Christopher Hitchens - Freedom of Expression

full debate: vimeo.com/8754563
intelligencesqu...
"Who will you appoint?" Hitchens asked the three speakers opposing the motion. "Who will be the one who says, 'I know exactly where the limits should be, I know how far you can go and I know when you've gone too far, and I'll decide that?' Who do you think, who do you know, who have you heard of, who have you read about in history to whom you'd give that job?" Clearly, he said, not anyone here.
There was a sense among the opponents of the motion that the freedom that underlies the Constitution and American culture is no longer so easy to embrace in a globalized world.
Daisy Khan, the executive director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement, emphasized that nations are so much closer to one another, and information is disseminated so rapidly that "the notion of space, of sharing space with our neighbors, needs to be negotiated and re-examined."
While no one stated it directly, the implication was that the United States, with its open space and political power, can afford a certain kind of freedom that comes less easily to the powerless and marginalized.
"When you publish something that is an immensely popular form of entertainment or when a powerful figure gives a speech, like the pope, you are using discourse to malign the way an already marginalized community is perceived," Khan said.
In these instances, she argued, "free speech" is used to oppress others - something that is un-American and goes against the foundational values of free speech.
The point isn't whether such things can or cannot be published, she said. The real issue is, "does it elevate the public discourse? Or is it simply racist, xenophobic drivel that isn't half as clever as it purports to be?"
The audience clearly was in the camp of the proponents of the motion, and most agreed with Gourevitch when he said it was presumptuous to think that anyone could regulate speech. "I think that we are at less risk taking the great risk of freedom," he said.
The audience at the debate voted once before the debate started and once during closing statements. At the beginning, a large majority favored the motion, "Freedom of expression must include the license to offend": 177 favored the motion, 25 opposed it and 24 were unsure. At the end of the debate, support of the motion increased to 201; only 39 opposed.

[@fizzyfoster]

"I did not come to the United States of America 25 years ago to learn how to keep my mouth shut and I'm going to reject all offers that I change that poise however simperingly they are put."

[@Artecus]

fizzyfoster policy for “poise”

[@FreeJulianAssange23]

Democrats will just censor you but by all means.

[@euphegenia]

7:35 “The first amendment doesn’t just provide me with a living. The first amendment is my life.” I can’t even put into words how much I miss this man.

[@BushcraftingBogan]

Hitch would be appalled at today’s “progressives”.

[@aceharris1463]

Steve Curtis If you go deep on some of the more obscure articles, or on some of the less viewed interviews, he saw them coming in many respects.

[@rationalmuscle]

@@aceharris1463 Indeed he did.

[@theocean1973]

"SHE'S IN THE ATTIC!" Oh my god that's horrible hilarious 😭😂

[@votemonty1815]

Hitch would have taken today's #CancelCulture to the woodshed.

[@1984isnotamanual]

He sometimes warned about what was going on in universities

[@WildPhotoShooter]

Ameriman2012........I share your emotions , I "discovered" Christopher Hitchens in 2013 and have watched nearly all of his debates on KZbin many times. I find myself with all the human emotions and many times with a tear in the eyes for his eloquent delivery of his vast knowledge and the loss of probably the greatest debater on the planet.

[@jakeseymour2484]

Spot on brother .. Same happens to me

[@jakeseymour2484]

Spot on brother .. Same happens to me

[@embisonmichalis8694]

Beautifully put brother. I couldn't have put it better myself.

[@thusspakeaaron]

Read his books. They’re very good too.

[@HotaruZoku]

That man has a vocabulary on par with V.

[@rsoulburnz]

i guess i liked this vid awhile ago, but it's refreshing to hear a condensed version of his freedom of speech....speech he gave in canada. and with better audio too! thanks for posting. viva la hitch!

[@RolfHartmann]

He just hitchslapped the shit out of them.

[@algebra5766]

Hitchens is soooo right. How long will we be allowed to criticize militant islam? Lots of forces in the western world already try to make our mouths shut. 'I am offended by this and offended by that, therefore you have to shut up about this or that subject' 

[@Ryan98063]

How right he is, look at Paris a few scant days ago. It's time not just intellectuals and people of clairvoyance like ourselves took up a shield to clerical and religious bullying, but that all people who appreciate any semblance of democracy or free speech or right to an opinion took one up too.

[@okiepita50t-town28]

If Christofer had lived to see the cancel culture of today I believe he would’ve been appalled.

[@toddydarkko]

i discovered him in the 1980's as a wee teen

[@jakeyw11]

The guy next to Hitch took nearly a minute to compose himself after the Anne Frank story!

[@drnishantkathale5122]

Forget about Muslim countries, you cannot say that in India and several other countries. What a tragedy. Christopher should've been alive, for his voice was articulate and heard globally like no one else's has been, ever.

[@SleepyPenguin-8og]

Heroic man.

[@mroane4087]

5:15 Literally makes an entire speaker’s point obsolete in 10 seconds.

[@Pines_Druid]

I miss that man :'[

[@fl333r]

Your rights end where the rights of another begins. The right to not be offended is not one of them. The right to be safe from threats of violence is. And the case of the Nazis walking down the Jewish community is definitely an implied threat of violence.

[@dhruvnz]

thanks for the vid.

[@SumriseHD]

Great that the audience is louder than him...

[@MrTomte09]

When was this?

[@fani5000]

great vid, thanks :D

[@mistag3860]

Sinister piffle - what a prophet!

[@ZerqTM]

she is in the attic! Horrible but funny!

[@ufoLogisT78]

пора запретить всякую религию !религия та иная разделитель нации! это глупые и фанатичные и верующие в сказки

[@fozzz-vb5oj]

I'm praying for you... and kidding ✌️

[@williampatrickwoods]

Much of this is taken from another speech he gave on free will.

[@Leitilumo]

They are highly related subjects.

[@sybo59]

I think you mean free speech.

[@williampatrickwoods]

sybo59 Yes I do, thank you for the correction.

[@pinball1970]

we miss you Hitch.

[@AlcibiadesMD]

I know I'm not going to live forever and neither are you, but until my furlough here on Earth is revoked, I should like to elbow aside the established pieties and raise my tumbler of Johnnie Walker Black in salute to Christopher Hitchens and his fierce intellect and courage. His legacy ensures his immortality, and I sorely, sorely miss him.

[@cnault3244]

How do you know I am not going to live forever? Based on all the available evidence ( I haven't died yet) I am immortal.

[@rlhead35]

I love that man! Has there ever been anyone as eloquent as Hitchens ... will there ever be again? I miss him dearly and didn't even discover him until he was already gone! Thanks Hitch!

[@seanjosephhayes]

Exact same here. Discovered him much too late. Gutted.

[@markwilliams974]

Same here. But …we should find another who can carry his torch.

[@AlcibiadesMD]

@@markwilliams974Unfortunately, no one comes close to the mighty Christopher Hitchens, he was indeed unique and incomparable.

[@EmperorsNewWardrobe]

12:33 “Here is an enormous religion with gigantic power that claims that an archeangel spoke to an illiterate peasant and brought him a final revelation that supersedes all others. It’s a plagiarism by an epileptic of the worst bits of Judaism and Christianity. That’s obvious. How long do think I’m going to be able to say that anywhere I like?”

[@xxxchrist1]

Absolutely brilliant. Sadly missed.

[@nirv]

Thanks for putting a link to the full version in the description. I went there and there was an ACTUAL download button -- something I prefer than to stream. Playing videos from my hard drive feels way better than any floaty, unreliable stream.

[@tylertyler82]

"She's in the attic!" So that's where that phrase from Golden Girls comes from

[@aesutton]

Ah, never heard this version of his renowned speech on this subject. It is less eloquent than the other, but a pleasure to hear. Thanks for sharing.

[@sybo59]

More of a time crunch, I think. The Q&A portion here was a gem though.

[@r.i.p.volodya]

If I could embody anyone, it would be Christopher Hitchens - wit and wisdom made manifest.

[@666or999]

What is the name of the book he mentioned? I can't quite make it out.

[@greendragonreprised6885]

Areopagitica by Milton ---- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Areopagitica

[@666or999]

George Forsyth Thanks a lot.