Alito and the 1st amendment

[*Nately120*]

(10-28-2022, 02:25 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: Oh, I agree.  Accumulation of wealth, especially once you reach a certain point is not exactly a herculean undertaking.  There are very few people in the public square that I would say I admire.  Being a billionaire is certainly not a prerequisite.

Well, whether it is hard or not doesn't matter as much.  Hell, I'd have a hard time finding heroin but that doesn't mean it's a worthwhile pursuit.  We have an unhealthy obsession with money and people with money.  I compare it to heroin because both can become the only thing you live for and the pursuit of it can cost you your family and your sanity.  It can be the last thing you think about the moment you die.

But if it is money that you live for, people will find it admirable.  Of course, we do find reasons to disregard the views of the rich that we don't agree with.  Cue Pink Floyd, I guess.

I mean, what is Elon Musk doing that I'm not doing right now for cheaper?  Avoiding work to post stuff on the internet for no reason that I'd be happier if I didn't post in the first place.

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

(10-28-2022, 02:37 PM)Nately120 Wrote: Well, whether it is hard or not doesn't matter as much.  Hell, I'd have a hard time finding heroin but that doesn't mean it's a worthwhile pursuit.  We have an unhealthy obsession with money and people with money.  I compare it to heroin because both can become the only thing you live for and the pursuit of it can cost you your family and your sanity.  It can be the last thing you think about the moment you die.

But if it is money that you live for, people will find it admirable.  Of course, we do find reasons to disregard the views of the rich that we don't agree with.  Cue Pink Floyd, I guess.

I mean, what is Elon Musk doing that I'm not doing right now for cheaper?  Avoiding work to post stuff on the internet for no reason that I'd be happier if I didn't post in the first place.

The man probably spend less than an hour on Twitter a day, but I, of course, have no way of knowing exactly how much.  Regardless, it does not appear to prevent him from running his empire effectively.  Either way, I don't care at all.

[Belsnickel]

(10-28-2022, 02:17 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: But that's a threat to our democracy!!!!

I've never understood the desire for censorship on those platforms. I understood why censorship occurs, because in order to have investors and advertisers there usually needs to be some degree of it, but I don't care what gets posted on there. We will never expunge the hate from the world and the idiots will always find a way to have their circle jerks, so why should we expend resources trying to prevent the inevitable?

[*Nately120*]

(10-28-2022, 02:42 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: The man probably spend less than an hour on Twitter a day, but I, of course, have no way of knowing exactly how much.  Regardless, it does not appear to prevent him from running his empire effectively.  Either way, I don't care at all.

I feel like this whole statement is up for debate, but who knows.  Personally, I find the whole façade of "free speech" to be handy in giving people an excuse to out themselves for who they really are and then we can all watch as they grapple with the consequences of their ignorance of their own rights.

Think of how many of the capitol insurrection/rioters/peaceful-people-who-did-nothing-wrong would have skated if they hadn't been given a "free" platform to post upon in Parler (I think it was Parler) that instantly sold them out to the FBI.  Stuff gets interesting when you give people enough rope, I guess.

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

(10-28-2022, 02:43 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: I've never understood the desire for censorship on those platforms. I understood why censorship occurs, because in order to have investors and advertisers there usually needs to be some degree of it, but I don't care what gets posted on there. We will never expunge the hate from the world and the idiots will always find a way to have their circle jerks, so why should we expend resources trying to prevent the inevitable?

Agreed, and it sadly goes in cycles.  Whichever side feels ascendant appears to naturally want to curtail the speech of the other side.  I've had several cousins get very upset when I pointed out they used the Ben Franklin quote about liberty and security when decrying the Patriot Act which directly contradicts their position on the 2A, "hate speech" and online censorship.  

When you can see people arrested and jailed for posting opinions online in what are supposed to be first world democracies and not be alarmed by the implications I don't know what to do for you.  After all, the worm always turns and this type of action is a double edged sword.  

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

(10-28-2022, 02:46 PM)Nately120 Wrote: I feel like this whole statement is up for debate, but who knows.  Personally, I find the whole façade of "free speech" to be handy in giving people an excuse to out themselves for who they really are and then we can all watch as they grapple with the consequences of their ignorance of their own rights.

Think of how many of the capitol insurrection/rioters/peaceful-people-who-did-nothing-wrong would have skated if they hadn't been given a "free" platform to post upon in Parler (I think it was Parler) that instantly sold them out to the FBI.  Stuff gets interesting when you give people enough rope, I guess.

Work in my job and the your second paragraph becomes a daily occurrence.

[Belsnickel]

(10-28-2022, 02:49 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: Agreed, and it sadly goes in cycles.  Whichever side feels ascendant appears to naturally want to curtail the speech of the other side.  I've had several cousins get very upset when I pointed out they used the Ben Franklin quote about liberty and security when decrying the Patriot Act which directly contradicts their position on the 2A, "hate speech" and online censorship.  

When you can see people arrested and jailed for posting opinions online in what are supposed to be first world democracies and not be alarmed by the implications I don't know what to do for you.  After all, the worm always turns and this type of action is a double edged sword.  

I hate seeing that Franklin quote bandied about. It is never used with its appropriate context. I see it from all sides and I just want to lecture everyone using it wrong.

[*Nately120*]

(10-28-2022, 02:53 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: I hate seeing that Franklin quote bandied about. It is never used with its appropriate context. I see it from all sides and I just want to lecture everyone using it wrong.

I exclusively reserve my right to free speech as it pertains to me misquoting and misunderstanding things.  Fortunate Son being a song about how awesome Trump is, for example.  That's where it's at.

[SunsetBengal]

(10-28-2022, 02:43 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: I've never understood the desire for censorship on those platforms. I understood why censorship occurs, because in order to have investors and advertisers there usually needs to be some degree of it, but I don't care what gets posted on there. We will never expunge the hate from the world and the idiots will always find a way to have their circle jerks, so why should we expend resources trying to prevent the inevitable?

I blame it on the petty tyrants spawned in academia. 

[Belsnickel]

(10-28-2022, 03:34 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: I blame it on the petty tyrants spawned in academia. 

Which is especially funny to me, because the academics I know are the most ardent supporters of free speech. Their academic freedom is of utmost importance to them, after all.

[*Nately120*]

(10-28-2022, 03:35 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: Which is especially funny to me, because the academics I know are the most ardent supporters of free speech. Their academic freedom is of utmost importance to them, after all.

I will say that the concept of "supporting freedom" has become so co-opted by political and marketing forces that it, on it's surface, has lost much of its meaning.  Freedom and truth fall in the same bucket for me...people say they want them, but their actions speak otherwise.  

I figure the best way to show you love freedom is to list all the things people are free to do that you disagree with or don't like.

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

(10-28-2022, 03:35 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: Which is especially funny to me, because the academics I know are the most ardent supporters of free speech. Their academic freedom is of utmost importance to them, after all.

I wish that were true everywhere, because it certainly isn't here.  A very close friend of mine is a professor at a private college her in CA, and he reports the exact opposite.  Then I look at the sad shell of the ACLU and I don't think the trend on the left is in support of free speech.  I'd be happy to be wrong.

[*Nately120*]

(10-28-2022, 03:53 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: I wish that were true everywhere, because it certainly isn't here.  A very close friend of mine is a professor at a private college her in CA, and he reports the exact opposite.  Then I look at the sad shell of the ACLU and I don't think the trend on the left is in support of free speech.  I'd be happy to be wrong.

I can tell you that freedom doesn't exactly reign supreme here in rural PA, either.  Maybe the extreme poles never like that stuff.

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

(10-28-2022, 03:58 PM)Nately120 Wrote: I can tell you that freedom doesn't exactly reign supreme here in rural PA, either.  Maybe the extreme poles never like that stuff.

I have no doubt and I would agree.

[*Nately120*]

(10-28-2022, 04:00 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: I have no doubt and I would agree.

I see the concept of freedom being one that has entered that "what's in it for me?" realm of marketing.  We're gleeful hypocrites about it.  I love freedom, but I also want to reduce certain freedoms because some freedoms are bad, and I'm free to vote for that because this is a free country.

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

(10-28-2022, 12:40 PM)GMDino Wrote: 2) Because apparently they whole "he spends too much time here" thing still is bug up people's behind and that amuses me. 

It is worth noting that you're a Steelers fan and thus aren't eligible to post in the far-and-away most popular part of this site, yet I think you've still got the most posts of any member on a Bengals message board. So there might be a grain of truth to that.

[*pally*]

(10-29-2022, 03:29 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: It is worth noting that you're a Steelers fan and thus aren't eligible to post in the far-and-away most popular part of this site, yet I think you've still got the most posts of any member on a Bengals message board. So there might be a grain of truth to that.

Oddly enough, considering the topic of this thread, the member with the most posts is the now banned/censored Fredtoast. He posted something the board owners and administrators felt violated the terms of agreement he accepted when he signed up and thus they removed him. Just like Twitter removes members who continually violated their terms of service. Their playground…their rules.
The government cannot make laws abridging free speech but private business sure can. And that is the part that gets left out of this discussion. Twitter and other social media platforms get to set the rules of engagement. They can be as loose or as tight as they choose. Only their stockholders and advertisers have any real power to change that