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How Firefly Fans Made One University's Campus Safe For Free Speech
from the that-coat-is-brown dept
Back in September, we wrote about a situation at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, where campus police couldn't be bothered to actually read the text on a post put up by professor James Miller, which referenced a quote in the pilot episode of Firefly, with a picture of Nathan Fillion, the actor who played the character who spoke the line.
The quote was one about fairness, but the campus police interpreted it as a threat, took it down, and threatened the professor. In response, Miller put up a second poster, mocking the takedown of the first poster:
Once again, the university police got involved, taking down the poster and claiming that it "depicts violence and mentions violence and death." And saying that the "campus threat assessment team" had determined that the poster would "cause a material and/or substantial disruption of school activities and/or be constituted as a threat." That seems like an interesting (i.e., "wrong") interpretation of the First Amendment (remember, this is a state school), and the group FIRE (the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education) got involved, sending a letter on behalf of Miller. Amazingly, the University doubled down on this form of censorship, standing by the original takedowns.
We hadn't followed the story since then, but thanks to JJ for passing along that FIRE recently put up a video detailing the full story, with an appearance by Neil Gaiman, whose tweets about the story first alerted us (and, as it turns out, tons of others) to the story.
As he notes, you should never, ever upset science fiction fans who feel their favorite show has been cancelled in an untimely way.
Of course, as FIRE's director notes, this story ended up with the University backing down, but only because of the widespread outrage from Firefly fans. It's too bad that these kinds of issues often only get attention when they have a hook like that. Hopefully more people recognize that free speech issues are free speech issues even if they don't involve a particular TV show...
We hadn't followed the story since then, but thanks to JJ for passing along that FIRE recently put up a video detailing the full story, with an appearance by Neil Gaiman, whose tweets about the story first alerted us (and, as it turns out, tons of others) to the story.
Of course, as FIRE's director notes, this story ended up with the University backing down, but only because of the widespread outrage from Firefly fans. It's too bad that these kinds of issues often only get attention when they have a hook like that. Hopefully more people recognize that free speech issues are free speech issues even if they don't involve a particular TV show...
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Two things to never do in your political career
Never piss off a Firefly fan.
Never piss off the internet.
I wonder if Congress will take notes?
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Re: Two things to never do in your political career
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Re: Re: Two things to never do in your political career
Anyone want some popcorn?
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Re: Re: Two things to never do in your political career
My guess is that they can't find it, just like they seem to have lost the Constitution recently....
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Re: Two things to never do in your political career
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http://www.popehat.com/2011/12/27/vote-for-popehats-censorious-asshat-of-the-year/
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My favorite part was how the Chancellor claimed that their actions had been cleared by "university counsel." As I said at the time: stop hiring lawyers out of the back of a bait shop.
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The University of Wisconsin-Stout must have the worst literature department in the country. Heck, their entire library must consist of Archie comic books.
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So what does this make fire.org?
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Govt Centric Behavior
There are more Govt centric people there than in China.
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Re: Govt Centric Behavior
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Re: Govt Centric Behavior
P.S. that doesn't imply that our gene pool is socialist in nature, although if it gets people like you (who have corrupted that word to mean anything that you disagree with) out of the gene pool we, as a society will be happy to oblige.
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Re: Re: Govt Centric Behavior
Woodrow Wilson would be proud…
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Re: Govt Centric Behavior
I know! And they're all like, OH! Ching Chong Ling Long Ting Tong! Learn American politics dammit!
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Re: All that and he's a pirate too!!!
They'd have probalbly been almost as successful. ;-)
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That bunch or rednecks still sore that Lincoln kicked their slave-owning asses?
I say, I am with the University on that one.
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As for the rest of the comment. Well, yes the south lost the war but if you look back at what really happened you will find it was not how you seem to think. Most importantly it was not so much about slaves as it was taxes.
Really though, just about everyone who likes to randomly bring that war up like you have tend to be racist. They are rednecks living in trailers and thinking we should still have slaves or they are the ones who somehow think that African Americans are entitled to special treatment because their ancestors were slaves.
Well, big news flash, no one alive today had anything to do with American slavery. So get over it and stop pretending that the civil war has anything to do with today. Most still waving flags from that war are just a disgrace and I bet most of the men who fought and died in that war would be disgusted to see how their flags are used today.
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Browncoats FTW
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Now if we could just get a group to take our grievances with Congress to, and get them to actually do the right thing then we would be making progress.
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Maybe if we claimed that SOPA could be a problem to the ... Lady Gaga community because .... it will somehow gag her mouth with soap ... that might get that community all riled up. Who knows.
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They should be supporting free speech rights in general, not just for a quote in some movie.
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Of course you wouldn't get that because you are an idiot.
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FireFly
FireFly is without doubt the greatest sci-fi series ever made which was cut down in its prime. They simply overlooked that sci-fi takes longer to build up a fan base.
Well at least they brought Futurama back.
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Re: FireFly
> made which was cut down in its prime.
Confederacy lost. Get used to this thought already.
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Re: Re: FireFly
The Browncoats were fighting for their independence from an overbearing government that wanted to control how they live. I can see some vague connection to how people view the civil war, but only if you don't actually understand the impetus behind it. Associating them to the Tea Party might fly on some level, but still make you look like a damned fool none the less.
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So the civil war and televised entertainment are connected how?
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http://static.themetapicture.com/media/funny-police-beating-protestor-art.jpg
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Ban censorship!
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Free Speech
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