On Sat, Feb 5, 2022 at 11:50 AM Brad Beam <[email protected]> wrote:
> *From:* [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] *On > Behalf Of *PGage > > *>*In a free society free expression ought to be a core, almost sacred, > value. That does not mean there should be no limits on expression, but they > ought to be rare and targeted on explicitly dangerous speech. It is > possible to specify what kind of health misinformation is dangerous and > thus not allowed on one or more platforms, and then use that to manage, > with some judgement and flexibility, expression. Spotify has taken steps in > that direction, perhaps they can do more, I would be interested in hearing > suggestions. It is not necessary to ban an idiot asshole like Joe Rogan to > safeguard the public. > > > > Not to step on Doug’s toes, but from the Wiki “Freedom of expression in > Canada” (in which speech falls under, up North)… > > > > Section 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms establishes > the right to freedom of expression, and the Supreme Court of Canada has > interpreted this right in a very broad fashion. However, section 1 of the > Charter establishes that reasonable limits can be placed on the right if > those limits are prescribed by law and can be demonstrably justified in a > free and democratic society. > Hopping on my soapbox one more time: Not that I’ll ever get around to finishing the novel I started writing ages ago, but in it I imagine a scenario where an alien race makes contact with us. They are on a long journey from their world to ours. They’ve received all our radio transmissions and TV broadcasts, and before they touch down on Earth, they have some questions. One of them involves our penchant for allowing speech proven to be harmful (i.e. false claims of election fraud which lead to an insurrection where people are killed, or conspiracy theories which lead to fewer people taking life saving vaccinations which leads to people dying). Humanity’s collective reply is akin to the stance of PGage, that free speech is essential and unassailable, and valuable to a democracy. The neutral observing aliens question the value of any society that knowingly allows free speech to kill its citizens. Personally, I view speech the same as I view guns, potentially life saving and potentially dangerous, and the founding fathers were flawed in establishing nearly total freedoms for both, and every subsequent administration is flawed in not taking steps to actively correct the problems created by the founders. I don’t want to ban Rogan; I want to demonetize him. I want to make Rogan liable for the harm he causes. I want to make Spotify liable for contributing to the harm. I want doctors to be free to openly talk about the benefits and risks of all forms of medicine with their patients, but when doctors address the public falsely claiming to be an expert (i.e.- that they invented mRNA technology when they quite clearly did not), and their false claims spread unchallenged via a nationwide media network, then the doctor, the broadcaster, and the media outlet should all face severe consequences. We are nearing 900,000 dead from Covid in the US. I have college educated friends who believe breathing through a mask is harmful because of crap they hear on podcasts or read on Reddit. I now teach at a school in Orange County, and the “Orange Curtain” is adamant that herd immunity is the only solution to Covid… their hospitals are overrun with the untruth of that belief, but it continues to be openly spread. I don’t have “Covid fatigue”; I have “Covid denial fatigue.” The illness isn’t the problem, it is the third of our population who refuse to take basic precautions to protect themselves and their neighbors, and who spread lies and disinformation that are the problem. They seek out media to reinforce their baseless opinions and reckless actions, and Joe Rogan and Bill Maher and FoxNews and the Trump cult fill that void because there is money to be made by pandering. Take away the potential for profit in the lies… make the lies cost the liars… that’s how to deal with the problem. > > _ _ > > |_>|_> Brad Beam- Belle WV > > |_>|_> http://www.facebook.com/74bmw > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/008901d81ac9%24939a9600%24bacfc200%24%40suddenlink.net > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/008901d81ac9%24939a9600%24bacfc200%24%40suddenlink.net?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- Kevin M. (RPCV) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. 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