4 Comments
Dec 9, 2022Liked by David Lat

Loved reading this!

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Dec 9, 2022Liked by David Lat

This is excellent. Well done in asking the right questions. I deeply respect both Judge Lisa Branch and James Ho. I may not agree with all of their judicial opinions, but I treat that as a point of pride. I take pride in being friends with people from a variety of backgrounds and political perspectives. I learn the most from engaging with a diversity of viewpoints and backgrounds. Free speech as bot judges noted is not something you can apply selectively. It either applies to all or to none. That means yes there will be times when it will lead to decisions one disagrees with, even vehemently. Yet, principles are just that principles. As Judge Ho noted a principle isn't a principle without a cost.

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I've noticed in this, and in many other discussions of it, no one seems to be able to define "wokeness" with any clarify. They seem to imply only that "you know it when you see it" or insinuate that wokeness=progressive or liberal. If they mean progressive/liberal, they should say that rather than use fake words without meaning. If there is meaning, they should come out and define it in terms we can understand and that can be applied. Similar arguments can be made on "cancel culture". Regardless of their credentials, bemoaning "wokeness" without even defining it removes the foundation of their entire argument/position.

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1. The argument for free speech really doesn’t (or shouldn’t) turn on the content of the speech, whether wokeness or anti-wokeness. Judge Ho has ruled in favor of both conservative and liberal speakers, as noted in the story.

2. The first chapter or two of John McWhorter’s book, Woke Racism, is good on definitions and table setting.

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