# Let the book burnings begin.



## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

I'm not saying that the leftist authoritarians are Nazis, but the book burnings are coming.









WRDSB looking to remove potentially harmful books from library collections


The Waterloo Region District School Board is going to be taking a hard look at the books in their libraries as part of their ongoing discussion with racism and inequity.




kitchener.ctvnews.ca





Again they're doing it "for a good reason", so we have nothing to worry about right?

And to think banned book week was just a few days ago.








Banned Books Week (September 18-24, 2022)


“This is a dangerous time for readers and the public servants who provide access to reading materials. Readers, particularly students, are losing access to critical information, and librarians and teachers are under attack for doing their jobs.” - Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the ALA’s...




www.ala.org


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## damian13ster (Apr 19, 2021)

I don't believe this news is surprising to anyone to be honest. The parallels are stark


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## Ponderling (Mar 1, 2013)

To sorta paraphrase Wham, from back in the 80's, but update to a more current genre:

"Woke me up before ya go go.
I ain't interested in goin' solo."


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## Eder (Feb 16, 2011)

In the same vein Netflix edited all the Seinfeld shows to conform to wokeness when they bought the rights. Right think only!


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

Nice try guys - we know you're all just bots... Paid for by super powerful right-wing think-tank secret corporate influences, plus the all-powerful Christian churches conglomerate of infinite secret government control. Poor little internet liberals, all we want is equality, but have no power or hope to ever overcome such entrenched systems of control. 

Thanks for the reminder MrMatt - There's a few books I want to order that I should get around to buying hard copies of before it's too late. Even if I don't read them right away.


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

peterk said:


> Nice try guys - we know you're all just bots... Paid for by super powerful right-wing think-tank secret corporate influences, plus the all-powerful Christian churches conglomerate of infinite secret government control. Poor little internet liberals, all we want is equality, but have no power or hope to ever overcome such entrenched systems of control.
> 
> Thanks for the reminder MrMatt - There's a few books I want to order that I should get around to buying hard copies of before it's too late. Even if I don't read them right away.


I think someone needs to remake Fahrenheit 451, maybe as a TikTok video.


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## Synergy (Mar 18, 2013)

MrMatt said:


> I think someone needs to remake Fahrenheit 451, maybe as a TikTok video.


👍 That's the only "book" I read in secondary school!


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Right wingers are extremely intolerant of anything that opposes their views and consistently shut things down, and silence voices which they dislike.

Those are truly an evil force to be reckoned with. @MrMatt I know that you are committed to fighting this kind of evil. Hopefully we can put a stop to right wing craziness before these evil people transform our society with their backwards views.


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

james4beach said:


> Right wingers are extremely intolerant of anything that opposes their views and consistently shut things down, and silence voices which they dislike.
> 
> Those are truly an evil force to be reckoned with. @MrMatt I know that you are committed to fighting this kind of evil. Hopefully we can put a stop to right wing craziness before these evil people transform our society with their backwards views.


Lol.
And the left wingers will hurt themselves just so they can "be better towards others" and pat themselves on the back because they are insecure.

I have said this many times and I will say it again...

Since when did looking out for yourself become such an evil thing?

Everyone does it. It's human nature. Personally? The removal/editing of books just to not "offend" others is ridiculous.


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

Why don't we rewrite history while we're at it? We can pretend nothing ever happened. Everything is rainbows and unicorns and daisies.

Oh, and racism can be solved, too, right?


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

If you want to see racism at it's finest check out the information on the backs of some vintage non sports cards about the US "wild west" days.

Some old comic books in the US that were written from a German soldier's perspective used to rail against Jews.

It is a different world today. That kind of stuff is just not acceptable anymore.

You don't think native Americans found the Cleveland Indian baseball team's mascot named Chief Wahoo offensive and degrading ?

Anyone who can't bear the change in morality and attitudes won't be happy living in Canada. Maybe somewhere else would be more suitable for them.


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

james4beach said:


> Right wingers are extremely intolerant of anything that opposes their views and consistently shut things down, and silence voices which they dislike.
> 
> Those are truly an evil force to be reckoned with. @MrMatt I know that you are committed to fighting this kind of evil. Hopefully we can put a stop to right wing craziness before these evil people transform our society with their backwards views.


Extremists are extremely intolerant, that's what makes them extremists.

You seem obsessed with right wing, I start a thread about book banning, which shouldn't even be a political issue. Freedom of expression is a charter right in Canada. 

I want to stop the regressive elements with backwards views, irrespective of this silly left/right thing you're obsessed with. I call it out on both sides, do you?


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

KaeJS said:


> Since when did looking out for yourself become such an evil thing?
> 
> Everyone does it. It's human nature





KaeJS said:


> Why don't we rewrite history while we're at it?


You need to dig deeper KaeJS. History _was_ re-written for you to come to the first conclusion, and to create a camp within the population, "conservatives" generally speaking, to hone society's focus on money endeavoring and generally endorse profit consolidating. On the other side, in the liberal propaganda camp, dependency is nurtured and grievances aired, always beyond the reality of the situation.

Neither of these things play prominent roles in "human nature" but society sees to it that it becomes forefront for us. You must resist. Discover history (read old books - ones that aren't burned yet lol), learn what human nature really is. Try your best to see through it all.


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

peterk said:


> You need to dig deeper KaeJS. History _was_ re-written for you to come to the first conclusion, and to create a camp within the population, "conservatives" generally speaking, to hone society's focus on money endeavoring and generally endorse profit consolidating. On the other side, in the liberal propaganda camp, dependency is nurtured and grievances aired, always beyond the reality of the situation.
> 
> Neither of these things play prominent roles in "human nature" but society sees to it that it becomes forefront for us. You must resist. Discover history (read old books - ones that aren't burned yet lol), learn what human nature really is. Try your best to see through it all.


I can't argue with what you've said.
But as I have said to others on this forum, none of us are martyrs.

We are on a financial forum, after all.


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## 307169 (May 24, 2015)

Just make sure you all the books that are potentially "harmful" are disclosed, so people can select accordingly. (Also a good CYA policy to make sure no one will complain.)
*Nothing should be censored, unless it cause obvious and significant threat to the life*, (significant amount of) *properties, and liberty of anyone.* (Like falsely claiming there is fire in a crowded venue)


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## bgc_fan (Apr 5, 2009)

Interesting, I like how automatically this was poised against "leftist" agenda. It's worth actually looking what books are being challenged.

*Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2020*
Find more shareable statistics on the Free Downloads webpage.

The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 156 challenges to library, school, and university materials and services in 2020. Of the 273 books that were targeted, here are the most challenged, along with the reasons cited for censoring the books:​

*George by Alex Gino*
Reasons: Challenged, banned, and restricted for LGBTQIA+ content, conflicting with a religious viewpoint, and not reflecting “the values of our community”
*Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds*
Reasons: Banned and challenged because of author’s public statements, and because of claims that the book contains “selective storytelling incidents” and does not encompass racism against all people
*All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely*
Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, drug use, and alcoholism, and because it was thought to promote anti-police views, contain divisive topics, and be “too much of a sensitive matter right now”
*Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson*
Reasons: Banned, challenged, and restricted because it was thought to contain a political viewpoint and it was claimed to be biased against male students, and for the novel’s inclusion of rape and profanity
*The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie*
Reasons: Banned and challenged for profanity, sexual references, and allegations of sexual misconduct by the author
*Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazzard, illustrated by Jennifer Zivoin*
Reasons: Challenged for “divisive language” and because it was thought to promote anti-police views
*To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee*
Reasons: Banned and challenged for racial slurs and their negative effect on students, featuring a “white savior” character, and its perception of the Black experience
*Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck*
Reasons: Banned and challenged for racial slurs and racist stereotypes, and their negative effect on students
*The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison*
Reasons: Banned and challenged because it was considered sexually explicit and depicts child sexual abuse
*The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas*
Reasons: Challenged for profanity, and it was thought to promote an anti-police message
Anyone what to try to explain why the left would be against all of these? It looks like it's pretty much a mix between "right" and "left".
Of course, you could look at the 2019 list which is a list of books mainly banned for LGBTQIA+ content.


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## Joe Black (Aug 3, 2015)

This isn't a "left" vs. "right" issue. Remember it used to be the "good Christians" and homophobes who wanted to protect the youth from being "corrupted", for example. Other than just pure hate speech I don't want to see any opinions suppressed, even the ones I don't agree with.


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

Joe Black said:


> This isn't a "left" vs. "right" issue. Remember it used to be the "good Christians" and homophobes who wanted to protect the youth from being "corrupted", for example. Other than just pure hate speech I don't want to see any opinions suppressed, even the ones I don't agree with.


They've redefined "hate speech" and "violence" to be anything that makes someone feel bad.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

Eder said:


> In the same vein Netflix edited all the Seinfeld shows to conform to wokeness when they bought the rights. Right think only!


ya gotta be kidding!
have we come to this?
what's next? censoring Basil Fawlty?


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

As a parent, I see both sides. I understand the sentiment of removing inappropriate content and trying to protect children, but see the importance of not scrubbing history and giving opportunities for critical thinking and discussion. 

I am all for not supporting books that I don't believe appropriate written in current day (authors should write in based on current societal norms), but removing books from the pasts (especially far past), I believe in letting them be. If we keep removing any offensive, we will not be able to teach our kids on how to have proper conversations to discuss controversial issues.


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

Somebody somewhere has to make the decisions on what is appropriate and what isn't, and therein lies the potential for hand wringing.


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

Censorship is complicated. As soon as a limit is more or less set.......somebody challenges it.

They may do so because they have strong beliefs in non-censorship, or they may just want to say outrageous things to attract attention and earn more money from paid clicks.

Some will claim the unfettered right to free speech, but then complain that someone else exercises their right not to provide a venue for it.....or even to listen to it.

Some people rail against any form of censorship, as long as it happens to someone else. They don't want their families exposed to the worst that human's are capable of.

Personally, it isn't a job I would want. People who get paid by social media companies to review complaints on content are exposed to the worst of it and it deeply affects them until they can't do it anymore.

As they say.......be careful what you ask for because you just might get it.


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## Mechanic (Oct 29, 2013)

I immigrated my family to Canada 40 yrs ago. Canada has been great but the last few years I think it's becoming a less desirable option for many.


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## bgc_fan (Apr 5, 2009)

Joe Black said:


> This isn't a "left" vs. "right" issue. Remember it used to be the "good Christians" and homophobes who wanted to protect the youth from being "corrupted", for example. Other than just pure hate speech I don't want to see any opinions suppressed, even the ones I don't agree with.


Literally the first sentence in this thread is:


MrMatt said:


> I'm not saying that the leftist authoritarians are Nazis, but the book burnings are coming.


And then you have people jumping onto the leftist agenda is bad bandwagon.

When we talk about "good Christians" and homophobes, that tends to slant towards the right end of the spectrum.

There are certainly limits, like child pornography, and there are some pretty good examples of hate speech. However, everything is up to interpretation, but people like using the slippery slope argument and you see the application get widened.


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

bgc_fan said:


> Literally the first sentence in this thread is:
> 
> 
> MrMatt said:
> ...


Well yeah.
Because while leftists are not Nazis, they are following the playbook.

And yes the leftist agenda is bad.
They are promoting bad ideas, and trying to censor speech to prevent people from criticizing them.


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## bgc_fan (Apr 5, 2009)

MrMatt said:


> Well yeah.
> Because while leftists are not Nazis, they are following the playbook.
> 
> And yes the leftist agenda is bad.
> They are promoting bad ideas, and trying to censor speech to prevent people from criticizing them.


And yet strangely most of the opposition would appear to be from the right.


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

bgc_fan said:


> And yet strangely most of the opposition would appear to be from the right.


I agree, most of the opposition to the left wing agenda is from the right.

What many find troubling is that the modern leftist has completely abandoned Liberal principles and human rights.


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## damian13ster (Apr 19, 2021)

What's scary is that not many find that troubling


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Mechanic said:


> I immigrated my family to Canada 40 yrs ago. Canada has been great but the last few years I think it's becoming a less desirable option for many.


There's always Florida and Texas



MrMatt said:


> What many find troubling is that the modern leftist has completely abandoned Liberal principles and human rights.


You sure are obsessed with this "left wing" thing.


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## bgc_fan (Apr 5, 2009)

MrMatt said:


> I agree, most of the opposition to the left wing agenda is from the right.
> 
> What many find troubling is that the modern leftist has completely abandoned Liberal principles and human rights.


I meant opposition to books, but I understand if you like misunderstanding things.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

MrMatt said:


> I'm not saying that the leftist authoritarians are Nazis, but the book burnings are coming.


You've got such an incredibly biased view of the world. I usually try to ignore the propaganda you post, but I'm going to throw this one back in your face. It does bother me how you spew your propaganda on this forum.

*The right wing authoritarians are again banning and rounding up books they don't like.*

First, Texas (right wingers) actually passed a law to restrict discussion of racism in schools. And a school district near Houston has banned a series of books which discuss racism. These right wingers are literally banning books they don't like.

Disgusting! But that wasn't enough for the free speech haters.

Next, Texas lawmakers are doing an investigation into other books to round up and ban or burn. The politician leading the charge has _16 pages of book names_ dating back to the 1960s, including books that deal with race, gender, and sexuality. Here's a second article on it.

Krause commented that already five school districts have banned books which make parents uncomfortable.



> Krause asked the districts to provide information about books that deal with sexuality, sexually transmitted disease, AIDS and HIV and “material that might make students feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress because of their race or sex.”


What a whiny right wing snowflake! I'm not saying the right wing are Nazis, but they've already banned books and are purging the schools.

Actually, considering that the MAGA / right wing already basically has armed militias, carried out a violent attack on the center of US government, attempted to kill the Vice President, and is rounding up and banning text they hate... the parallel to the Nazis is pretty damned strong.

As usual, conservatives can't resist the temptation to just ban and censor material that challenges their conservative beliefs. It's really disgusting what the right wing does. They are a bunch of snowflakes who absolutely hate free speech, and try to ban anything that makes them uncomfortable.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Following on the above ^ article about right wingers rounding up and banning books, the following are on the list the Texas lawmakers are investigating to possibly ban, including Atwood's book, and another warning about the dangers of fascism.


— "The Confessions of Nat Turner," a 1967 novel by William Styron written as a first-person narrative of an 1831 slave revolt in Virginia.

— "The Cider House Rules," John Irving’s 1985 novel about a protagonist whose childhood mentor is an obstetrician who performs abortions.

— "V for Vendetta," the 1982 graphic novel by Alan Moore about a dystopian, post-apocalyptic England ruled by a fascist regime, which became a hit movie in 2005.

*— "The Handmaid’s Tale," another dystopian novel written by Margaret Atwood about a post-revolution United States in which women are subjected by a ruling class of men. Krause specifically asks about a graphic novel form of the book.*

— "We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy" and "Between the World and Me," an essay collection and memoir by author and essayist Ta-Nehisi Coates.


Nobody hates free speech quite like conservatives! What a bunch of goons!


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## damian13ster (Apr 19, 2021)

So you just replied to a biased post with another biased post? Constructive!

Book burning is bad. No matter who does it. Whether it is crazies on the right, or crazies on the left. 
Pointing fingers on each other and shouting 'he started it' is childish


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

james4beach said:


> You've got such an incredibly biased view of the world. I usually try to ignore the propaganda you post, but I'm going to throw this one back in your face. It does bother me how you spew your propaganda on this forum.
> 
> *The right wing authoritarians are again banning and rounding up books they don't like.*


I don't live in Texas, I live in Ontario. 

When Ontario schools start banning books because of their political views, that's the problem I have.
I also don't think that those listed books should be banned either, but I don't read local Texas news, and don't really keep up on all their antics.

Again it's about the action of political book banning that I have a problem with, it is happening here in Ontario, which is the article I linked to, and why I raised the point.


Also the Handmaids Tale is an interesting one.
Margaret Atwood is apparently a right wing TERF so it's okay to attack her now anyway. Margaret Atwood Goes Full JK Rowling, Shares Anti-Trans Nonsense on Twitter

Also it's not a particularly good book. Still shouldn't be banned. 


while pejorative, I definitely am attempting to engage in some form of "propaganda'.
"the dissemination of information—facts and arguments—to influence public opinion." That's kind of the point of a discussion, particularly a political one.


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## damian13ster (Apr 19, 2021)

From the more worrying things, Supreme Court of Canada tomorrow decides whether one can criticize and make fun of public figures. After tomorrow, it may be illegal to make fun of politicians, celebrities, et al. Any negative commentary about any public figure will be potentially criminal.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Decentralized blockchains are censorship resistant. It can also verify authenticity. See Hong Kong example

YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Google etc have all exploited centralized control to censor ideas and promote others without any transparent justification or open debate required. Mainstream media has been doing the same all along. Foreign interests have weaponized this with great success to disrupt and divide. They all dissuade crypto and blockchain tech for example because they rely on centralized control themselves. If you think crypto is evil yet don't actually know anything about it maybe you should ask yourself why.

Candidates in the US have been silenced so the population is only aware of and think they have 1 choice. It's a farce. Wake up


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

Isn't the blockchain controlled by a few mining operators, often located in foreign countries ? Individual miners haven't all but disappeared from the scene ?

A government with no ability to censor false information and the worst of human behaviors, wouldn't create unregulated chaos ?

How would a free for all for pedophiles, anarchists, murderers, drug dealers, blackmailers, and assorted criminals.........create a better society ?

Didn't free and open discussion on social media platforms like Parlor and Facebook, create the violent insurrection at the Capital on January 6th, where people were looking to do harm to the VP of the US and the Speakers of the House and Senate ?

I have to admit to ignorance of the connection between crypto, blockchains and a better world.


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

A rule of thumb that I use on censorship issues, is how I would react if the "alleged" grievous behaviour was directed at me and my family.

It can provide some perspective on how far you might want to limit the freedom of others to launch their attacks on you personally.

Would it be okay if people stood on the "public sidewalk" in front of your home with a bullhorn and yelled at your kids all day ?

If it happens to someone else, would you defend the behavior as an example of "free speech" ?

What if someone posted stuff about you or your family online ? That okay with you ? Free speech and all that ?

Point is......that is far easier to give greater latitude to the ideal of free speech, when the troubling parts don't involve you.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

sags said:


> Isn't the blockchain controlled by a few mining operators, often located in foreign countries ? Individual miners haven't all but disappeared from the scene ?


The only true statement here is that yes they are often located in foreign countries. This is just a nationalist statement though. Foreigners are human too @sags we all live on this planet known as Earth. Borders are arbitrary. Welcome to the internet and globalization circa 1990



sags said:


> A government with no ability to censor false information and the worst of human behaviors, wouldn't create unregulated chaos ?
> 
> How would a free for all for pedophiles, anarchists, murderers, drug dealers, blackmailers, and assorted criminals.........create a better society ?


This is a legitimate concern that could manifest into a problem at some point. I think all systems can be problematic if we let them get out of control. Capitalism was great at first until we all got comfortable and lazy with the lobbyists and multinational corps having so much control

A niche like pedophilia can always be stamped out if there is enough financial desire to do so, which I think is overwhelmingly true. If you buy enough ASIC computers you could control Bitcoin but there is enough human incentive to decentralize and protect it. I don't believe there are enough pedophiles in our society to protect pedophilia sags

The crime, drugs, murderers and blackmailers just shows you watch way too much mainstream media sags. All of that exists in the fiat world and blockchains being open and transparent is not where they prefer to operate. Stop listening to FUD and start thinking for yourself here



sags said:


> Didn't free and open discussion on social media platforms like Parlor and Facebook, create the violent insurrection at the Capital on January 6th, where people were looking to do harm to the VP of the US and the Speakers of the House and Senate ?


The problem here is how easy it is to spread disinformation. The current social media is very easy to manipulate to incite a niche group of people. Blockchains actually improve and solve this sags. It makes it financially prohibitive to amplify false narratives and disinformation. It allows us to verify and authenticate genuine information. That's the whole point

I don't expect you to understand this from me spoon feeding you for a few minutes. The onus is on you to feed yourself with the vast information available to us all online. They can't burn the internet very easily thank God almighty (Elon, Starlink, the Bible and all that is holy and verifiably true)


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

damian13ster said:


> So you just replied to a biased post with another biased post? Constructive!


No, I showed more details that MrMatt likes to conceal why he spreads right wing propaganda.

@MrMatt spends a lot of his time posting political garbage on this board. But if we really want to get into details (which I generally don't by the way), the right wing is pretty awful with censorship and fighting against free speech.

Conservatives hate protesters too. That's another form of the right wing's assaults on free speech and liberty. They aggressively use their media machinery, police, and government to suppress protestors.

*Alberta's government tries to censor and ban environmental groups and protesters*. Alberta even uses government power to suppress the speech of environmentalists, through their government-sponsored energy propaganda department.

How's that for a Canadian example? Whether it's Texas, Alberta, or the Trump administration... the right wing hates freedom and liberty.


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## damian13ster (Apr 19, 2021)

james4beach said:


> No, I showed that if you're going to play this game, that it's just as easy to show the reverse of what's claimed.
> 
> @MrMatt spends a lot of his time posting political garbage on this board. But if we really want to get into details (which I generally don't by the way), the right wing is pretty awful with censorship and fighting against free speech.
> 
> They hate protesters too. That's another form of the right wing's fight against free speech and liberty.


You literally put in another biased post while denying the previous post was biased 
Pot calling the kettle black. It is quite amusing that you are missing the hypocrisy here
Book burning is wrong - both by extreme left and extreme right.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

damian13ster said:


> You literally put in another biased post while denying the previous post was biased
> Pot calling the kettle black. It is quite amusing that you are missing the hypocrisy here
> Book burning is wrong - both by extreme left and extreme right.


I showed clearly how Texas is trying to ban or suppress a long list of books, including Margaret Atwood's.

I'm presenting a counter argument to how MrMatt began this thread.

Now I'm also reminding you that the government in Alberta has been suppressing free speech and counter opinions as well. Do you want any more examples on how conservatives love to censor things? I've got a lot more examples, if you guys want to keep talking!

Newsflash guys: the right wing isn't a champion of freedom and liberty.


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## damian13ster (Apr 19, 2021)

james4beach said:


> I showed clearly how Texas is trying to ban or suppress a long list of books, including Margaret Atwood's.
> 
> I'm presenting a counter argument to how MrMatt began this thread.
> 
> Now I'm also reminding you that the government in Alberta has been suppressing free speech and counter opinions as well. Do you want any more examples on how the right wing censors things? I've got a lot more examples, if you guys want to keep talking!


And where did I deny that there is extreme right that censors? Never did that.
On all posts on the topic I have stated that both extreme right and extreme left love censorship. 
You are talking from one side, Matt is talking on the other side, and the truth is in between.

Personally I am worried more right now over what Supreme Court of Canada is going to do tomorrow. They might (whether on purpose or short-sightness) make criticizing politicians illegal


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

james4beach said:


> No, I showed more details that MrMatt likes to conceal why he spreads right wing propaganda.


Not really, I'm pointing out specific concerns within the current authority structure.



> @MrMatt spends a lot of his time posting political garbage on this board. But if we really want to get into details (which I generally don't by the way), the right wing is pretty awful with censorship and fighting against free speech.


And that is unacceptable as well.



> Conservatives hate protesters too. That's another form of the right wing's assaults on free speech and liberty. They aggressively use their media machinery, police, and government to suppress protestors.


I do generally protestors, but I acknowledge their right to peacefully protest.



> *Alberta's government tries to censor and ban environmental groups and protesters*. Alberta even uses government power to suppress the speech of environmentalists, through their government-sponsored energy propaganda department.
> 
> How's that for a Canadian example? Whether it's Texas, Alberta, or the Trump administration... the right wing hates freedom and liberty.


It's a pretty vague example, so I'm not sure what you're referring to. If you're talking about foreign political donations, yes that's a problem. If you're talking about protestors violating laws or hurting people, I'm against that too.

I don't care if you're a protestor, you're slowing down access to the hospital because of COVID restrictions, or you're blocking traffic because you don't like cars, the government should prosecute you.

I don't argue that there aren't people on both sides who hate freedom and liberty. Never have, in fact I've argued that these problems exist on BOTH SIDES. 

It just happens that with leftists in power, lots of the complaints are logically directed at the far left who occupy the power structure. If it was right wingers in power, I'm sure that there would be concerns as well.

Personally I've always detested the banning of books for political content, graphic sex or violence might not be appropriate in schools, but few of the books being banned contain such content.


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

james4beach said:


> I showed clearly how Texas is trying to ban or suppress a long list of books, including Margaret Atwood's.


And I agree, they should not do that. So there you go, I'm condeming the right wingers trying to suppress speech.



> I'm presenting a counter argument to how MrMatt began this thread.


That's valid, though my point is that these people are active in Ontario, Canada.



> Do you want any more examples on how conservatives love to censor things? I've got a lot more examples, if you guys want to keep talking!


Yes, please share them and we can oppose them together in a non partisan manner.



> Newsflash guys: the right wing isn't a champion of freedom and liberty.


Okay, never said they were. 
But I'm specifically drawing attention to the human rights and charter violations occurring here in Canada.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

MrMatt said:


> Yes, please share them and we can oppose them together in a non partisan manner.


I'm happy to do this, but I'll remind you that this is how you started this thread, and it didn't sound very non partisan to me:

"I'm not saying that the leftist authoritarians are Nazis, but the book burnings are coming."


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

james4beach said:


> I'm happy to do this, but I'll remind you that this is how you started this thread, and it didn't sound very non partisan to me:
> 
> "I'm not saying that the leftist authoritarians are Nazis, but the book burnings are coming."


It was intended to be highlight the dangers being pushed by these guys.

I know that there are always people trying to do bad things.
But normally it isn't paraded around in the media like an accomplishment.

That's the problem, these people are very open about their evil agenda, and THAT is the the problem.
They are openly, publicly and proudly announcing their intentions to the world. These are the people actually running our government institutions, and that's the problem. These aren't simple protestors or wingnuts yelling in the streets, these are the people actually tasked with maintaining the institutions of our democracy, which they're actively working to weaken and destroy. We've seen it before, and it doesn't end well.


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## damian13ster (Apr 19, 2021)

Ufff, with a 5-4 decision (holy ****, it was close) Supreme Court of Canada has decided it is not criminal to make fun of and criticize public persona.


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

I'm trying to think of all the times in the past the good guys were the book burners. No, I couldn't think of any either. They start by burning books and end by burning people.


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

Rusty O'Toole said:


> I'm trying to think of all the times in the past the good guys were the book burners. No, I couldn't think of any either. They start by burning books and end by burning people.


Yup, that's the point.
When you start doing evil things, you're the evil person. No matter how well intentioned you claim to be.


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