Comments on: Free Speech: Bravehearts and Scumbags

By: Athena

Athena — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 14:38:40 +0000

So did I. Instead people are going into conniptions about “outing” and his losing his job. If you saw/read his CNN review, you will see he isn’t really apologizing, and he still thinks he didn’t do anything wrong.

With great grief and anger, I agree with you about the brave girls in that photo, and many others like them.

By: Walden2

Walden2 — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 13:34:29 +0000

I thought doing things like showing pictures of underaged females in provactive images was outright illegal? And shouldn’t Brutsch be arrested for what he admitted doing with his stepdaughter? What am I missing here?

Malala Yousafzai is a thousand times braver than I will probably ever be. I also worry for the safety of those brave girls in that photograph holding up those signs of support.

By: Athena

Athena — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 20:05:16 +0000

Exactly. I heard from an activist in such issues that one way to get abusers to understand is to hint that they will be treated the way they treat their victims. Apparently the most common reaction is that they immediately start blubbering. Sort of what Brutsch did.

By: Athena

Athena — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 20:03:46 +0000

Also infuriating is the immediate escalation: everything is exactly the same and of the same moral/social/consequential weight. And of course they gobble vigilantism up, because they fantasize themselves as lone heroes against the world.

By: Athena

Athena — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 20:02:04 +0000

You’re welcome, Christopher! I too dream of the day that people don’t have to live in fear of basic prerogatives.

By: Dylan Fox

Dylan Fox — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 06:58:22 +0000

Thank you for this. I see so many people abuse their ‘right’ to free speech and so many more defend those who do…

“The general credo seems to be not only that people can say whatever comes into their thalamus, especially online, but also that there should be no consequences for doing so. For people who equate criticism with censorship, free speech has become a fundamentalist religion without any context of relative power, balance or accountability.”

Sums it up perfectly!

Strangely, I’ve just finished my own post about how free speech isn’t free (due up next week). Synchronisity, eh?

By: intrigued_scribe

intrigued_scribe — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 00:23:13 +0000

These situations are beyond sickening. Sadly, I’m almost unsurprised that Reddit supported Brutsch’s flood of toxic spew; far too many put profits (and arbitrary, self-interested shrieking about the violations of their “rights”) first — the very same types who couldn’t begin to imagine actually being silenced.

By: Caliban

Caliban — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 23:10:54 +0000

Both situations are sickening. Elsewhere people (I use the term loosely) referring to the Reddit case have suggested that middlle-aged men posting sexualized images of minors is simply “unpopular speech” and objections are motivated by “precious political correctness” (although the line between the two is not drawn so clearly as I have done). In the same discussion a woman recounted standing at a bus stop, having two men pull up in a car, leer at her, and take her photograph with a cell phone, and expressed her dismay and feeling lack of safety. Immediately someone responded, “I don’t see how that’s a safety issue.” The lack of empathy and understanding is profoundly shocking.

Furthermore, I’d bet a dollar that the same people deploring the “vigilantism” against Brutsch gobble up the brutal vigilante fantasies of Nolan’s Dark Knight movies…

By: Christopher Phoenix

Christopher Phoenix — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 21:57:29 +0000

Having grown up entirely in the United States, it can be a shock, seeing the violence and oppression which people like the Pakistani schoolgirls face every single day. Equally shocking are people like Brutsch, who feel free to use the anonymity of the internet to post hate speech and incite further violence- and that reddit actually supported him to boost their site’s traffic!! And the, after abusing the concept of free speech to cause as much harm as he could, Brutsch squeals about the “violation of free speech rights” and “invasion of privacy” when he was unmasked- clearly, he expects to be allowed to post whatever noxious sewage crosses his thalamus, while the targets of his violent hate speech and sexual abuse aren’t to be allowed to respond in any way.

This shows that any system- no matter how reasonable and well intentioned- can be abused by those who want to hurt others, both by words and actions. More disturbing- the pseudo/anonymity of the internet acts as something of a litmus paper, showing exactly what people like Brutsch will do when they find a soapbox and people who will listen to them, even if the soapbox is only virtual.

Malala Yousafzai is a true hero, as are all the other schoolgirls who refuse to remain disenfranchised chattels even under the threat of violence, torture, and death. Such people are the only glimmers of light in an ever darker and uglier world. I hope she recovers with minimal loss of cognitive function, but it is clear that the Taliban and their ilk won’t stop trying to silence every independent voice with bullets – and feel utterly justified for doing so. The human species can’t call itself “civilized” until every Pakistani schoolgirl is treated as a full human being, free to educate themselves without fear of violence and coercion.

Thank you for adding your voice with this blog- it makes the day just a bit brighter.