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I wrote "we should not seek the destruction of people that disagree with us (neither literal, social, nor professional destruction)". Your response:
Were you intentionally dodging the substance here? I don't even have to speculate on their intentions with respect to social destruction: the law students are calling for their teacher (the dean of the law school) to be fired. If you don't agree they're trying to destroy her professionally and that the walk of shame was part of that, we don't have enough common ground to discuss this.
Presuming that was an oversight, I agree there has to be a gradient of offenses and responses. There's an entire universe of proportionately calibrated responses that don't involve silencing or attacking the speaker:
Ignore them.
Participate in the Q&A, ask sharp questions.
Organize a local event featuring a speaker or speakers providing a counterpoint.
Publish something critical of the ideas.
I'm aware that people often characterize boycotts, de-platforming, and collective shaming as an alternative to violence, but I think the opposite is true: these things all escalate towards violence. Their widespread currency fuels the volatile, scary environment in which we live. I would prefer to see our society establish different norms that would support engagement and follow the examples of Ira Glasser and Daryl Davis.
Edit: "walk of shame wasn't part of that" -> "walk of shame was part of that"
I waffled on categorizing it as social or professional. While I assume that some of the students involved were baying for professional consequences, as far as I can tell, they did so separately of the classroom demonstration. It wasn't an attempt to intimidate the school into firing her.
Where do you draw the line on destruction? Why is a silent protest violent while a counter-event is not? Sharp questions are an attempt to harm social standing. So is publishing criticism. It is literally the same argument trotted out to deplatform Yiannopoulos: oh, his speech was "literally a form of violence." That's why I say it proves too much.
When speech is directed towards organizing a person's destruction, it's over the line.
Another thing worth mentioning is that I'm promoting this as a normative idea, not a legal one, so I'm not trying to set up a technical test. I think de-platforming Milo was a stupid own goal, but to the extent that he tried to destroy people's lives, he sucked too.
Edit: I want to add that I'm not conflating speech with violence, a lame rhetorical habit. I'm saying that preventing someone from making a living or even just hurting their prospects pushes them into a corner; preventing them from having their say leads them to lose faith in dialogue, making violence look like the only solution; isolating them socially means they've got nothing to lose.
Noble as that sentiment may be, it remains nigh unworkable. Prison can be life-destroying, yet criminal prosecution is a necessary evil.
Tolerance of unpleasant speech is, too. I agree that there is a line--but it is the line of "clear and present danger," of "compelling public interest" and "narrowly tailored restrictions." It is the line set by centuries of jurisprudence that says "my right to swing my fist ends at your face." The silent student protest surely reflects an intent to harm, socially or professionally, the dean. But it is firmly on the right side of that line.
I'm sure I'm testing your patience, but I sense I haven't expressed myself clearly, so I'll try again. My position is at the intersection of The Spirit of the First Amendment and Be Nice, at Least Until You Can Coordinate Meanness:
I'm not trying to establish a legal standard. I think what the students are doing is and should be legal. But I also think it is appalling: trying to coerce someone into silence is callow, cowardly, and repulsive. That's an emotional reaction that I wish more people shared, because I think our society would be far better for it, but I don't really think I can make other people feel the same way.
However, it might be possible to convince people that harming or trying to harm people that disagree with you may be emotionally satisfying, but it is not an alternative to violence; instead it increases the chance of violence. Based on my observations and understanding of human psychology, I would say that de-platforming Milo, Trump, Charles Murray, & etc. have radicalized orders of magnitude more people than, e.g., 4chan or /r/TheDonald. I wish I could bring more neutral evidence to bear than my own priors, but I'm not sure what that would look like or who would listen.
I appreciate your patience, too. I'm sorry for coming across as hostile.
Yours is a sentiment I heartily endorse, and for much the same reasons as you do. I've been stuck in the object-level mode of arguing over this specific case. But when it comes to the general principle, I think you have the right of it, and that the world needs norms favoring constructive rather than destructive arguments.
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