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Richard Stallman's Political Notes

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Freedom of speech in US colleges

jeudi 4 août 2016 à 02:00

Many US colleges have policies restricting freedom of speech. A student was forbidden to distribute copies of the US Constitution because he hadn't reserved the "free speech zone" in advance.

"Free speech zones" on colleges seem to be losing court cases.

Now we need to extend this principle outside of college. Just recently the onerous and absurd restrictions on protests at the Republican Convention deterred almost all protest.

Regarding "cultural appropriation", the concept is absurd. Imitation of others is the basis of culture, and there is nothing wrong with imitating others. If someone accuses you of "cultural appropriation", proudly say "Of course!"

There are some manners of imitation that amount to mockery or would show you up as ignorant or foolish. You have a right to mock others, but I hope you will consider whether they deserve it. You also have the right to be ignorant or foolish.