Reply #285: Please don't put words in my mouth.

[Unvanguard]

For one, I'm concerned with free speech rules, not individual instances of speech. I don't think we should evaluate individual works to determine whether or not they are worthy. I do think that the best justifications for free speech justify stringent protection for certain categories of speech (like political speech starting from a presumption of equal respect) and don't justify much of any protection for other categories of speech (like pornography or video games). None of this has the slightest thing to do with speech I do or don't agree with. There are plenty of political opinions I despise that should be protected; there are plenty of media I enjoy (including, as it happens, some pornography) that shouldn't be.

For another, I'm not actually anti-porn (at least not in a general way.) I do, however, take feminist arguments against pornography seriously. What began this discussion was my comment that the mere invocation of Andrea Dworkin's name is hardly any kind of argument--a comment that was qualified by my statement that I wasn't really in agreement with her on this issue.

As for your out-of-context Dworkin quotes, none of them (properly understood) contradict my characterization of her views or indicate insanity.