[PEN-L:11165] censorship

[James Devine <jdevine@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Even though I prefer collective shunning as a way to deal with obnoxious
characters who invade pen-l, I do not consider Michael Perelman's expulsion
of Karl Carlisle from pen-l to be "censorship." It's Michael's living room
and we're having (or trying to have) a serious intellectual discussion from
a left-wing political perspective. Michael can kick out those who drool on
his rug, put LSD in his punch, or start hitting his guests (you get the
metaphor). It would be more like censorship if the person kicked out were
polite but expressed deviant positions. But Karl does not fit that
description.

In any event, there are a lot of other discussion groups where Karl can
express his gods-given right to free speech. Maybe eventually he'll learn
how to be polite rather than deliberately provoking flame wars. Maybe
eventually he'll get a life, so he won't have to be so deliberately
provocative. Maybe he could set up his own web page so that people who are
interested in his views can find out what they are.

I hope that the folks who yell "censorship" also consider the daily
newspaper or the other news outlets to be engaged in censorship. Every day,
the editor of the L.A. TIMES (for example) decides that some stories and
many letters to the editor shouldn't be published, often for the most
corrupt reasons.

"Jimmy"





in pen-l solidarity,

Jim Devine   jdevine@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
jim_devine@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Econ. Dept., Loyola Marymount Univ.
7900 Loyola Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90045-8410 USA
310/338-2948 (daytime, during workweek); FAX: 310/338-1950
"It takes a busload of faith to get by." -- Lou Reed.