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A comment on Those who exercise free speech should also defend it even when it’s offensive. Parent comment

Re:Those who exercise free speech should also defend it even... by vogre on Thursday June 25, 2020 @07:40AM (#23639467)
You basically describe Soviet "obkoms". The commitee of people who decided what is ok to say/sing/write, and what is not.

Needless to say, they became corrupt very soon, because no one was allowed to say a word against them.

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Re:Those who exercise free speech should also defend it even... by TuringTest on Thursday June 25, 2020 @09:13AM (#23640315)
> You basically describe Soviet "obkoms".

Not really. That would assume that the only existing channels are official channels. My description works as well for self-organised, distributed, unofficial channels.

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Re:Those who exercise free speech should also defend it even... by j-c-hewitt on Thursday June 25, 2020 @10:07AM (#23640902)
Having an obkom would be helpful -- it's really hard to tell what you are allowed to say. It'd be nice also to have a grace period so there is some fair warning when certain ideas or words will become banned. Orderly authoritarianism is preferable to random, chaotic outbursts of censorious violence. But even just an official obkom rather than unofficial 'volunteer' versions of it would really reduce confusion here.

The Saudi Arabian religious police enforcing public edicts are preferable to ISIS pulling you out of a truck, giving you a theology pop quiz, and then shooting you when you get some answers wrong. The Anglican sacramental Test Act is preferable to a fake regime of toleration.

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