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
On anti-Zionism and Antisemitism: A Response to Mark White’s Article in Plebity
I appreciate the opportunity to respond to Mark White’s blog in Plebity arguing that anti-Zionism is not antisemitism. I take up some but not all of Mark’s arguments. But Mark’s analysis is off base both conceptually and factually in several places.
No, Anti-Zionism does not Equal Antisemitism
When Jews discourage debate about Israel and Jewish identity, they prevent open conversation and legitimate criticism of Israel, which leaves the field open for real antisemites to use anti-Zionist language to promote and spread their actual antisemitism.
‘Do Your Part’: On the Toxic Rise of Moral Grandstanding in the Pandemic
Moral grandstanding is an ever-present, seductive force. It may feel impossible to avoid for many of us, but it is necessary to do so if we want to coexist meaningfully with each other. Next time you feel the urge to make a moral proclamation, consider whether you are actually advancing a cause, or yourself.
Why the Medical Community is Abandoning Science in the Age of Denial
While medical schools still use some modified version of the Hippocratic Oath, many medical schools, including Harvard, Yale, and the University of Texas are now allowing students to write their own oaths. At the University of Pittsburgh, the graduating class of 2024 wrote an oath of ethics with a social justice bent.
A Story of Fake Photojournalism: The Book of Veles, Real Euros for Fake News
This fake news story begins in Veles, a small city of 40,000 people in Macedonia. Veles became widely known in the Trump election of 2016 as a production center for false information websites. Presumably, there were hundreds of fake news websites developed by some people in Veles that generated income from ads.
Latest Free Speech Grants Go To Rachel Damiano and Katie Medart
The latest Plebity Free Speech Fund recipients are two Oregon educators, Rachel Damiano and Katie Medart. Rachel, Assistant Principal, and Katie, 7th-grade science teacher...
Book Banning: the Secrets of Dissident Soviet Writers
In this episode, Sasha is joined by Hunter College Professor Yasha Klots for a discussion on Soviet contraband literature, censorship, and what we can learn about our current climate from the history of book banning in the USSR.
Lessons from the 2nd Wave with Women’s Liberation Leader Harriet Fraad
In this episode, Sasha is joined by Harriet Fraad, feminist activist, psychotherapist and hypnotherapist, for a discussion on feminism and class. They talk about how class needs to be at the basis for all social justice activism, her thoughts on the failures and successes of the 2nd wave, debates within feminism like trans activism, Gloria Steinem and the corporate and government sabotage of feminism and the racial equality movement, and the destructive mindset feminists should avoid if they want to be successful in the movement.
Surveillance has been Normalized but so has Self-Censorship
Revelations like those from Snowden and the Pegasus Project have this same unexpected and counterintuitive effect. Instead of rejecting the control, we increasingly learn to adapt and self censor. The panopticon effect lies exactly in this acceptance of the new normal. Afraid to say the wrong thing, we self censure our discourse and the allowable range of ideas becomes more and more narrow. Those who fail to ‘check their words’ are cancelled and provide an example for the rest.