Postal worker parent of trans kid refused to deliver hateful flyers. She's being punished.

jeffw@lemmy.worldmod to News@lemmy.world – 440 points –
lgbtqnation.com
259

You are viewing a single comment

This is hateful shit.

Unfortunately, they have the same argument as Kim Davis for not doing their duty.

They both refuse to do their duty due to moral concerns.

Hate speech doesn't get protected under free speech. These aren't the same.

In the US, it is. In Canada (assuming this applies to Canada - I don’t know), I don’t know if you want postal workers deciding what is or isn’t hate speech.

People have the capacity to identify intolerance. We should want them to use that ability when it comes to targeted disinformation campaigns that will ban lifesaving medical care. A ban on gender affirming care will deny trans people the fundamental right to exist. Postal workers should make the strategic decision to defend life and liberty and not spread life-threatening disinformation campaigns.

Would you say the same if someone “strategically” tossed my planned parenthood mail? Or should postal workers just deliver my mail?

I would say that tossing your planned parenthood mail is a form of intolerance. Which is just as unacceptable as a disinformation campaign to ban planned parenthood in order to deny healthcare and reproductive freedom to individuals.

People aren't allowed to shout fire in a crowded movie theater when there is no fire. This basic premise doesn't change because of the medium of communication. People shouldn't be allowed to spread dangerous disinformation via the mail.

We shouldn't be concerned with what bad faith actors, such as fascists will do, when making our decisions. Bad faith actors will seek to infiltrate and undermine our institutions and systems no matter what we do. Our energy should be spent preventing bad faith actors from infiltrating our institutions.

So your argument seems to boil down to "it's okay for postal workers to toss things I don't like but not things I like".

Can you see how this isn't defensible at all?

This basic premise doesn’t change because of the medium of communication. People shouldn’t be allowed to spread dangerous disinformation via the mail.

WHO DECIDES what is dangerous disinformation? Your postal workers? I feel like you're not really thinking this through.

We as a society need to decide that we know to be dangerous disinformation is not allowed to be transferred over the mail. We know gender affirming care and abortion are lifesaving medical treatments. We know that a ban on gender affirming care would deny trans people the fundamental right to exist. We know banning abortion denies people reproductive freedom. This Canadian woman made an important first step with her civil disobedience. We as a society should follow her example and make the strategic decision to defend life and liberty.

Here in the US, we have an election this November 5th. Fascists in the MAGA movement, a christo-fascist movement, are planning to takeover our democracy. Civil disobedience may soon be the last line of defense to prevent the worst outcomes of fascist policies.

What's indefensible is fascist intolerance. We should not be complicit in our own destruction.

Under US law, there is absolutely no "hate speech" exception to the 1st amendment. This has been ruled on repeatedly.

This is in Canada.

...Which is why I specified US. (Yes, I know where NB is.)

Most of the people here are arguing from a US perspective, esp. since the original source largely reports on US news, and reports on news from a US perspective.

Fun geographical place names time: there’s also a New Brunswick in New Jersey and a New Brunswick in Indiana, and there’s also a New Jersey in New Brunswick and an Indiana in Ontario. There’s also an Ontario in California. But wait, there’s also a California in Ontario. This is where our geographical journey ends for now.

I saw the Grumman LLV mail truck in the thumbnail and just assumed US. I had no idea you guys used them too. Neat!

1 more...

It is not a moral concern, but a strategic decision. Gender affirming care is a collection of lifesaving medical treatments. A ban on gender affirming care would deny trans people the fundamental right to exist. So refusing to spread a life-threatening disinformation campaign is a strategic decision to defend life and liberty.

1 more...