The Answer To Speech You Dislike Is More Speech
Not shouting down or covering up others' speech, as Muslim activist Mona Eltahawy did in the New York City subway.
The more eloquent you become, the better a champion you are of your cause, as the late Christopher Hitchens was for every cause he supported. At a lit fest dinner in Italy, he told me that he debated so well because he would make it a point to be able to argue the other side's beliefs better than they could.
Appropriately, the most recent book of his work that's been published is Arguably: Essays by Christopher Hitchens.







Mortality is actually the most recent of his published works.
Note from Amy: Thanks -- was a little tired when I posted this. I rebuilt this link to go through my Amazon Associates account.
Ben at September 25, 2012 11:33 PM
Amazing video that echoes what happened in Vancouver a couple of weeks ago when feminists tore down approved posters put up my a men's rights group and claimed they were doing that in the name of their free speech.
It was a bit of RL and Internet drama about two weeks ago, and at 7:00 into this video, a man says that preventing him from tearing a poster down (in Canada) violates his free speech.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Jz63_lGuSE#t=419s
Here's another youtube video that is interesting but perhaps more interesting if anyone is insane enough to want to figure out what happened two weeks ago is the links below it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCil9YtIptg
jerry at September 26, 2012 1:36 AM
After you finished watching Mona's arrest, our 2nd feature is this snippet from Monty Python and the Holy Grail:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS_1bzaj2fw
Come and see the violence inherent in the system. Help, help, I'm being repressed.
jerry at September 26, 2012 1:38 AM
Mona Eltahawy is a numbskull. She seems to have forgotten that if she and her friends were successful, she would be wrapped in a black bag, with only her eyes showing, as one possibility.
mpetrie98 at September 26, 2012 2:38 AM
If covering other people's speech is speech, then why isn't the other lady putting herself between the poster and Eltahawy speech?
NicoleK at September 26, 2012 5:01 AM
Here's another video of the same event:
http://gawker.com/5946535/journalist-mona-eltahawy-arrested-in-new-york-for-spray-painting-over-pamela-gellers-racist-subway-poster
I love the look on Mona's face as she is arrested - such a look of disbelief! Poor girl, doesn't know what the eff just smack her alongside her numbskull peabrain.
Charles at September 26, 2012 10:35 AM
"She seems to have forgotten that if she and her friends were successful, she would be wrapped in a black bag, with only her eyes showing, as one possibility."
People like that always think that in an oppressive system, they will be the ones on top. Almost makes we wish we could have an oppressive system for five minutes.
Cousin Dave at September 26, 2012 1:53 PM
I know I'll never be able to find it. There is a scene I remember from the original "V" science fiction series/movie.
There were kids vandalizing V posters by randomly spray painting over the V booster posters. An old man came up and said that wasn't the way to do it. He grabbed the teenagers hand and stopped him, then guided the kid to do a red V on the posters. You could see a Holocaust tattoo on the old man's arm.
Arguing against a religion is not the answer. Arguing against the policies required of that religion or non-religion is the answer. The way Waco (David Koresh) was handled had issues. The Oklahoma City bombing was also wrong.
Basically -- any blasphemy laws are saying that one opinion is better than another opinion. Saying an opinion exists in this book does not make it a fact.
Jim P. at September 26, 2012 8:27 PM
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