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From: Jasper
Date: 14 Sep 2005
Time: 05:04:38 PM
Jean, …… Honest disagreement has to be encouraged if all potential posters are going to feel free to write what they think and we are ever to see where we are wrong when it requires a different perspective to see it. I never worry about people like you crossing the line. The nature of what we do here puts all of close to the line to begin with. What keeps us in check is the knowledge that free speech has ethical and practical boundaries. As Voltaire said, “Your freedom to swing your arm stops where my nose begins.” Whether we recognize on our own that we have entered “the nose zone” or someone points it out to us is not important. The important thing is that we realize we have done it and, as you did, correct our course. ……It never occurred to me that anyone here would fail to correct his or her course. That was the deciding factor in my only decision to ban someone’s free speech on the Iago Discussion Board. On other Smartfellows discussion boards, some jerks have decided to turn the opportunity to express themselves freely to post commercial ads. I zap those ads when I have time to do it but I can’t do it to every poster with an agenda I disagree with, like the man of many names who posts his racist rants. I’ve heard so-called black conservatives say the same things with “nicer” language and receive wide, effusive praise from so-called white conservatives for their honest and intelligent insights. ………. My position on censorship does not derive from a desire be noble or to look as though I’m being noble. I just don’t want to be a tyrant. I do not believe in benevolent dictators. I’m talking about people with “editorial control” in the “mainstream press” and on other discussion boards who use an insidious form of censorship to stifle legitimate criticism. They do their censorship dirt in the name of “civilly” or “good taste” the way corrupt federal government officials do their censorship dirt behind the cloak of “national security.” Withholding key information on issues of national concern or banning it by exercising editorial prerogatives has the same effect as disseminating false information. ……..I apologize for not thanking you for your kind words about my integrity. The thing is, we don’t see the word or the issue the same way. My overriding goal is to preserve a Smartfellows identity of seeking and exposing the truth no matter who runs it. To do that, we have to be honest – ungraciously so if need be – AND consistent. That’s what I mean by integrity. If someone has trouble telling the difference between the way Bob August operates and the way we do, which Brian so eloquently stated on Jebusville that he does, either that person has a big problem interpreting reality or we do. We have to make sure that it isn’t us. –Jasper