Fwiw, I think of the ACLU as a *liberal* organization, not necessarily a progressive one. That's "liberal" in the classic sense of supporting speech (etc.) whether you agree with it or not. They defend the Klan. They defended the Nazis' right to march in Skokie, Illinois (1977), in what became a very famous SCOTUS case. Theoretically I a…
Fwiw, I think of the ACLU as a *liberal* organization, not necessarily a progressive one. That's "liberal" in the classic sense of supporting speech (etc.) whether you agree with it or not. They defend the Klan. They defended the Nazis' right to march in Skokie, Illinois (1977), in what became a very famous SCOTUS case. Theoretically I agree with this position, or at least I did until the onset of the Trump administration, though I've never been a regular donor to the ACLU.
Now? Now I see more clearly the drawbacks of that liberal position for anyone who belongs to a group regularly targeted by hateful speech that stops short (often barely) of advocating violence: people of color, women of any color, Jewish people, gay men and lesbians, immigrants, et al. The line between nonviolent and violent is fuzzy and easily crossed, especially when "incitement" is added to the mix -- as it was on January 6, 2021.
I see just as clearly the perils of restricting speech in any way: Ron DeSantis and others have made it crystal-clear who they want to protect and whose speech they want to shut down. So I donate not to the ACLU but to organizations supporting and protecting the kind of speech I think we need more of.
Fwiw, I think of the ACLU as a *liberal* organization, not necessarily a progressive one. That's "liberal" in the classic sense of supporting speech (etc.) whether you agree with it or not. They defend the Klan. They defended the Nazis' right to march in Skokie, Illinois (1977), in what became a very famous SCOTUS case. Theoretically I agree with this position, or at least I did until the onset of the Trump administration, though I've never been a regular donor to the ACLU.
Now? Now I see more clearly the drawbacks of that liberal position for anyone who belongs to a group regularly targeted by hateful speech that stops short (often barely) of advocating violence: people of color, women of any color, Jewish people, gay men and lesbians, immigrants, et al. The line between nonviolent and violent is fuzzy and easily crossed, especially when "incitement" is added to the mix -- as it was on January 6, 2021.
I see just as clearly the perils of restricting speech in any way: Ron DeSantis and others have made it crystal-clear who they want to protect and whose speech they want to shut down. So I donate not to the ACLU but to organizations supporting and protecting the kind of speech I think we need more of.