Chip Bok's Bokbluster

Until recently restrictions on free speech seemed pretty straight forward – don’t shout “fire” in a crowded theater. But times have changed. Now you must not offend anyone in the theater either.

Dr. Marty Markay of Johns Hopkins wrote an op-ed in the WSJ explaining why we might reach herd immunity in April. Facebook apparently knows better and flagged the article as “misleading.”

Last summer the NYT booted its opinion page editor for publishing an op-ed by U.S. Senator Tom Cotton. Cotton wanted troops to put down rioting brought on by George Floyd’s death in police custody last summer. Since then armed troops and razor wire have become the preferred approach around our nation’s capitol.

Then there’s the Times treatment of Don McNeil, Amazon’s censorship of Ryan T. Anderson’s When Harry Became Sally, Dr. Seuss, Mr. Potato Head, Pepe Le Pew and you know the rest.

There’s not much that’s written or drawn that someone won’t find offensive, so we’re burning it all. But don’t shout “fire.”