[MD] Free Speech

[pholden at davtv.com]

Quoting ARLO J BENSINGER JR <ajb102 at psu.edu>:

> [Platt]
> Yes. Also I would prevent any KKK member from serving in congress. Would you?
> 
> [Arlo]
> I wouldn't "prevent" it, in the case of passing laws. But I would campaign
> (well, support the campaign) of anyone who ran in opposition.

Those running for congress must meet certain qualifications including age,
citizenship, etc. I wouldn't hesitate to add a disqualification for anyone
who has criminal record or was a member of a terrorist group like the KKK.  

> [Platt]
> I know you claim tolerance. That's why I think you are a hypocrite because you
> are intolerant of people who don't meet your intellectual standards...
> 
> [Arlo]
> Believing people to be "wrong" is not hypocritical. Tolerance is giving people
> the right to speak. It does not mean I have to agree, nor does it mean I can't
> criticize them on intellectual grounds, as I do with Coulter and the KKK.

Tolerance defined by Merriam Webster: "2a : sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or
practices differing from or conflicting with one's own." Calling people names like
stupid, ignorant, uniformed, fools, buffoons, panderers, etc. certainly does not
meet that definition or the meaning of the word as commonly used.  

> [Platt]
> just as Dawkins and other science types are intolerant of those who have
> religious beliefs.
> 
> [Arlo]
> Tolerant is giving everyone an equal voice. It does not imply that what those
> voices say are all equal in Quality. Do you disagree with this?

See definition of tolerance above. Of course not all that is said is of equal
quality. But I don't go around claiming to be tolerant either. Like I'm intolerant
of professors who preach left-wing garbage to their students.







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