Free speech is fundamental to who we are as a people and a nation. So as administrator of the BBQ, I won’t be blocking any poster, unless they consistently submit posts that contain hate speech of any kind, personal attacks or foul language. I do monitor individual opinion pieces and very occasionally refuse to post, or send back to the poster, items that include any of the above.
It’s not only free speech that is fundamental. Other things I believe are vital are
respect the right of others to think differently than I do
being open to new ideas
allowing nuance and discourse for possible understanding and change
taking deep breaths when my emotions about what others are saying and or doing become big so I don’t just react
not giving up my stance of love
not believing everything I think
Our country is extremely polarized right now and violence against others who are different for whatever reason has sadly become acceptable to some. Somehow, we have to change that dynamic. I am not sure how to do that. I do believe aspiring to the ideas above could help.
I certainly don’t agree with every post on the bbq. And I just ignore them (after checking for no-nos listed above). Even though some of the bbq posts are extreme in my opinion and the responses back and forth don’t seem to lead to understanding, allowing people to express themselves on the bbq is still a fundamental right.
Perhaps we all could step away from our staunch beliefs occasionally and look around to what else is out there.
Barbara McLaughlin