Some on the Right ban books (really? - in this day & age?!), and those books are not breaking the Law. They don't contain libel, or promote something illegal such as child pornography or insurrection. Writing about gender issues or systemic racism is not against the Law. Neither is writing about socialism. All this is not rocket science; it's simply common sense, right?
Some on the Left engage in cancel culture and beyond-the-pale political correctness. They try to shame people and/or cause speaking events to be cancelled. The targets of their "holier-than-thou" onslaught have not broken any laws. Instead, they have views different from those on the Left. Now, obviously, if a speaker is advocating insurrection, or some other illegal action, then of course the event should be shut down. Threatening anyone with bodily harm (even if it's not related to insurrection) is a form of assault, and is against the Law. Having different views is not.
Here's a clip for all the holier-than-thou True Believers on the Right and the Left---
WARNING: for people who, for whatever reason, are psychologically fragile when it comes to coarse language (so-called "cussing"), be aware that such is contained in this less-than-eight-minute clip.
I imagine the practitioners of intolerance think they have really good reasons for their actions, or even believe it's not intolerance at all. But here's the thing: if the target of your action is not breaking the Law, then your activity regarding the person(s) demonstrates your intolerance of their freedom. For some odd reason, you believe they should act as you act, think as you think, believe as you believe. Even if they aren't breaking the Law, you can't tolerate whatever they're doing because their view of something doesn't fit in with yours. So, come hell or high water, you're going to see their book banned, or their speech cancelled, or the like. Apparently, you're the self-appointed guardian of society.
I realize some of this banning of books, for example, revolves around the concept of "protecting children" in school. As a former teacher, I agree some books may not be appropriate for children of a certain age. That doesn't mean those books must be banned for all children of all ages. It also doesn't mean historical TRUTH should kept from children. Pretending racism doesn't exist, or gender issues are not real, or democratic socialism is evil, etc. are all examples of little else but IGNORANCE. Indoctrinating children into such beliefs, and/or preventing them from learning the truth is wrong, and harmful to their social development.
As to cancelling speeches by means of disruption or other methods, that also is as wrong as wrong can be. Boycotting a speech is okay, of course, but preventing others from even hearing views which don't agree with yours is an insult to freedom. There are lots of opinions in the world, not only yours. Allow people to hear all sides, not just your holier-than-thou view.
As I navigate through old age, I continue to wonder if members of our species ever are going to "live and let live". I've wondered about such for decades. Will cooperation among us ever exceed competition? Must we all too often try and cram our particular beliefs down someone else's throat? Some cooperation is going on in the world, but not anywhere near the scale required if we are to survive (and thrive beyond) the current socio-eco-econ-ethical Crisis. Intolerance certainly is not helping. It often leads to hatred, and then violence.
In our evolutionary history, despite violence and the dark side of innate tribalism, we managed to thrive due to our intelligence and cooperative leanings. Other species had more physical prowess and were more efficient predators, plus they were better adapted to survive the Ice Age; but we exhibited more group cooperation than most of the others. That's required now more than ever before.
......................
Not only my opinion. Be Well
