(np) The Neurodiversity Case for Free Speech

[Laura Kelber]

I think the writer creates a fallacy that men on the Autism/Aspergers scale
(however loosely that's defined) are likely to be right-wing and/or
Republican, leading to him to argue that right-wing men are an "oppressed"
group in academia, and deserve the protections of other marginalized
groups. Given the loose definition he uses (apparently any man who's a
little crusty or socially awkward), I'd have to argue that almost 100% of
the men I know who fall into that category are politically progressive
and/or Democrats. So basically, he's just whining about how badly
Republicans are treated in academia. The poor, oppressed, marginalized
little dears.

I agree with him that the current cultural obsession with micro-aggressions
and triggers, amplified by crowd-shaming and the taking of statements and
pictures out of context, is a serious threat to free expression. As a
feminist, I find the sniveling about the need to protect women from even
modest innuendo (I'm not talking about sexual assaults or serious threats
or hazing campaigns) a throwback to Victorian times, with the emphasis on
women as weaklings who need to be sheltered and protected, lest they ...
faint. And I can't imagine that any psychologist would instruct someone
suffering from PTSD to spend the rest of their life hiding from anything
that triggers distressing memories.

LK

On Mon, Jul 24, 2017 at 3:53 AM, Kai Frederik Lorentzen <
lorentzen at hotmail.de> wrote:

>
> Having a daughter who's not only studying history and English but also
> politically active in the fields of LGBT and migration, I'm often
> shocked how little Free Speech counts among the young.
>
> http://quillette.com/2017/07/18/neurodiversity-case-free-speech/
>
>
> -
> Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?listpynchon-l
>
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