I've been thinking a lot about this in the wake of the guy getting clocked on live TV, Richard Spencer-and the resulting fallout of people in my immediate circles openly cheering this behavior on.<p>Having long considered myself a moderate "leftist", the people I grew up thinking were the ones who stood at the vanguard of "Supporting free speech". I'm wondering what kind of road we're putting ourselves on where pre-emptive violence is acceptable in the face of uncomfortable ideas and disturbing information.<p>I recently lost a very near and dear friend on the topic of Spencer, not because we disagreed but because despite all attempts to talk about the matter reasonably with someone that I've had numerous spirited and intense, but always reasoned and respectful debates with-took the "go fuck yourself" route in response to my "I disagree with his ideas, but I also disagree with bestowing physical violence upon him for <i>having</i> those ideas". His response could be boiled down to a paraphrasing from the TV show Archer: "Do you want Nazi's? Because that's how you get Nazi's".<p>And I'm seeing this mentality echoed across multiple circles. It feels like the evolution of some of the things people talked about early on when they would call people "SJW's". Of course a reasonable person wouldn't be against social justice, but it's hard to critique some of the hostility the people that moniker is attached to without <i>someone</i> invariably coming along and accusing you of being some sort of -ist as if your critique of <i>behavior</i> is carte blanche critique of <i>progress</i>.<p>It wasn't our disagreement that made me walk away from the friendship, but his hostility toward the disagreement. Is this what the left is turning into?
Popehat usually has better coverage on these things:<p><a href="https://www.popehat.com/2016/11/03/the-corruption-of-speech-has-consequences/" rel="nofollow">https://www.popehat.com/2016/11/03/the-corruption-of-speech-...</a><p><a href="https://www.popehat.com/2016/12/05/cracked-drunkenly-paws-at-free-speech-theory-again/" rel="nofollow">https://www.popehat.com/2016/12/05/cracked-drunkenly-paws-at...</a>