We're still a stronghold of democracy and free speech. That doesn't mean threats don't occasionally present themselves. In fact, it should be welcomed, as it gives each new generation the opportunity to re-affirm their commitment to free speech.
Free speech has been under threat at the academic and cultural level for a while now, especially in the 2010's. All of that was a good thing in my opinion, because a generation of college students were able to see firsthand what happens when we try and silence dissent.
This situation is admittedly more dangerous, as the federal government is attempting to suppress speech via governmental subsidies (as far as I can tell, I don't have all the facts).
But this is also an opportunity. It's a moment for those on the political left to see clearly why protecting speech is, in fact, a very good thing. So hopefully the sane people on both sides of the aisle can reflect on where we're at, how we got here, and how we get out of this situation. To me it's clear - we reject both explicit and implicit attempts to suppress speech we don't like, full stop. We don't kill people, we don't get people fired, we don't threaten to withhold funding. We need to collectively agree to do this across the board, for everyone in this country.
I don't know how to interpret "shaking fists on podiums", but it reads as "we're not at the stage where we talk these things out". The only other option is violence, so if you're saying that then say it directly.
I think they’re saying this isn’t debate club. When companies are being threatened, when universities are being told their research grants will be illegally withheld unless they punish students or faculty for exercising constitutional rights, when civil servants are being vetted by political apparatchiks for their political views, it’s not a hypothetical question about the boundaries of civil discourse.
This is said about everything when the thing being talked about / protested is inconvenient. The funniest is when people say "music is not supposed to be political" when artists push back against something in particular.
Of course universities were political for a hundred years, and students were often very active.
Is the point you are trying to make that - because your college acted shitty during Vietnam - its cool if everyone acts shitty now? Not trying to be argumentative, really trying to understand the perspective of someone who survived the hell that apparently was Vietnam.
Free speech has been under threat at the academic and cultural level for a while now, especially in the 2010's. All of that was a good thing in my opinion, because a generation of college students were able to see firsthand what happens when we try and silence dissent.
This situation is admittedly more dangerous, as the federal government is attempting to suppress speech via governmental subsidies (as far as I can tell, I don't have all the facts).
But this is also an opportunity. It's a moment for those on the political left to see clearly why protecting speech is, in fact, a very good thing. So hopefully the sane people on both sides of the aisle can reflect on where we're at, how we got here, and how we get out of this situation. To me it's clear - we reject both explicit and implicit attempts to suppress speech we don't like, full stop. We don't kill people, we don't get people fired, we don't threaten to withhold funding. We need to collectively agree to do this across the board, for everyone in this country.