Althouse: Free speech and references to killing... on posters at the University of Wisconsin

December 27, 2011

Free speech and references to killing... on posters at the University of Wisconsin—Stout.

Via Instapundit.

22 comments:

dhagood said...: arise o ye browncoats!

and good for fire. again.; 12/27/11, 3:05 PM
bagoh20 said...: "If they (controversial conversations) aren't happening in universities they aren't happening anywhere."

Thank God that's not true, or we would be in bad shape. Unfortunately, free speech survives DESPITE the university.

If I was sending a child to a university, my first criteria would be the level protection afforded speech there. It would take a while to find what I want, but I bet I would save money as well as my kid's respect for free speech.; 12/27/11, 3:09 PM
Scott M said...: You've got to love the wonderful Orwellian feel of this whole affair. Or, rather, you can hate the Orwellian feel. They're really two sides of the same coin.; 12/27/11, 3:11 PM
rhhardin said...: If [arguments that we need to have] aren't happening on our universities, they're not happening anywhere.

That ending line is spectacularly wrong.

Universities are a business, just like the news. They both do whatever sells in any way they can.

FIRE just raised the cost in the form of uprooting the cover story, for this one instance. The university will revert.; 12/27/11, 3:13 PM
rhhardin said...: Where you find the arguments that we need to have is in blogs by people who are interested by the topic.

More interested than worried about offending the ruling powers, in particular. Not out of courage but out of the interest.; 12/27/11, 3:15 PM
MadisonMan said...: So, is the police chief still there? I suspect so.; 12/27/11, 3:23 PM
bagoh20 said...: "So, is the police chief still there? I suspect so."

I heard she works for some popular legal blog now. Can't remember the name.; 12/27/11, 3:34 PM
cliff claven said...: uw madison also has a woman police chief and she's a pc'er also. this is the problem when you have women making decisions on free speech. most just don't get it. some do, but too many are into "sensitivity" and haven't a clue that free speech can, and often is, offensive. men get that concept better than women in general, and in this case in particular. from this report, the only man who got it wrong was the male college administrator who backed his pc cop. men came to the rescue on this one.; 12/27/11, 3:41 PM
cliff claven said...: along with firefly helping the constitutional fight, the fact that the professor is obviously liberal was also a big plus.; 12/27/11, 3:50 PM
dbp said...: I don't know, maybe we are being too harsh on the university president and the campus chief of police. These relatively minor workers should not be expected to be familiar with subtle things like freedom of speech. It may be a bedrock principle in any liberal society but it should be left to experts who specialize in that sort of thing to determine the ins and outs of where it applies & so forth.; 12/27/11, 4:00 PM
Scott M said...: It may be a bedrock principle in any liberal society but it should be left to experts who specialize in that sort of thing to determine the ins and outs of where it applies & so forth.

Yes. Like starship captains and fiction authors.; 12/27/11, 4:01 PM
cliff claven said...: dbp, your tongue just poked through your cheek.; 12/27/11, 4:13 PM
Anonymous said...: MadisonMan said...
So, is the police chief still there? I suspect so.

--------------------

woman + leftist views = asbestos; 12/27/11, 4:13 PM
Writ Small said...: Klingon Guy : I-I just think Firefly was totally overrated!

Cleveland Jr. : I kind of agree. I mean, you can’t have a whole ship of Han Solos. If everyone is Han Solo, then no one is Han Solo!

-The Cleveland Show; 12/27/11, 5:00 PM
J Allen said...: Is this really an issue about ‘freedom of speech’ or just the fact that we’re losing our ability to apply common sense? Heaven forbid we offend someone so let’s just add another page to the PC handbook. On the bright side, at least we don’t have clothing police (http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/in-iran-a-battle-over-womens-fashions/2011/12/22/gIQAj0HVIP_story.html), yet.; 12/27/11, 8:01 PM
Anonymous said...: Nor advertising police.; 12/27/11, 8:17 PM
chuck said...: "If they're not happening at universities, then they aren't happening anywhere."

Hahahahahahaha..gasp.. ahahahahahaha.

Universities are the last place I'd expect to find free speech and the exploration of ideas.; 12/27/11, 8:34 PM
Gene said...: I suspect the Chief of Police doesn't walk though campus halls looking for professors or students with offensive views. Someone complained to her, someone with an extremely small and rigid mind (who no doubt is a big supporter of gun control).

The appalling part is the administration's automatic support for the Chief of Police. The administration said it wasn't a matter of censorship. It was one of "sensitivity"--on most college campuses these days it's a hate crime to hurt someone's feelings.; 12/27/11, 11:39 PM
Christy said...: Shiny!

Guess I'm mostly concerned with the lack of reading comprehension of the complaining student and by the police chief. Is Stout a remedial campus?; 12/28/11, 12:03 AM
Brom said...: I don't know, maybe we are being too harsh on the university president and the campus chief of police. These relatively minor workers should not be expected to be familiar with subtle things like freedom of speech. It may be a bedrock principle in any liberal society but it should be left to experts who specialize in that sort of thing to determine the ins and outs of where it applies & so forth.

I hope you're being sarcastic. It can be hard to tell in writing.

I would expect anyone in law enforcement or campus administration to look into the details of what the law allows before they start throwing their weight around. They don't get a pass for not knowing.; 12/28/11, 9:56 AM
sonicfrog said...: along with firefly helping the constitutional fight, the fact that the professor is obviously liberal was also a big plus.

Which is why we need liberals, to fight the fights that Conservatives wouldn't bother with. Then there are the fights that neither side wishes to fight, because it would infringe on their continued power grab, and dammit, that would be too inconvenient.; 12/28/11, 10:45 AM
cliff claven said...: sonicfrog, when it comes to the constitution, there should be no liberal or conservative. this was a clear violation. the conservative constitutional watchdogs keep tabs on conservatives having their rights violated, the left the same. the aclu, which defended the right of nazis marching in skokie back in the 70's would never do that today. that's my beef.; 12/28/11, 3:47 PM