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As a professor, I’ve seen woke and MAGA censorship. Which is worse?
The Washington Post ^ | 10/18/2025 6:30 a.m. EDT | Crispin Sartwell

Posted on 10/18/2025 11:18:14 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum

Both attacks on free speech are devastating for academia, but in different ways.

Crispin Sartwell retired as a philosophy professor in 2023. His most recent book is “Beauty: A Quick Immersion.”

It didn’t take long for professors to point out that the right-wing wave of restrictions on expression, spurred by the Trump administration, is far worse than those characteristic of “the woke era.” After all, the woke restrictions were primarily internal, a matter of academic practice, as students, administrators and professors tried to eliminate any shred of skepticism toward diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. It was annoying — and devastating if you were fired or publicly shamed. In my view, it led to a dramatic decline in the quality of research.

But MAGA restrictions appear far more serious, as the administration threatens to withhold federal funds on ideological grounds, attempts to make colleges pledge themselves to Trumpian orthodoxy, drives university presidents from their jobs and vilifies the work of professors or students in a way that shames or even endangers them. This is direct governmental free-speech suppression, which is just what the founders of the American republic wanted to prevent: The First Amendment prohibits the government but not, say, private universities from restricting speech.

The classic picture of censorship involves a government crackdown. The Constitution’s fundamental purpose is to prevent that kind of suppression, which the founders had experienced at the hands of the British Empire. And a government crackdown is a different sort of beast than an atmosphere of social and professional pressure: The president of the United States can employ weapons, surveillance techniques and internment facilities of which (dare I say it) university vice provosts can only dream. A government’s oppressive power exceeds that of any private institution, and the dangers to...

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Education
KEYWORDS: books; crispinsartwell; crispinthecommie; dickinsoncollege; epluribusrino; waposedition; zot
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Court Finds Deportation of Pro-Palestinian Academics Unconstitutional
https://www.wmnf.org/judge-ruled-trump-administration-arresting-and-deporting-noncitizens-for-palestinian-advocacy-is-unconstitutional/

DOJ announces plans to prioritize cases to revoke citizenship
https://www.npr.org/2025/06/30/nx-s1-5445398/denaturalization-trump-immigration-enforcement


61 posted on 10/19/2025 10:56:33 AM PDT by jimwatx
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Crapsin Shartwell writing for the Compost, you knew immediately which side he was on.


62 posted on 10/19/2025 10:59:27 AM PDT by Fresh Wind (Charlie Kirk: "If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine")
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To: jimwatx

So foreign guests have the same rights as US citizens?

Guests who wear out their welcome are no longer welcome.

It’s not rocket science.


63 posted on 10/19/2025 11:00:11 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (Je suis Charlie Kirk.)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

“So foreign guests have the same rights as US citizens?”
********************************

Yes as a matter of fact they do. (with the exception of voting in Federal elections.

Do Non-Citizens Have Rights in the U.S.?
https://legalclarity.org/do-non-citizens-have-rights-in-the-u-s/


64 posted on 10/19/2025 11:12:33 AM PDT by jimwatx
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To: jimwatx

They exercise their rights, then we exercise our right to expel foreign agitators. It’s not rocket science.


65 posted on 10/19/2025 11:13:40 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (Je suis Charlie Kirk.)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

The Constitution and the Bill of Rights apply to All people in this country. That is by law. Ya know I see increased hostility to libertarian precepts on this forum and I find that disturbing. Remember what Ronald Reagan said about libertarianism?

“Ronald Reagan described libertarianism as “the heart and soul of conservatism,” emphasizing a philosophy that advocates for less government interference and more individual freedom. He believed that conservatism fundamentally aligns with libertarian principles of personal responsibility and limited government.”

The government deporting people because of their political views is every bit as egregious as the Left trying to silence people because of their political views. Some people on this forum might want to reread the Constitution and Bill of Rights because apparently they are ignorant of what is included there. Pretty sad for a site that advertises itself to be a conservative forum.


66 posted on 10/19/2025 11:26:53 AM PDT by jimwatx
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

I only take advice from Hollywood celebrities.


67 posted on 10/19/2025 2:05:46 PM PDT by Zathras
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To: DoodleBob

well we know they’ll be back, and the tables will eventually be turned again. There are far too many industries including higher ed, addicted to fed dollars. The precedent has now been set... the next time the dems are in, it won’t be with a senile Biden.


68 posted on 10/21/2025 6:51:51 AM PDT by Katya (ultra skeptic)
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