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Culture War Roundup for the week of May 1, 2023

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I think the rot is going so deep that I’m not sure there’s any way to save the West. It’s basically illegal to question certain things, or to oppose certain ideas, and I’ve yet to see anyone mainstream even grasp how serious the problem is. It’s not going to be fixed, I don’t think because as soon as the state can Devine the purpose of you entering a space (for example going to UCLA while conservative) with only the good will of those who oppose your ideas to keep you from violating the law. And honestly, if putting up flyers is now a hate crime, I just… how much freedom do you have to lose before you say something?

The OP is misleading. It’s not a hate crime unless you litter flyers on someone’s private property. Even then it requires “intimidating or threatening,” which, per Virginia v. Black, has additional safety rails. For what it’s worth, I’m still expecting acquittal on the tiki-torch cases.

Edit: there are actually even more limits than I thought. The law cites Florida s. 775.085, which defines a category of crimes that "evidence prejudice." In addition to threatening someone on their private property, it has to be motivated by "race, color, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, homeless status, or advanced age," and the perpetrator has to know it. Sounds reasonably strict to me.