Are there parallels that can be made between Jewish religious fundamentalism or perhaps Jewish ethno-nationalism, political Judaism and Islamism, political Islam? Hamas has Islamist roots but makes political claims. In Israel there is a ruling coalition that includes the Religious Zionism Party and a party called Otzma Yehudit, the 'Jewish Power' party. Are there parallels to be made here between Hamas and Jewish fundamentalism? The post Israel – Palestine Part II: Is Jewish religious funda...| Plebity
Instead of shouting slogans, our panelists debate on ideas and the facts. You may think there are not two sides to this issue, but if you haven't heard the arguments on each side, the genuine arguments and not the straw men caricatures of arguments, you're giving up your right to make up your own mind. The post Palestinians are suffering – who is to blame, Israel or Hamas? first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
Dov Osheroff and Willy Maley: perespectives from the left on political violence, history, colonialism, imperialism, racism, antisemitism, social media and the importance of critical thinking and debate Participants: Willy Maley Dov Osheroff Moderator: Mark White The post Dov and Willy talking – perspectives from the left on political violence, history, colonialism, imperialism, racism, antisemitism, social media and the importance of critical thinking and debate first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
ARTICLE One afternoon last June, Salwan Momika, an Iraqi refugee living in Sweden, stepped in front of the largest Mosque in Sweden and lit several pages from the Quran on fire. Momika had sought and received a permit from the Swedish authorities for his provocative demonstration, and there were police monitoring the event. The event, apparently involving two people, caused international uproar and condemnation from world leaders, especially in the Middle-East. It may affect Sweden’s prospe...| Plebity
Conference Censorship, cancel culture, identity politics and other issues will go under the microscope during the Free Speech and the Left conference June 17 to 24. The online event will feature authors, academics, journalists and activists from a dozen countries. The conference will consist of pre-recorded presentations, panel discussions and livestream segments. Co-hosted by Plebity, India & Global Left, Redline, and acTVism Munich, the conference will be broadcast on Plebity’s YouTube ...| Plebity
Conference View this 5 minute preview of next week’s Free Speech and the Left conference Our panelists discuss censorship, cancel culture, identity politics, the relevance of today’s left and other issues during the upcoming Free Speech and the Left conference. The online event will take place June 17 to 24 and feature authors, academics, journalists and activists from a dozen countries. The conference will consist of pre-recorded presentations, panel discussions and livestream segments...| Plebity
Conference Panelists: Jay Lesoleil, Clementine Morrigan Moderator: Scott Costen Description: Today’s identity politics is a toxic morass but it is possible to work towards a leftist vision of a society based on solidarity and mutual tolerance. Jay and Clementine produce the fuckingcancelled podcast. Scott Costen is a freelance journalist based in Nova Scotia, Canada The post Class Solidarity not Cancel Culture with Jay Lesoleil and Clementine Morrigan first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
Conference Panelists: Luis Chaparro, Katherine Corcoran Moderator: Ioan Grillo Description: Independent journalists and authors discuss their investigations into the power of cartels and government collusion. Ioan Grillo is a journalist and writer based in Mexico City, working for outlets including the New York Times, France 24 and National Geographic. He has been covering Latin America since 2001 for news media such as Time Magazine, Esquire, CNN, Reuters, Al Jazeera, The Houston Chronicle...| Plebity
Conference Panelists: Daniel Ben-Ami, Jacob Mchangama Moderator: Daphna Whitmore Description: Jacob Mchangama and Daniel Ben-Ami discuss the limits to free speech with focus on blasphemy, anti-semitism, and islamophobia. The post Religion and Free speech – Daniel Ben-Ami and Jacob Mchangama first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
Conference Panelists: Max Blumenthal, Christian Parenti Description: An exploration of the Covid propaganda from March 2020 to the present day; how the official Covid Narrative is unraveling (or not), the left’s support for authoritarianism, democratic societies’ descent towards authoritarianism, the rapid adoption of digital tech under the guise of public health, inequities created by Covid, capitalism and the wealth disparity, the psychology behind conformity, the conflation of ‘f...| Plebity
Conference Panelists: Lawrence Wilkerson, Matthew Hoh Moderator: Sasha White Description: Discussion about the war in Ukraine and the power and influence of censorship and propaganda Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson is a retired army colonel and former chief of staff to Colin Powell. He served 31 years in the US Army and worked as a distinguished adjunct professor of government and public policy at the College of William and Mary, and taught National Security Affairs in the Honors Program at Geor...| Plebity
Conference Panelists: Janette Higgins, Dov Osheroff Moderator: Willy Maley Description: Three descendants of Spanish Civil War veterans sit down to talk about their fathers, their working class backgrounds their growing political consciousness and how they literally went off to fight fascism in the international brigades of the Spanish Civil War. Janette Higgins is the daughter of Spanish Civil War veteran Jim Higgins. She resides in Toronto and is the editor of her father’s memoir Fighti...| Plebity
Conference Panelists: Wayne Hsiung, Dušan Pajović Moderator: Rozali Telbis Description: Discussion on how animal rights are a free speech issue as well as a core concern for the Left. Wayne Hsiung is an American attorney and environmental and animal rights activist. He is co-founder of the animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) and most currently The Simple Heart Initiative dedicated to animal rescue. Wayne has a long history of non-violent direct action in support of his ...| Plebity
Conference Panelists: Jill Stein, Dmitri Lascaris Moderator: Zain Raza Description: Jill Stein and Dmitri Lascaris discuss the war in Ukraine and today’s Left The post Ukraine and Forever Wars with Jill Stein and Dimitri Lascaris first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
Conference Panelists: Stella O’Malley, Arty Morty Moderator: Sasha White Description: Stella and Arty discuss the difficulties of speaking up and being heard on the topic of transgender ideology. Stella O'Malley is an Irish psychotherapist and author, with three books on parenting and mental health. She is a regular contributor to Irish national newspapers, podcasts, and TV. Her latest book is What Your Teen is Trying to Tell You. Stella O'Malley's BBC documentary 'Trans Kids - it's time ...| Plebity
Conference Panelists: Daniel Ben-Ami, Norman Finkelstein Moderator: Sasha White Description: Norman Finkelstein and Daniel Ben-Ami exchange opinions about Holocaust denialism, hate speech laws and the boundaries of permissible speech. Daniel Ben-Ami runs the Radicalism of Fools website, which is about rethinking antisemitism. In over 30 years as a journalist, he has written for many publications, including The Australian, The Economist, Financial Times, The Guardian and Spiked. He has also ...| Plebity
Conference Panelists: Nadine Strossen Moderator: Sasha White Description: Nadine Strossen, former president of the ACLU, responds to a range of questions regarding the historical and enduring importance of the principle of free speech. Nadine Strossen is past president of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) from 1991-2017. She is Professor of Law Emerita at New York Law School, Senior Fellow of FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression) and author of the book HATE: Why We ...| Plebity
Conference Panelists: Susan Neiman Moderator: Freddie deBoer Description: Susan and Freddie discuss issues of racism, identity and U.S. politics and why today’s woke has veered so far from traditional principles that identify the Left. Susan Neiman is an American philosopher and writer. She has written extensively on the Enlightenment, moral philosophy, metaphysics, and politics. She is director of the Einstein Forum in Potsdam. She is the author of nine books, translated into 15 language...| Plebity
Conference Panelists: Sabrina Salvati, Norman Finkelstein Moderator: Jyotishman Mudiar Description: Recently on her podcast, Sabrina reacted to comments Norman made, which in her view minimized the relative differences in the lives and experiences of blacks and whites in the United States today. In that podcast, Sabrina expressed strong disagreement and mentioned an interest in talking directly with Norman about these issues. Today we bring them together as part of Plebity’s Conference. N...| Plebity
Conference Panelists: Paul Jay, Freddie deBoer Moderator: Jyotishman Mudiar Description: A discussion about independent media and ownership, censorship, self-censorship in media AND a discussion about hate speech laws. Paul Jay is an independent journalist and documentary filmmaker. He is the founder, editor-in-chief, and host of theAnalysis.news - a site of political commentary and interviews. He is currently working on a documentary entitled series with Daniel Ellsberg titled “How to St...| Plebity
Conference Panelists: Clara Mattei, Rick Wolff Moderator: Daphna Whitmore Description: Economics professors Clara Matttei and Rick Wolff discuss the relevancy of the left in today's context. Rick Wolff is Professor of Economics Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a visiting professor at the New School University in New York City. He's the founder of Democracy at Work, the host of the nationally syndicated show Economic Update and author of numerous books on Marxism and...| Plebity
Conference Panelists: Noam Chomsky Moderator: Mark White Description: Noam Chomsky offers his thoughts on what defines the left and on the enduring principle of free speech. Noam Chomsky is a longtime scholar, author, teacher, intellectual, activist and social critic. Noam Chomsky is a longtime scholar, author, teacher, intellectual, activist and social critic. The post Noam Chomsky on What Defines the Left and on the Principle of Free Speech first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
Conference Moderator: Tara Henley Panelists: Amna Khalid, Jeff Snyder Description: Tara Henley leads a discussion with Professors Amna Khalid and Jeff Snyder on their personal thoughts and experiences with identify politics, cancel culture and free speech. Tara Henley is a Canadian writer and podcaster, and the author of the national bestseller Lean Out: A Meditation on the Madness of Modern Life. Over the past two decades, her work has appeared on CBC Radio and TV, and in dozens of newspap...| Plebity
Conference Nadine Strossen reviews the history and importance of free speech as she welcomes participants and viewers of Plebity's Free Speech and the Left conference. Nadine Strossen is past president of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU),1991-2017. She is Professor of Law Emerita at New York Law School, Senior Fellow of FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression) and author of the book HATE: Why We Should Resist it With Free Speech, Not Censorship. Her latest book is: Fr...| Plebity
Article After years of contentious debates, Bill C-11, Canada’s Online Streaming Act has become law. As we’ve written here (Senate Passes Controversial Internet Censorship Bill) and here (Canada’s Plans to Regulate the Internet), this bill poses many dangers for Canadian users and creators alike. The post Canada’s censorship bill becomes law first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
Woke One of the hallmarks of today’s woke left is to conflate speech with violence. Fearful of the ‘harm’ that might be experienced from hearing certain words, the woke left has become widely confused about the issue of free speech in general and between speech and literal, physical violence. In New Zealand this week, Posie Parker was assaulted as she tried to speak–a mob surrounded her and forced her off the stage and ultimately out of the country. The group that prevented her from s...| Plebity
Conference Momentum is building for our Free Speech and the Left virtual conference scheduled for June, 2023. The conference participants include some of today’s most interesting voices, coming together to discuss the most divisive issues of the day. We’re in active collaboration with the New Zealand site Redline, India & the Global Left and acTVism Munich. What is the left? Panelists will consider whether leftist thought offers relevant and useful ways of thinking about capitalism and ex...| Plebity
Opinion “I couldn’t be myself,” or words to that effect: It was written in pencil on a piece of scrap foolscap I found amongst my father‘s papers after he died in 1982. He wrote that sentiment in 1977 when he was working on his memoir. My father’s name was Jim Higgins, and his book is called Fighting for Democracy: a Canadian Activist in Spain’s Civil War. It was not published until 2020. The post Daughter of Spanish Civil War veteran speaks out about identity politics first app...| Plebity
Animal Rights Open dialogue is an important tool for moving discourse forward and gaining a better understanding of the issues we face in our time. In the spirit of open dialogue, the following is my response to the essay Animal Rights and the Challenge of Activism. In the essay, the author describes the different tactics used by animal rights activists to persuade non-vegans. She emphasizes the importance of free speech, open inquiry, and debate, in particular the importance of non-vegans’...| Plebity
Blasphemy We recently wrote about Pakistan's 48 hour ultimatum to Wikipedia–either remove certain ‘sacrilegious’, i.e. blasphemous content, or be blocked in Pakistan. In fact, after the 48 hours were up, Wikipedia was blocked throughout the country. The ban was short-lived. Access was restored after a three day suspension. Who won, blasphemy laws or free speech? The post Wikipedia vs Pakistan: who won, blasphemy laws or free speech? first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
Article On February 2, 2023, the Senate passed Bill C-11, also known as the Online Streaming Act, with 43 senators voting ‘yea,’ and 15 voting ‘nay.’ The Senate proposed dozens of amendments to the bill, including highlighting the promotion of Indigenous languages and Black content creators; proposing an age verification system to restrict access to certain content; requiring the CRTC to be more flexible on determining what is deemed ‘Canadian enough’; and requiring the CRTC to fo...| Plebity
Blasphemy Last Wednesday the Pakistani government issued an ultimatum threatening to shut down the online crowd-sourced encyclopedia Wikipedia. The Pakistani authorities gave Wikipedia 48 hours to remove certain content they deemed to be ‘sacrilegious’ or blasphemous. The forty eight hours had passed by Friday evening, and Saturday it was announced that Wikipedia had been banned in Pakistan. The post Will Wikipedia bow to Pakistan’s censorship laws? first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
Article In the abstract, people mostly agree that book banning is a bad thing. The Nazis did us the favor of being very clear about it and literally burning books, but there are rarely cases that are so unambiguously wrong. In our current culture, it is more common that reading certain books may be punished rather than the books themselves being outright banned. This more subtle form of social control encourages one of the most insidious threats to freedom–the tendency in all of us to self-...| Plebity
Article Plebity: Hello, who are you? AI: I am an AI created by OpenAI. How can I help you today? Plebity: Could you explain the difference between the political right and left? AI: The political right and political left are labels used to describe different ideologies. Generally speaking, the political right stands for traditional values and a focus on capitalism and conservative social policies, while the political left advocates for progressive policies and social justice. Plebity: Why did ...| Plebity
REDLINE article Stuff reports today: “Nationwide bookstore Whitcoulls is selling a magazine peddling a number of anti-vax conspiracies and insinuating the Christchurch mosque terror attack was a “false flag” operation. The Lambton Quay store in Wellington had copies of two issues of New Dawn magazine for sale this week. It was also spotted in another Wellington store, Johnsonville, and at New Lynn in West Auckland.” The post New Dawn – destabilising social cohesion? first appe...| Plebity
Article Free speech is usually thought of in terms of either the state or private companies power to censor speech. What the Qatargate corruption scandal illustrates is that the concept itself is meaningless in a society where speech can be purchased like a suit off the rack. In fact, genuine free speech can’t exist outside of an overall culture of free speech. A free speech culture is one in which speech can’t be bought. It is one in which each person’s speech is given freely, without ...| Plebity
REDLINE article Political leaders railing against Hate Speech while practicing Hate Economics against the mass of workers is sheer hypocrisy. Today, more than ever, we need open exchange and clash of ideas, so that the causes of injustice can be uncovered. So that social frustrations can be better directed to where they belong, against those few at the top, whose inhumane system is the daily cause of our poverty. The post Hate Speech bad, Hate Economics acceptable first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
Article By mandating a politically driven meaning of the word genocide, German law now trivializes the actual meaning of genocide–exactly what is forbidden by its own penal code. In doing so, the German law is itself a form of hate speech, and the German government is participating in a bizarre act of anti-semitic revisionism. The post Germany’s new hate speech law is hate speech first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
GUEST ARTICLE “How do you know someone is vegan?” “Don’t worry, they’ll tell you!” We all know it. Animal Rights activists are annoying and pushy. They will ‘shove their beliefs down your throat’ when you are just trying to enjoy your lunch. Whether How I Met Your Mother or South Park is your show of choice, you will have seen this notorious creature represented on screen, and given the recent growth in the movement, you probably know someone in your own life who always ruins ...| Plebity
Article Acts of civil disobedience often emerge out of a sense of desperation in which citizens feel they are not being heard by decision makers by other means, and so they are forced to seek alternative ways to be heard and to affect change. The very function of civil disobedience is to protest against injustice—a requirement for any democratic society, though it is often portrayed as a foolish, juvenile activity reserved for people on the lower rungs of society. The post In Defense of Cli...| Plebity
Article What does it mean, to ‘counter hate speech with more speech’? Hint: it doesn’t mean 5 minutes for the Jews and 5 minutes for Hitler. In 1971, over the course of several months, historian Gitta Sereny trudged regularly into a prison in Dusseldorf, Germany to sit across a small table from Franz Stangl, former commandant of the extermination camp Treblinka. Between April and June of that year, Sereny collected over 70 hours of interviews with Stangl who died on June 28–within hou...| Plebity
Chart Dear Liberals or Conservatives, When you say left, you probably aren’t actually talking about the left. Find another name. Or at least understand the difference between the woke left and the traditional left which although largely silenced does still exist. Here is a crude guide for liberals and conservatives who want to know the difference. See the chart. The post Hello, do you know the difference? The Raytheon, Goldman Sachs left is not the left. first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
REDLINE article The most influential queer theorist is Judith Butler an American philosopher who draws heavily upon Foucault and Derrida. Butler’s chief contribution to queer Theory was to question the links between sex – the biological categories of male and female – gender- the behaviours and traits commonly associated with one sex or the other – and sexuality – the nature of sexual desire. Butler claims gender is wholly socially constructed, and developed her most well-known con...| Plebity
Article The mediasphere has been buzzing with the news of Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover. The world’s richest man bought the platform for $44 billion under the guise of freeing the platform from the shackles of censorship and creating a 'common digital town square'. It should be noted that just weeks ago, Musk was desperately trying to back away from the deal, but a lawsuit eventually forced his hand. The reaction to the news has ranged from sensible criticism to outright hysterics from all...| Plebity
Article If you want to fan the flames of fascism, keep doing things like this, Penn State students! Several days ago Penn State, a top-ranked U.S. research university, known for its football team and its programs in engineering, business, and marketing, began trending on social media for something entirely different. The event was to feature Gavin McInnes, cofounder of the right-wing organization Proudboys and comedian, provocateur Alex Stein. Student opinion was very strongly against allowin...| Plebity
Article A little over a week ago, on October 11, a young woman in France sat down in front of her video camera and earnestly recounted the story of her narrow escape from a sex trafficking and possible organ trafficking gang operating from the train station in the city of Marseille. Against the backdrop of ominous music she tells her story... The post Rumors, Mob Justice and Free Speech – this time the Roma community is the target first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
REDLINE article Queer theory sees the concepts of sex – male and female – and gender – masculine and feminine- as oppressive. The main objective of queer theory is to subvert these concepts and to break them down. Rejecting the possibility of there being a knowable objective reality, queer theory asserts that language creates the categories, enforces them, and scripts people into them. The boundaries are arbitrary and oppressive according to queer theory. These boundaries can be blurre...| Plebity
Free Speech Union Podcast Mark and Daphna discuss how the Left of the past was at the forefront of defending free speech, why that is no longer the case and why the Left shouldn't bet their money on tech billionaires like Elon Musk to be their free speech savior. The post Daphna Whitmore and Mark White Discuss Why the Left has Abandoned Free Speech first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
Article Today, there is intense talk of possible use of ‘tactical’ nuclear weapons by Putin in Ukraine. A recent NYtimes headline read: ‘In Washington, Putin’s Nuclear Threats Stir Growing Alarm' and the subhead went on to say that ‘U.S. officials are gaming out responses’. The post Is the Apocalypse Transphobic? first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
Article What constitutes harm? This is the question currently debated by Canadian lawmakers surrounding the Online Harms Bill — a controversial bill currently under development that seeks to protect vulnerable people online and curb the dissemination of ‘harmful’ content. The post Using the ‘Harm’ Argument to Censor Online Speech first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
REDLINE article Under postmodernism many ideas that were seen as objectively true came to be seen as mere constructions of language. Foucault refers to them as ‘discourses’ that construct knowledge. Consequently, since discourses are believed to create and maintain oppression, they have to be carefully monitored and deconstructed. This is not some obscure academic issue, it is the outlook that is behind calls for laws to outlaw speech which may cause offense. The post Postmodernism – t...| Plebity
Article Leftists have shamelessly abandoned the fight to preserve our fundamental freedoms and then have the audacity to turn around and condemn anyone else who seeks to preserve these same freedoms they’ve left behind. The post No, Supporting Freedom is Not ‘Fascist Apologism’ first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
In these times, leftists who espouse free speech are like wanderers in the wilderness. The political sands may be swirling so intensely that they are unable to see clearly, but the desert is actually filled with like-minded wanderers, each mistakenly thinking they are alone. That is why it is all the more important to discover and support a site like Redline. Redline is a blog collective in New Zealand that combines original content with a carefully chosen selection of re-posted articles. The...| Plebity
Article Regardless of what anyone thinks of Kiwi Farms, it’s a step in the wrong direction to allow, and even celebrate tech oligarchs who arbitrarily decide what information should be permitted and what should be removed. This creates a dangerous precedent and assigns more power to a few people who already operate in secrecy. To put trust in the tech elite is naive at best, and dangerous at worst. It also has the unintended effect of motivating authoritarian regimes, as evidenced above,...| Plebity
Article Free speech decisions on social networks are guided by an unknown mesh of personal predilections of tech company CEOs and their boards. They are driven by profit motive and the competition of rivals. The algorithms that enforce their censorship are based on rules that we know nothing about; we haven’t participated in their design or voted on their adoption. The post Who decides what we are allowed to say? first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
Article Somewhere along the way, the left abandoned free speech as a fundamental value and the right has since stepped in to defend it. Leftists now lead the charge in restricting speech to protect certain sensibilities, particularly the speech of those on the right, and the right has responded in kind by protecting speech at all costs. This marked shift has been especially noticeable in Canada where Canadians' stance on free speech is largely shaped by their political affiliation. The post S...| Plebity
ARTICLE As Marguerite commented to Plebity in preparation for this article: “I am really very saddened by what is happening with the left in France, because this is my political family: the universalist, secular and philosophically materialist left. And here [in France], the majority of women who are gender critical are leftist.” The post Marguerite Stern and the betrayal of the left first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
GUEST ARTICLE It is hard to think of an area of political debate more emotionally charged than that of Israel and its relationship with the Palestinians. But it would be a step forward if there was free debate on the subject. That would open the possibility for misconceptions to be challenged rather than letting grievances fester. The post The perils of mutual cancellation first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
ARTICLE The Stepford Wives was a movie that came out in 1972 and might not be very well remembered today but which nonetheless contributed a useful metaphor for describing certain aspects of our society. Briefly, the Stepford Wives were the possessed and submissive versions of their original human selves, surreptitiously transformed one by one and reappearing as empty husks of what they had once been. The post Why the left needs free speech first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
ARTICLE On June 23, 2022, the Canadian government officially made Holocaust denialism a crime. This amendment to the Criminal Code was secretly tucked away in Bill C-19, Canada’s budget implementation act. Canadians hardly noticed it was there — we were too distracted by the budgetary provisions that we were promised would make life more affordable for us. The post Criminalizing Holocaust Denial Sets a Dangerous Precedent first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
ARTICLE In the west, we often think that the right to question religious authority is a battle that was won long ago. Most people think it’s at best an anachronism in today’s world. But it wasn’t so long ago that questioning church canon could lead to arrest, torture and a painful, fiery death. The post Blasphemy – a notion that crystallizes so many of the issues around free speech first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
ARTICLE Suppressing and censoring speech used to mostly be the work of the government. People on the left would generally criticize and resist the power of the state to control what information they would be allowed to see, hear or read, particularly in times of war. The post Journalistic self-censorship in wartime is a free speech problem first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
ARTICLE Canada’s latest attempt to regulate speech comes in the form of the hotly debated bill, Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act (though it was hardly debated in the House-–MPs rushed over 150 amendments to meet the government imposed deadline). The post Canada’s Plans to Regulate the Internet first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
ARTICLE Somewhere along the way, the environmental movement became human-centric. We turned Nature into the Environment, Animals into Resources, and Land into Conservation Sites The post The Revival – The False Promise of Recreating the Ice Age to Save the Planet first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
ARTICLE Forty years after the Communist Manifesto eviscerated capitalism and predicted its demise, a relatively unknown American writer shot to fame with a fascinating blueprint for its replacement. Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward 2000 – 1887 was a literary, cultural, and political sensation. First published in 1888, it was an international hit and only the second U.S. novel to sell a million copies. The post Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy: Is this 1888 vision of a year 2000 Utopia ...| Plebity
ARTICLE I appreciate the opportunity to respond to Mark White’s blog in Plebity arguing that anti-Zionism is not antisemitism. I take up some but not all of Mark’s arguments. But Mark’s analysis is off base both conceptually and factually in several places. The post On anti-Zionism and Antisemitism: A Response to Mark White’s Article in Plebity first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
ARTICLE When Jews discourage debate about Israel and Jewish identity, they prevent open conversation and legitimate criticism of Israel, which leaves the field open forreal antisemites to use anti-Zionist language to promote and spread their actual antisemitism. The post No, Anti-Zionism does not Equal Antisemitism first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
ARTICLE Moral grandstanding is an ever-present, seductive force. It may feel impossible to avoid for many of us, but it is necessary to do so if we want to coexist meaningfully with each other. Next time you feel the urge to make a moral proclamation, consider whether you are actually advancing a cause, or yourself. The post ‘Do Your Part’: On the Toxic Rise of Moral Grandstanding in the Pandemic first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
ARTICLE While medical schools still use some modified version of the Hippocratic Oath, many medical schools, including Harvard, Yale, and the University of Texas are now allowing students to write their own oaths. At the University of Pittsburgh, the graduating class of 2024 wrote an oath of ethics with a social justice bent. The post Why the Medical Community is Abandoning Science in the Age of Denial first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
ARTICLE This fake news story begins in Veles, a small city of 40,000 people in Macedonia. Veles became widely known in the Trump election of 2016 as a production center for false information websites. Presumably, there were hundreds of fake news websites developed by some people in Veles that generated income from ads. The post A Story of Fake Photojournalism: The Book of Veles, Real Euros for Fake News first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
FREE SPEECH FUND The latest Plebity Free Speech Fund recipients are two Oregon educators, Rachel Damiano and Katie Medart. Rachel, Assistant Principal, and Katie, 7th-grade science teacher... The post Latest Free Speech Grants Go To Rachel Damiano and Katie Medart first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
PODCAST In this episode, Sasha is joined by Hunter College Professor Yasha Klots for a discussion on Soviet contraband literature, censorship, and what we can learn about our current climate from the history of book banning in the USSR. The post Book Banning: the Secrets of Dissident Soviet Writers first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
PODCAST In this episode, Sasha is joined by Harriet Fraad, feminist activist, psychotherapist and hypnotherapist, for a discussion on feminism and class. They talk about how class needs to be at the basis for all social justice activism, her thoughts on the failures and successes of the 2nd wave, debates within feminism like trans activism, Gloria Steinem and the corporate and government sabotage of feminism and the racial equality movement, and the destructive mindset feminists should avoid ...| Plebity
ARTICLE Revelations like those from Snowden and the Pegasus Project have this same unexpected and counterintuitive effect. Instead of rejecting the control, we increasingly learn to adapt and self censor. The panopticon effect lies exactly in this acceptance of the new normal. Afraid to say the wrong thing, we self censure our discourse and the allowable range of ideas becomes more and more narrow. Those who fail to ‘check their words’ are cancelled and provide an example for the rest. Th...| Plebity
ARTICLE All around the world, digital tools are being used in various ways to monitor data and control access. Privacy experts have long warned that these digital tools are not easily reversible; they are often repackaged, and repurposed for other means. As always, their calls have been ignored. The post Pegasus, Pandemics, and the Normalization of Surveillance first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
ARTICLE Monopoly used to be understood in a kind of one dimensional space, how a company may have gained dominance in its industry. However, today’s tech monopolies exist in multidimensions; they monopolize and control our data, they decide when and if to censor our speech, and they purchase government officials, the same ones charged with reigning them in. But our old conception of monopolies is totally inadequate to describe or understand the significance of today’s big tech companies. ...| Plebity
PODCAST In this episode, Lisa Marchiano joins me to talk about her new book Motherhood: Facing and Finding Yourself. Lisa Marchiano is a Jungian analyst, author, and podcaster. She is the cohost and creator of the podcast This Jungian Life. We discuss how motherhood has been devalued in our society, how Lisa addresses the fear many women have of being "chained down" by motherhood, and how she uses fairy tales in her book to illustrate lessons that women can learn about themselves through moth...| Plebity
VIDEO In this clip from Sasha and Nesim's interview with Sean McCarthy, Sean explains what he thinks the left needs to focus on in order to regain its relevance and make real change. The post Sean McCarthy on How the Left Can Find its Relevance Again first appeared on Plebity.| Plebity
VIDEOIn this clip, Nesim and Sasha speak to their guests Charles Love and Wilfred Reilly about the recent Wi Spa incident, where antifa protestors violently harassed several individuals who oppose policies that allow transwomen to enter women's spaces (changing rooms and other areas where women are vulnerable or undressed).| Plebity
Plebity - Free speech is a fundamental value of the left.| Plebity - - free speech is a fundamental principal of the left
ARTICLE For the better part of a decade, I immersed myself in social justice causes. I made sure I kept myself up-to-date with the latest social justice jargon, even when it was confusing and contradictory (though I wouldn’t admit to it at the time).| Plebity - - free speech is a fundamental principal of the left
