boogeyman. In response, some Republican-controlled states, like Florida and Texas, are trying to ban ideas they don’t like. Naturally, a number of conservatives are calling us left-wing because we’re against their censorship.

Here’s what FIRE is actually all about: the defense of free speech for everyone. No exceptions. 

One day we defended pro-life students, whose funding the University of North Carolina threatened to pull. The next day, we fought for pro-choice activists in South Carolina, where the legislature tried to ban speech about abortion.

We don’t care about politics, and that’s something partisans will never understand.

But if both the left and right abandon free speech, what are true free speech defenders supposed to do? 

It’s simple: band together. 

For just $25 annually, you can be a card-carrying member of FIRE. Not only does membership grant you exclusive perks, but your donation will also help us defend our clients’ free speech rights in the court of law, spread the word about why free speech must be protected in the court of public opinion, and put pressure on those trying to silence views they don’t like. 

As a member of FIRE, you’ll be among the principled few who defend free speech without fear or favor, who fight for the rights of everyone — even their political opponents — to express themselves.

Our cause can be a lonely one, but we will never betray our commitment to the First Amendment.

Are you with us?

Bombing the Library

Okay, I confess: that was a baity title. I have not in fact bombed any libraries, nor do I plan to. But I did drop a couple truth bombs into a library censorship debate the other night.

Organized by Braver Angels, it posed, "Resolved: Don’t ban or censor books at schools or public libraries for patrons sixth grade and older." By the time I got my turn to speak, about fifteen minutes before the scheduled conclusion, many people had spoken on either side, yet not one had been willing to question the assumption that young people "can't handle" sexual information to the same degree as adults. I corrected that omission.

After noting that my adolescent experience with a political cult had given me a particular interest in the practice of milieu control, of which I consider library censorship to be a form, I recounted the fact that at the age of ten I had read the Chester Himes sex farce Pinktoes, and that it had done me no harm whatsoever. I observed that this had been over half a century ago, and that if I were going to be traumatized it should have happened by now, so I'm not holding my breath.

I concluded by pointing out that a study of adolescent boys who'd looked at pornography found that the only negative effect they experienced was anxiety about what their parents would think.

Unfortunately, just moments afterward my phone died, so I don't know whether anyone reacted to my remarks. But I believe a video will be made available, probably within the next few weeks.

Standing Together Webinar This Sunday!

The binational Israeli peace and justice organization Standing Together is holding a webinar this Sunday, 12/17/23, to inform supporters about their organizing efforts. As the invitation states:

After over two months of war, death, and destruction, where do we go from here? Join us on Sunday December 17th (1pm EST / 8pm Jerusalem) for a webinar, where you'll meet members of Standing Together to hear about the work we're doing on the ground to build an alternative of peace, equality and justice from within Israeli society. If you have already registered for our webinar, we ask you to register again on the following link to receive a reminder and the event's link automatically from the event's platform.

REGISTER TO OUR WEBINAR HERE

We are entering a new phase, past the immediate emergency reaction to the war, and toward preparing for the day after. When this war ends, another war will begin within Israeli society - a war over what kind of society we will be and what future we are headed towards. Our future depends on what kind of political partnership we can lead as Palestinians and Jews in Israel, and we are building one that is based on solidarity, equality, mutual recognition and justice. Our role moving forward is to strengthen and expand this partnership and model for a future society from the ground up, through developing new leadership across the country, organizing and mobilizing Palestinians and Jews around these ideas, and expanding our support base within Israeli society. This is no easy feat - we are up against powerful extremists who benefit from increasing division and fear in Israeli society.

Social media training session for students in Jerusalem.

We are focusing on increasing our training sessions across the country, where we provide people with tools to organize their communities towards political action, solidarity, and social justice. In addition, we have begun to organize communications and social media training with groups in various cities discussing how best to spread political messages and shift public opinion. As a social movement, we believe that the best way to build a social movement around shared ideas is not to speak down to people from a moral high ground, but rather to meet the public where it’s at and address the common interests of the society. These training sessions answer the growing demand of people searching for more effective ways to communicate ideas and influence public opinion by taking an in-depth look at how to communicate ideas in a way that addresses people’s common interests and increases support - rather than isolating people who may initially disagree.

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