The ‘Free Speech’ Circus

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Media Mosh Pit

“The Free Speech Movement of the 1960s was led by UC Berkeley students who protested the administration’s ban on campus political activities. Berkeley is once again a battleground, but five decades later two things are glaringly different: This isn’t a student movement, and it’s not about free speech. . . .”

“For this contrived ‘free speech’ movement, UC Berkeley is an open-air fighting arena, the most popular destination for a clown who needs a media circus to drum up business.”

—Otis R. Taylor Jr., columnist, “Rhetoric fails to match reality on UC Berkeley campus,” San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 14, 2017.

• Editorial Comment: Goals of free expression and ideas taken over by goals of free media attention and spectacle.


PeezPix by Ted Pease

Stranded Velella









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“I don’t think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.” —Tom Stoppard