Try the political quiz
 @ISIDEWITHNewsDaily DiscussionJoe BidenWhite HouseAmericaHate SpeechProtestsFreedom of speechFree Expression•••1yr ago

Biden condemns pro-Palestinian protests

“President [Joe] Biden respects the right to free expression, but protests must be peaceful and lawful,” said White House spokesperson Andrew Bates on Tuesday. “Forcibly taking over buildings is not peaceful — it is wrong. And hate speech and hate symbols have no place in America.”

The White House stressed Biden had “stood against repugnant, antisemitic smears and violent rhetoric his entire life” and added: “He condemns the use of the term ‘intifada’, as he has the other tragic and dangerous hate speech displayed in recent days.”

15 Replies

 @NeedfulUnanim0usGreen from Minnesota  commented…1yr1Y

There is no clause in the First Amendment that permits the government to constrain political speech because it allegedly makes Jewish students "feel unsafe."

Maybe instead of bloviating about freedom in Ukraine all the time, try upholding basic freedoms in the USA

 @PopulistRobinLibertarian from Pennsylvania  agreed…1yr1Y

there needs to be a forcing of all these recent 1A issues into lawsuits, that go all the way to SCOTUS if necessary

 @Vot3rVo1ceMackerelConstitution from Washington  agreed…1yr1Y

This should be a litmus for people from both parties. We need to remove everyone from Congress who wants to deny anyone their 1A rights.

 @CapitolDuckPeace and Freedom from North Carolina  commented…1yr1Y

The Founders said that when the government fails to follow the will of the people, it should be dismantled and started over. Given all of the foreign agents in our government beholden to aipac, it’s time for that to happen.

 @L1beralMooseTranshumanist from Oklahoma  commented…1yr1Y

Cancelling the 1st amendment to protect the delicate feelings of liberal college students seems to have taken precedence over the usual 2-party wrestling in swing political electorates—in an election year.

 @ZestfulStorkDemocrat from Connecticut  disagreed…1yr1Y

It depends on whether the speech crosses the line into harassment. Simply uttering hateful things (or non-preferred pronouns) is perfectly fine. Many of these students have crossed the line into harassment.

 @L1beralMooseTranshumanist from Oklahoma  disagreed…1yr1Y

People who claim they are "harassed" by chants of "From the River to the Sea" are not entitled to have the government curb that political speech on their behalf

 @SwiftDickSocialistfrom New York  commented…1yr1Y

The only thing repugnant is the genocide the Biden administration is underwriting in Gaza, along with the brutal state violence university leaders and local authorities are directing at students exercising their first amendment rights.

 @F1libusterSnailGreen from Kansas  commented…1yr1Y

Trump destroyed the left on free speech and is Israel destroyed the right on free speech. Security state wins again! This guy must have some serious skeletons in his closet because he will say anything the security state wants.

 @ISIDEWITHasked…1yr1Y

Do you think there's ever a justification for protests to move beyond peaceful means to be heard, and if so, under what circumstances?

 @ISIDEWITHasked…1yr1Y

How do you interpret the president's condemnation of certain protests while advocating for free expression?

 @ISIDEWITHasked…1yr1Y

In what ways do you believe hate speech should be handled or regulated during protests to ensure they remain productive and respectful?

 @ISIDEWITHasked…1yr1Y

Why do you think the use of specific terms, like 'intifada', in protests is seen as dangerous or problematic?

 @ISIDEWITHasked…1yr1Y

How do you feel about the balance between the right to protest and the need for those protests to remain peaceful?

Demographics

Loading the political themes of users that engaged with this discussion

Loading data...

More conversations

Join in on more popular conversations.

 @ISIDEWITH submitted…8mos8MO

Europe on Edge as Critical Cables Severed Near Nord Stream Blast Zone

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on Tuesday said "nobody believes" that two broken telecommunications cables in the Baltic Sea were "accidentally cut.""We have to conclude, without knowing exactly who did it, that it is a hybrid action and we also have to assume — without knowing it — that it is sabotage," Pistorius told reporters in Brussels on the sidelines of a Council of the European Union meeting.The Finnish network company Cinia said Monday it was investigating a broken undersea internet cable running between Santahamina near Helsinki and Rostock in Germany — in a submarine incident that sparked political alarm in Berlin and Helsinki.The 1,173 kilometer-long cable follows a similar route to the Russia-to-Germany Nord Stream gas pipelines, which exploded in September 2022 in an apparent act of sabotage.Also speaking on the sidelines of the meeting in Brussels, Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen said: “We are now investigating what has happened. We have good capabilities through all of this to investigate what has happened and who has been there.”Finland’s Europe Minister Joakim Strand called the incident "concerning.""Our authorities together with the companies are proactively investigating the case. The telecommunications have been re-routed to back-up connections and practical impacts have been minimal. The cable of course will be repaired. It is too soon to speculate on any causes but of course this is concerning," he added.The suspected case of sabotage comes as European foreign ministers, meeting in Warsaw on Tuesday, warned that Russia is “systematically attacking” Europe’s security architecture.

▲  188 replies

 @ISIDEWITH submitted…8mos8MO

Horror in Northern Gaza: U.S. Questions Israel After Civilians Slaughtered in Residential Attack

An Israeli strike on a residential building in northern Gaza killed dozens of people early Tuesday, the territory’s emergency service said, in the latest attack to cause mass casualties in the area since Israel renewed its offensive against Hamas in the north.The Palestinian Civil Defense, the emergency service, said at least 55 people were killed in the strike in the town of Beit Lahia. Gaza’s health ministry said at least 93 people were dead, including 25 children. The Israeli military said in a statement that it was “aware of reports that civilians were harmed” in the town and was looking into the details.Matt Miller, a U.S. State Department spokesman, called the strike “a horrifying incident with a horrifying result” and said the Biden administration had contacted the Israeli government to ask what happened.Israeli forces renewed their offensive in northern Gaza this month, saying they were trying to stem a regrouping of Hamas, the militant group that attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, sparking the war in Gaza.The strike comes days after another Israeli attack on a residential block in Beit Lahia that left dozens of people killed or wounded, according to the Palestinian Civil Defense. The Israeli military confirmed the strike on Sunday, saying that the air force had “conducted a precise strike” targeting Hamas fighters.An overnight Israeli airstrike hit another residential building in the town on Oct. 20, killing dozens of people, Palestinian officials and emergency workers said.Roughly 400,000 people remain in northern Gaza, according to the United Nations, and many have been trapped in their ruined neighborhoods.

▲  1710 replies

Active 1 day ago

 @ISIDEWITH submitted…8mos8MO

Death, Denial, and Silence: Inside China’s Push to Bury Zhuhai’s Devastating SUV Attack

Outside the sports center in the southern city of Zhuhai where a 62-year-old man had plowed an S.U.V. into a crowd, killing at least 35 people, workers on Wednesday quickly removed bouquets of flowers left by grieving residents. Uniformed police officers and officials in plainclothes shooed away bystanders and warned them not to take photos. At hospitals where patients were taken after the attack — at least 43 more people were injured — local officials sat outside the intensive care units, blocking journalists from speaking with family members.On the Chinese internet, censors were mobilized to delete videos, news articles and commentaries about the attack. Almost 24 hours had passed before officials divulged details about the assault, which happened on Monday, including the death toll. Their statement offered limited details, and they have held no news conferences.The response was a precise enactment of the Chinese government’s usual playbook after mass tragedies: Prevent any nonofficial voices, including eyewitnesses and survivors, from speaking about the event. Spread assurances of stability. Minimize public displays of grief.The goal is to stifle potential questions and criticism of the authorities, and force the public to move on as quickly as possible. And to a large degree, it appeared to be working.Though many residents of Zhuhai, the city of 2.4 million where the attack happened, were clearly shaken, they said on Wednesday they had not questioned the delay in information, attributing it to the government’s need to first sort out what had happened. A steady stream of people arrived by foot or taxi to lay flowers at the sports center’s entrance, but when officials took away the flowers and told the people not to linger, they quickly complied.Local governments have also vowed in recent months to spend more time screening for people who have experienced “failures,” after a spate of violent attacks, including several cases in which schoolchildren were stabbed.But officials were also clearly on the lookout for any deeper scrutiny of the Zhuhai killings. Videos and photos of the scene of the attack showed only as grayed-out squares on Weibo, a social media platform. Blog posts urging people not to treat violent attacks as isolated incidents, but rather to look deeper for potential social causes, disappeared.

▲  178 replies