List: Word Cops, Censorship, Free Speech | Curated by Will Shetterly

Nov 7, 2022
12 stories
Word Cops, Censorship, Free Speech
Will Shetterly
Has Any Writers’ Organization Treated A Writer As Badly As SFWA Treated Mercedes Lackey?It reads like a revenge plot: an old writer comes to one of the most important conventions in her field to be honored for her lifetime of…
May 25, 2022
26
May 25, 2022
26
Will Shetterly
Four Versions of Free Speech—Five if You Count the Troll’s VersionI like to think my idea of free speech is the one true version, but I know there are many competing concepts. Here are the most popular…
May 23, 2022
3
May 23, 2022
3
Will Shetterly
Shouting Fire: The Mythical Free Speech Absolutist“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to…
May 18, 2022
1
May 18, 2022
1
Will Shetterly
The Free Speech FAQ“Speech restrictions are like poison gas. They seem like they’re a great weapon when you’ve got your target in sight. But then the wind…
Feb 6, 2022
9
Feb 6, 2022
9
Will Shetterly
5 Answers and 4 Questions for Censorship Fetishists like Tim WiseI’m not shaming your kink, just curious about some things
Jan 25, 2022
15
Jan 25, 2022
15
Will Shetterly
Black Connotes Power, Privilege, Wisdom, and Sex—White Connotes Ignorance, Coldness, and DeathWhen anti-racists say white is associated with good things and black with bad ones, I wonder how they fail to see that all colors have good…
Nov 28, 2021
5
Nov 28, 2021
5
Will Shetterly
Sorry, Language Police—Changing Words Doesn’t Change RealityOrwell was Wrong.
Nov 27, 2021
21
Nov 27, 2021
21
Will Shetterly
Orwell was wrong: Word policing can’t end racism or sexismThe dictators in 1984 believe they can control people by controlling the words they use. In the novel, whether they are right is…
Sep 14, 2020
1
Sep 14, 2020
1
Will Shetterly
How to Survive an Online MobbingA free post at Medium: I learned about mobs as a boy when the Ku Klux Klan threatened to burn down my family’s home…
Aug 30, 2020
1
Aug 30, 2020
1
Will Shetterly
XKCD Doesn’t Understand Free Speech — or The Difference between Legal and Moral RightsFans of censorship are fond of this XKCD:
Jul 22, 2020
1
Jul 22, 2020
1
Will Shetterly
The Right to Offend is the Heart of Free SpeechCensorship is always about what offends the powerful, whether the powerful are princes, priests, or mobs. Where there’s no free speech…
Jul 21, 2020
Jul 21, 2020
Will Shetterly
The Paradox of Karl Popper’s “Paradox of Tolerance”A shallow reading of the Paradox of Tolerance validates authoritarianism.
Jul 19, 2020
Jul 19, 2020