Conor Friedersdorf

Conor Friedersdorf @conor64

@rasmansa @ijbailey @ouhbick @AnneCW They have all had their ability to express themselves partially constrained, some justifiably, others not, and that cost is the reason we care in cases where it is unwarranted or unfair. — PolitiTweet.org

Conor Friedersdorf @conor64

@rasmansa @ijbailey @ouhbick @AnneCW Or to get closer to the worker walkout case, if the security guards at a college said at the last minute before a sold out event, "we refuse to provide security for that speaker because she criticized the police" would that not undermine free expression? — PolitiTweet.org

Conor Friedersdorf @conor64

@rasmansa @ijbailey @ouhbick @AnneCW I don't understand how you can dispute the claim that some legal speech is a threat to free expression. If someone says, "Twitter should deplatform people of French, German, Nigerian, and Korean descent," does that view not threaten the free expression of those groups? — PolitiTweet.org

Conor Friedersdorf @conor64

@rasmansa @ijbailey @ouhbick @AnneCW Then why the objections when I say that the theater workers engaged in expressive behavior that was legal, and thus fair play in that sense, but also worthy of criticism, because of its implications for free expression? — PolitiTweet.org

Conor Friedersdorf @conor64

@rasmansa @ijbailey @ouhbick @AnneCW Would it be "fair play"? — PolitiTweet.org

Conor Friedersdorf @conor64

@rasmansa @ijbailey @ouhbick @AnneCW Let's say that a Twitter user decided to object to speech that he saw as ableist by finding a photo of the speaker, posting it below their Tweet, and ridiculing their body. That way of objecting would be legal. Would it be worthy of criticism? — PolitiTweet.org

Conor Friedersdorf @conor64

@rasmansa @ijbailey @ouhbick @AnneCW There are different ways of objecting. In my estimation, some ways of objecting are both legal and worthy of criticism. I'll give you an example: — PolitiTweet.org

Conor Friedersdorf @conor64

@ijbailey @rasmansa @ouhbick @AnneCW Sounds like their behavior was both 1) them exercising their free speech rights AND 2) worthy of criticism. — PolitiTweet.org

Conor Friedersdorf @conor64

@rasmansa @ijbailey @ouhbick @AnneCW I bet I can give examples you'd object to that would be within the law. — PolitiTweet.org

Conor Friedersdorf @conor64

@sivavaid @ouhbick @ijbailey @rasmansa @AnneCW I'm not sure how that is relevant to the point that I was contesting, but I agree that some (though not all) assertions of chilling effects are non-falsifiable. — PolitiTweet.org

Conor Friedersdorf @conor64

@rasmansa @ijbailey @AnneCW Anyhow, I find it telling that your response to my claim that you're being inaccurate isn't *here, I found evidence for my view* but rather *other people in my ideological bubble on Twitter said it, which is evidence that it's true.* Ridiculous. — PolitiTweet.org

Conor Friedersdorf @conor64

@rasmansa @ijbailey @AnneCW In addition to the repeated mischaracterizations, the Twitter algorithm is more likely to show you things that you'll engage with, which is to say, things you disagree with. So people see the speech cases where they disagree with me but not the ones where I share their view. — PolitiTweet.org

Conor Friedersdorf @conor64

@rasmansa @ijbailey @AnneCW A tiny percentage of people on Twitter have this impression because people like you repeatedly mischaracterize me and others unfamiliar with my actual work believe you. — PolitiTweet.org

Conor Friedersdorf @conor64

@ijbailey @rasmansa @ouhbick @AnneCW Again, there is a distinction between fear of criticism, which is fine, and fear of being deplatformed. You may think both are fine; I think the latter is objectionable. At least acknowledge the difference. — PolitiTweet.org

Conor Friedersdorf @conor64

@sivavaid @ijbailey @rasmansa @ouhbick @AnneCW I mean, again, it depends on the case. Sometimes assertions of a chilling effect are well grounded in evidence, other times highly speculative, and everywhere in between. — PolitiTweet.org

Conor Friedersdorf @conor64

@sivavaid @ijbailey @rasmansa @ouhbick @AnneCW "The chilling effect is the suppression of free speech and legitimate forms of dissent among a population because of fear of repercussion." Which raises the question: what does legitimate mean? IMHO constructive convos on this proceed by discussing particular example. — PolitiTweet.org

Conor Friedersdorf @conor64

@sivavaid @ijbailey @rasmansa @ouhbick @AnneCW Because you run into the same denotation/connotation issue as in convos about political correctness, which is always used pejoratively, making a neutral definition hard. Here is one web definition of chilling speech: — PolitiTweet.org

Conor Friedersdorf @conor64

@laurajoh_ Ooh that does sound great — PolitiTweet.org

Conor Friedersdorf @conor64

@sivavaid @ijbailey @rasmansa @ouhbick @AnneCW I don't know how to answer this in the abstract but I am happy to talk through any example of *this chills speech* I have ever asserted and either defend it against critique or abandon it as wrongheaded — PolitiTweet.org

Conor Friedersdorf @conor64

@ouhbick @ijbailey @rasmansa @AnneCW My position on college presidents is viewpoint neutral. If there were a college president who agreed with me exactly on every issue, I would want her to shut up too. And if I were a college president I would keep my personal political opinions out of all official statements — PolitiTweet.org

Conor Friedersdorf @conor64

@ijbailey @rasmansa @sivavaid @ouhbick @AnneCW Calls for genocide are the rare and extreme kind of free expression I am willing to chill. Similarly, I am against torture and want it to be illegal, but would favor torture in a thought experiment where it prevented the release of a bioweapon that killed all members of a race — PolitiTweet.org

Conor Friedersdorf @conor64

@ijbailey @ouhbick @rasmansa @AnneCW What I mean in this context is *this will make comedians afraid to talk about trans issues at all, because it is one of a small number of subjects that can render you unacceptable to venue workers who can threaten your livelihood* — PolitiTweet.org

Conor Friedersdorf @conor64

@ijbailey @ouhbick @rasmansa @AnneCW When you say "combat" can you fkesh out what you mean? How do you understand their approach to combat? What do they want to happen? — PolitiTweet.org

Conor Friedersdorf @conor64

@ijbailey @ouhbick @rasmansa @AnneCW If you mean there's a distinction between trying to chill specific things a person expresses versus everything a given individual expresses, I do acknowledge that distinction. — PolitiTweet.org

Conor Friedersdorf @conor64

@ijbailey @ouhbick @rasmansa @AnneCW Let's separate the questions and address "trying to chill speech" first. Wouldn't they say that they were trying to chill speech? As I understand their position, venues should deny Chappelle a platform because his comedy is dangerous. Is that your understanding too? — PolitiTweet.org

Conor Friedersdorf @conor64

Q. Is there a better summer salad than watermelon, feta, tomatoes, mint, and bread rusk? A. I think not. https://t.co/004eIqLNkF — PolitiTweet.org

Conor Friedersdorf @conor64

@ijbailey @ouhbick @rasmansa @AnneCW This is another one of those times when I wonder if tackling a corner of this in a format other than Twitter could be constructive — PolitiTweet.org

Conor Friedersdorf @conor64

@ijbailey @ouhbick @rasmansa @AnneCW I would need 5,000 words to answer that question because so much depends on context--who the person is, what laws and policies and procedures are in place, the nature of the bigotry. I'm not trying to evade you, I just know no way to answer in a tweet or two. — PolitiTweet.org

Conor Friedersdorf @conor64

@rasmansa @ErikN_NJEdition @ijbailey @AnneCW Death threats are also a form of persuasion. Some forms of persuasion warrant criticism, I'm sure you agree. — PolitiTweet.org

Conor Friedersdorf @conor64

@ouhbick @ijbailey @rasmansa @AnneCW When I complain about chilling effects it is never mere criticism. There is always another dimension. An investigation. A punishment. A call for depriving someone of their livelihood, etc. — PolitiTweet.org