This reminds me of the old Wizard of Id cartoon: "The peasants are revolting--you can say that again." Except nowadays it is the elites that are revolting!
It's more like the Stazi every day. And it is the woke Looney Left that is embracing this. The far-right degenerates into fascism and the far-left in totalitarianism. Those of us who are anti-authoritarian are getting hit from both sides.
You and FIRE are doing an immense public service Greg. These assaults on the constitutional rights of American citizens require the complicity of practicing attorneys and exposes the depth and breadth of the rot in our systems. Officers of the court should be defending the first amendment, not destroying it. I suspect that contempt for freedom of expression is nurtured at law schools and spreads like a virus.
Re: "Bias reporting systems in some states, like Connecticut, let you report things you weren’t even there to witness yourself." This allows dubious rumors and hearsay to be the basis of complaints. If you allow complaints based on evidence like "People [unspecified] are saying Bob said X", the reliability of the witness and their recollection can't be tested.
Also, for these incidents which are recorded, is there any type of hearing? Or is the allegation deemed to be founded?
One big problem we have now is that our society has become low-trust. This is not good for civic life in general.
A hotline to nark on your neighbors will only make that worse.
Of course, since this doesn't rise to the level of criminality (yet) the right to confront one's accuser doesn't exist. As a matter of fact, is there any kind of appeal system to begin with?
But I guess this would be great data for a social-credit system!
Who in government is responsible for this scheme? We need to name those names. Someone(s) signed off on this.
This is awful. It's also important to note that the new administration has announced that federal workers will be punished if they DON'T turn in their colleagues (who aren't complying with anti- DEI policy.)
Greg, this to me is one of the most important posts in all your work. The whole idea that where we live we report and turn in our fellow citizens - turn them in to agents of the state - Thank you Greg for all you are doing at FIRE!!!!!!
Thank you for this important information Greg! Your book the Coddling of American Mind was so enlightening for me! Keep up the important work! I’d be honored if you’d be willing to consider to come on my podcast to discuss this ideas! 🎧
This lunacy is imported straight from the UK and their loony "non-crime hate incident" reporting. Not surprised the woke totalitarians would swarm all over this.
Reminds me of "The Lives of Others." If y'all haven't seen this movie, do. It's about how the East German population responded to the speech, etc. laws policed by the Stasi. I understand it is often rated as the most popular movie amongst conservatives ...
👏👏👏👏The unfortunate aspect of this trend is that I am not surprised. Keep up the good work at FIRE by not only highlighting these abuses and challenging them in court but also shouting the message from the rooftops. Our guardian and defender decades ago was the ACLU, but unfortunately they have wandered into the woke wilderness. My contributions to FIRE ever since it was founded have provided some of the best ROI of any of my philanthropic endeavors.
Love this Gregg. I'm worried about this too, especially in the context of Israel/Palestine politics on campus. Is free speech really free if wrongspeak can get the police or ICE knocking at your door?
Thanks for this update/reminder, Greg. I live in Washington state and am inclined to have chats with legislators now that a new session has begun.
This is just revolting.
This reminds me of th eold Wizard of Id cartoon: The peasants are revolting--you can say that again: https://www.amazon.com/Peasants-Are-Revolting-Wizard-ID/dp/0449124037 --except now it is the elite that are revolting!
This reminds me of the old Wizard of Id cartoon: "The peasants are revolting--you can say that again." Except nowadays it is the elites that are revolting!
https://www.amazon.com/Peasants-Are-Revolting-Wizard-ID/dp/0449124037
It's more like the Stazi every day. And it is the woke Looney Left that is embracing this. The far-right degenerates into fascism and the far-left in totalitarianism. Those of us who are anti-authoritarian are getting hit from both sides.
YES, WE ARE!
You and FIRE are doing an immense public service Greg. These assaults on the constitutional rights of American citizens require the complicity of practicing attorneys and exposes the depth and breadth of the rot in our systems. Officers of the court should be defending the first amendment, not destroying it. I suspect that contempt for freedom of expression is nurtured at law schools and spreads like a virus.
Re: "Bias reporting systems in some states, like Connecticut, let you report things you weren’t even there to witness yourself." This allows dubious rumors and hearsay to be the basis of complaints. If you allow complaints based on evidence like "People [unspecified] are saying Bob said X", the reliability of the witness and their recollection can't be tested.
Also, for these incidents which are recorded, is there any type of hearing? Or is the allegation deemed to be founded?
One big problem we have now is that our society has become low-trust. This is not good for civic life in general.
A hotline to nark on your neighbors will only make that worse.
Of course, since this doesn't rise to the level of criminality (yet) the right to confront one's accuser doesn't exist. As a matter of fact, is there any kind of appeal system to begin with?
But I guess this would be great data for a social-credit system!
Who in government is responsible for this scheme? We need to name those names. Someone(s) signed off on this.
Bull's eye, jabster, about the low trust not being good for civic life!
It's like an episode out of "Black Mirror."
In fact, I think it was an episode in "Black Mirror"!
This is awful. It's also important to note that the new administration has announced that federal workers will be punished if they DON'T turn in their colleagues (who aren't complying with anti- DEI policy.)
Greg, this to me is one of the most important posts in all your work. The whole idea that where we live we report and turn in our fellow citizens - turn them in to agents of the state - Thank you Greg for all you are doing at FIRE!!!!!!
These terrible ideas are being floated in Canada too. This idiocy is playing out in the UK with their Non-Crime Hate Incident reporting. Its insane.
Thank you for this important information Greg! Your book the Coddling of American Mind was so enlightening for me! Keep up the important work! I’d be honored if you’d be willing to consider to come on my podcast to discuss this ideas! 🎧
This lunacy is imported straight from the UK and their loony "non-crime hate incident" reporting. Not surprised the woke totalitarians would swarm all over this.
Absolutely, shamefully UN-American.
Reminds me of "The Lives of Others." If y'all haven't seen this movie, do. It's about how the East German population responded to the speech, etc. laws policed by the Stasi. I understand it is often rated as the most popular movie amongst conservatives ...
👏👏👏👏The unfortunate aspect of this trend is that I am not surprised. Keep up the good work at FIRE by not only highlighting these abuses and challenging them in court but also shouting the message from the rooftops. Our guardian and defender decades ago was the ACLU, but unfortunately they have wandered into the woke wilderness. My contributions to FIRE ever since it was founded have provided some of the best ROI of any of my philanthropic endeavors.
Thank you for your support!
Great article.
Do these states allow anonymous snitching? Or do the snitches have to snitch on themselves?
Love this Gregg. I'm worried about this too, especially in the context of Israel/Palestine politics on campus. Is free speech really free if wrongspeak can get the police or ICE knocking at your door?