Steve Kelman on Politics, Culture, and Life, 12.12.23
Steve Kelman, Harvard Kennedy School prof, moderate Dem, pro free speech/anti cancel culture, pro tax rich, pro-Israel. Research improving gov performance, China interest. Blog reprints Facebook posts
My contrarian views on free speech
Let me go out on a limb here and invite reactions. Actions, including harassment, by people advocating the genocide of Jews are not just disgusting but illegal. They are not protected by freedom of speech. But what about hideous statements advocating the genocide of Jews but not accompanied by any action? This is a tough call in my view, but as a very strong advocate of free speech I lean towards believing such statements should be allowed. I am guessing this is a minority view, thoughts?
No masks at my supermarket
Went to the supermarket today for the first time in a long time, my wife has been shopping at Trader Joe's for us. I was surprised that I don't think I saw a single mask there, I think that supermarkets were one of the last bastions of mask wearing. Still see a few on the subway, though below a fifth I would say. I will continue to wear on the subway unless I am socially distanced from other passengers. Same for meetings at the Kennedy school.
“From the river to the sea”
Saw online a post that few students had any idea what the phrase "from the river to the sea" meant (many felt it meant Jews and Arabs should live together in peace). When showed a map that made clear what the phrase meant, 75% no longer supported the idea.
Low turnout in Hong Kong “election”
The South China Morning Post reports there was a "low turnout" for the district elections in Hong Kong. Since pro-democracy candidates were not allowed, this is hardly a surprise.
Sales pitches from government contractors
An article in Business Week notes that "at one point the chief information officer of one of the largest US federal agencies sent an angry email to a group of Salesforce executives, about the inundation of sales pitches." I know from my own time in government that this problem is by no means unique to that company, IT civil servants I knew complained about this a lot.
Chinese “fishing boats” with machine guns in South China Sea
Times reports that Chinese "fishing boats" In the South China Sea have machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. Few of them appear to be doing any fishing at all.
Singapore: Disneyland with the death penalty
The Singapore novel I am reading uses a number of times the (in my view unfair) description of Singapore as "Disneyland with the death penalty." It turns out that the phrase was coined in a 1993 article in Wired magazine. After the article came out, the Singapore government banned not just that issue but the magazine in general -- the strongest suggestion that there was something to the article in the first place.
“Liking” your customer’s social media posts
Business Week notes that salespeople at the company Salesforce are trained to "like" social media posts by those they are trying to sell to. Not very genuine is this?
Good for Bernie Sanders
There is a front-page article in the Globe today on the refusal of Bernie Sanders to endorse a ceasefire in Gaza, because he says Hamas seeks the destruction of Israel. I have always respected his integrity, even though I often disagree with him. This is a courageous stand that has hurt him with his core constituency. Congratulations to him!
China and Ukraine
Even before the Russian invasion, China had overtaken Russia as Ukraine's largest trading partner. Zelensky had also referred to Ukraine as China's "bridge to Europe."
Avocados from Spain
Business Week reports that because of climate-related drought, the avocado crop in Spain will be down by 60% this year. I didn't even know Spain produced avocados, turns out they had the third largest exporter in the world after only Mexico and Peru. Some of the land will be replanted with mangoes.
There's no constitutional guarantee of free speech. The first amendment merely says that Congress and by extension state legislatures may not abridge freedom of speech:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
If someone calls for genocide of the Jews Congress may not out all that, nor by extension by any government entities for example the University of massachusetts.
Speech is not free in my living room: if you call for genocide I'll ask you to leave quickly. That ought to be the case at Harvard. If a faculty member or a student calls for genocide they can and should be disciplined