Alaskan Activism

Update on the Alaskan Blogger who is a "Benevolent Dictator"

Today I was rereading her faq's and realized that although she had not returned my email explaining my feeling on censorship, she did change her faq's to further justify her use of censorship. At first one might tend to agree with her point of view but when I took time to rationalize her statement I became clear it is fatally flawed.

Differing opinions are welcome, but play nice, or don’t play at all. I am all for free speech, but the Mudflats is a benevolent dictatorship and I make the final call. What free speech really means in the cyberworld is that everyone is free to create their own blog and say whatever they want. Just because you can stand on a public street corner with your sign, doesn’t mean your welcome in someone’s living room with it.

The comparison of a blog to "your living room" is not even close, your home has a door and walls and is a place of privacy. A blog is on the web and is open to the public and specifically a place to post your opinions and hear the opinions of others, much more like a town hall meeting. And while yes anyone can create their own blog censoring ones blog to reflect your ideals and opinions and stifling those the opinions of others is still censorship.
Freedom of speech is not just the freedom of one person to tell you their opinion but the right of others to express their opinions as well. Political activism and civil rights advocacy is not something you just write about, it must be your true beliefs and you must try to live it and accept that everyone needs their right as much as you want yours!
There are two other bloggers on the offending website one who has political aspirations, here in my state Alaska, if she is elected will she consider our state her living room and deny any Alaskan who disagrees with her the right to their opinion, one must wonder about this. Would these bloggers also go further and attempt to make Alaska a dictatorship?
The fact is if you do not stick up for the free speech for all then you do not deserve Free Speech yourself.
I feel if someone has commented and they are wrong fight them with the facts and the truth, do not just go into a frenzy and delete their comments!
After all we as bloggers have the power of posting articles that express our opinions.
I will add, I have been reading mudflats since before Jeanne was outed. I have a lot of respect for the things she is doing to make Alaska a better place and I have told her so repeatedly. She has some beliefs that are not exactly my own but I respect her rights and realize she to should be able to express her opinions.
But when it comes to your right to blatantly censor others because of they have a different opinion, that is a dangerous policy.

William Orville Douglas (October 16, 1898 – January 19, 1980) was a United States Supreme Court Associate Justice. With a term lasting 36 years and 209 days!

It is our attitude toward free thought and free expression that will determine our fate. There must be no limit on the range of temperate discussion, no limits on thought. No subject must be taboo. No censor must preside at our assemblies.
William O. Douglas