Reply to Founding Member of Charlie Hebdo Says Slain Editor "Dragged' Team to their Death

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=jsteele][quote=Anonymous]Re Jeff's point, freedom of speech includes the freedom to make yourself look like an idiot or hypocrite, without dying. And Jeff is free to point out thd hypocrisy. I don't really understand the point here, because it can't be that it's hopeless to have freedom of speech because some people are hypocrites.[/quote]

The point is that hypocrisy backfires. When you invite a bunch of autocrats to parade in defense of freedom of expression, it sends the message that you don't really care about freedom of expression. When you are a lawyer who has made a career out of defending the publishing of offensive material, but object to the publishing of offensive material, it suggests that you really aren't committed to the freedom to publish offensive material. Instead of demonstrating a true commitment to freedom of expression, what is demonstrated is that the slogans are hollow.

What the Muslim world hears is that the principle being supported is not freedom of expression, but freedom to be offensive to Muslims. That perception is only reinforced by the arrest of Dieudonne. [/quote]

You haven't shown him to be hypocritical though.  You're confusing criticism of speech with infringement of that speech. [/quote]

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