If you’re a leftist who believes in free speech you aren’t homeless
Free speech is a fundamental value of the left.
FEATURED ARTICLES
Dov and Willy talking – perspectives from the left on political violence, history, colonialism, imperialism, racism, antisemitism, social media and the importance of critical thinking and debate
Dov Osheroff and Willy Maley: perespectives from the left on political violence, history, colonialism, imperialism, racism, antisemitism, social media and the importance of critical thinking and debate
Participants:
Willy Maley
Dov Osheroff
Moderator:
Mark White
Preview next week’s Free Speech and the Left conference
View this 5 minute preview of next week’s Free Speech and the Left conference
Our panelists discuss censorship, cancel culture, identity politics, the relevance of today’s left and other issues during the upcoming Free Speech and the Left conference.
The online event will take place June 17 to 24 and feature authors, academics, journalists and activists from a dozen countries. The conference will consist of pre-recorded presentations, panel discussions and livestream segments.
Participants include Nadine Strossen, Richard Wolff, Freddie deBoer, Noam Chomsky, Jill Stein, Susan Neiman, Tara Henley, Paul Jay, Jacob Mchangama, Norman Finkelstein, Wayne Hsiung, Katherine Corcoran, Ioan Grillo, Matthew Hoh, Lawrence Wilkerson and others…
Co-hosted by Plebity, India & Global Left, Redline, and acTVism Munich, the conference will be broadcast on Plebity’s YouTube channel.
The full list of panels and conference schedule can be found here: https://www.plebity.org/conference-2023-free-speech-and-the-left/.
Noam Chomsky on What Defines the Left and on the Principle of Free Speech
Panelists: Noam Chomsky
Moderator: Mark White
Description: Noam Chomsky offers his thoughts on what defines the left and on the enduring principle of free speech. Noam Chomsky is a longtime scholar, author, teacher, intellectual, activist and social critic.
Noam Chomsky is a longtime scholar, author, teacher, intellectual, activist and social critic.
recent ARTICLES
Marguerite Stern, a Collective Lie, and the Breaking Point
Crack. The sound of the egg hitting Marguerite Stern in the face. The sound of women’s patience reaching its breaking point around the world.
Because the truth is, she took that egg to the face for all of us. For the victims of femicide, whom she was demonstrating for that day, but also for every woman who has been told to shut up by the trans activists who tell us we are not allowed to say what a woman is.
Marguerite is a full time French activist. She founded a collage campaign to raise awareness and speak out against femicide. She also refuses to lie about what a woman is. She knows a woman is an adult human female, she knows that the reason some people are victims of femicide is because they were born with a female body. She knows and says out loud that woman is not a feeling, not an identity that a man can don at his will. For this crime, she has been hounded, pushed out of her living quarters, forced out of work, and been physically attacked.
“A Lot of Adult Gays and Lesbians Quietly, Secretly Agree” -Arty Morty
Arty Morty sits down with Sasha for an in depth conversation about what made him start to question gender identity ideology, the realizations that come with being outside the popular opinion of the cultural mainstream, the problems plaguing worthwhile social justice movements today, and so much more.
Identity Crisis Episode 7: One trick to effectively debate gender identity ideologues
In this episode we broke out our acting chops... we acted out two sample conversations between a gender critical woman and a gender ideology supporter. Both conversations cover the same topics, but a simple switch in argument technique on the part of the GC speaker changes the entire outcome and the tone of the exchange.
Nullius in Verba – take no one’s word for it
A blog called Nullius in Verba could quite easily be about how brilliant and important science is. I am, amongst all the other hundred or so things I mentioned earlier (daughter, sister, student, friend, ex, dog-lover, prickly, undecided, uncertain…), a scientist. I became a scientist that day in the lecture hall, in the first term of my first year of university, the first time I heard the words nullius in verba. Thank you Horace. I love science - it’s a sharp, keen love, which I often feel stirring inside me and trying to come out at inconvenient moments. So, for lack of a more sophisticated expression, I have a horse in that race. Whichever career the older, perhaps slightly more certain version of myself chooses - and, in all honesty, I don’t think it will be in a laboratory - one of the things that I am, for better or worse, will always be a scientist. But this isn’t, after all, a blog about the brilliance and importance of science. It’s a blog about uncertainty. My uncertainty. And when I say “Nullius in verba,” I don’t mean quite the same thing as the scientist does.
“Medical transitioning is no place for a child” -Scott Newgent
Scott Newgent joins me to speak about his transition story, why he is so outspoken against medically transitioning kids, and his organization, TRans Rational Educational Voices (TReVoices).
Substack: A Re-Assembling of the Old Media
Over the past several months, many of these reputable voices – including high-profile journalists – have been jumping ship from their safe, cushy jobs to join Substack, a newsletter-based subscription platform, to escape the onslaught of ideology, censorship, and rigid editorial control.
Some are calling this migration the “beginning of the gold rush," others are comparing Substack to the old Internet, while others are likening it to the early newsletters of the 17th century. In some ways, Substack does harken back to the old blogosphere; it is reminiscent of a former Internet, and elicits a certain sense of nostalgia. As tempting as it is to see this as a step towards building a rich information ecosystem, I fear this mass migration will simply re-organize the establishment class in new ways and create more toll booths on the information highway.
Identity Crisis Bonus Episode: Does the Equality Act Damage Women’s Rights?
MK Fain, the Communications Fellow at the Women's Liberation Front, answers questions about the Equality Act: what it means for women's and LGBT rights, and the poison pill nature of the gender identity wording in the bill.
Identity Crisis Episode 6: Reacting to Woke Instagram
In this episode, we take a deep dive into woke instagram. We read and analyze posts from a popular account that "dissect[s] progressive politics and social issues in graphic slideshow form". We break down a number of neoliberal and pop political talking points about the paradox of tolerance, Karl Popper, pronouns, dysphoria, gender & sex, and free speech. We critique the "fast food" type of political diet that this instagram account represents.
We make the case for free speech, for the enduring value of the First Amendment, and talk about how anyone who is challenging the status quo is someone who needs speech rights to be protected.
We also touch on one particular area of public speech that we do consider harmful: rhetoric which implies that suicide will result from any particular action, event, or speech—or any form of suicide encouragement/suggestion in the media. We talk about ethical reporting guidelines around suicide and consider the role of this kind of rhetoric in the gender identity conversation.
Upper Hand Mars: Individuality over Ideology
Mars joins Sasha for a discussion about choosing individuality over ideology, different ways of talking about gender, teenagers with dysphoria, and the value of getting out of your box and interpreting issues with nuance.