barry@eos.UUCP (Kenn Barry) (03/12/89)
In article <1784.2416BB47@isishq.FIDONET.ORG> doug@isishq.FIDONET.ORG (Doug Thompson) writes: >I like to think of myself as a champion of free speech. Generally I >abhor censorship. I am also a system administrator. Everybody thinks of themselves as champions of free speech, Doug. But not everyone qualifies. >"Canada has an international reputation for being a tolerant society. Except in matters of freedom of the press. But perhaps you were unaware of that. >Freedom is great, and we all cherish it. But freedom does and must >stop at the point where your fist ends and my nose begins. Hate >literature, in my opinion, crosses that line and those who disseminate >it have set themselves outside the company of civilized men and women. Interesting: rhf = hate literature. Sure doesn't take long to start sliding down that slippery slope, once the first step is taken. >As such I do, and will continue to, disallow the use of my system >resources for purposes which attack the dignity and freedom of anyone. Your privelege; your system. >Civilization has its costs, and one of them is the acceptance of >certain constraints on one's freedom to indulge certain destructive >inclinations. Yeah, I've heard it all before. There's really no need to pretty it up so, the message is clear: the only things you want to censor are those awful, nasty things that really, truly *deserve* to be censored. I've yet to hear anyone advocating censorship who said otherwise. >I generally abhor censorship. Of course you do. There's just these few special cases... >Hope that clarifies something. It clarifies where you stand: with Bowdler, and Savanarola. Sometimes I think I dislike the impulse to censor less than I dislike the self-serving desires of censors to be so damn apologetic. Kinda says to me they really *do* know better, in their heart of hearts. If there were some way to force them into ruthless self-appraisal, maybe there'd be fewer of them. Followups to news.misc. - QQQCLC - Kenn Barry --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ELECTRIC AVENUE: {most major sites}!ames!eos!barry ARPA: barry@eos.arc.nasa.gov