And these days freedom of speech needs defenders, for when I look around, I find it under attack everywhere. Blacklisting, cancel culture, libraries being closed or defunded, classic works of literature being banned or bowdlerized or removed from classrooms, an ever growing list of “toxic” words the mere utterance of which is now forbidden no matter the context or intent, the erosion of civility in discourse. Both the Rabid Right and the Woke Left seem more intent on silencing those whose views they disagree with, rather than besting them in debate. And the consequences for those who dare to say things deemed offensive have been growing ever more dire; jobs lost, careers ended, books cancelled, “deplatforming.”
Full blog post here: https://georgerrmartin.com/notablog/2022/08/15/let-his-voice-be-heard/
The progressive Left doesn't read, and even if they did, he can always do the 'marginalized person said it' shuffle, pay his dues again with some bad-mouthing of the Right, and he's off to the races.
Nobody's dredging up 25-year-old quotes from Leftists to attack them with, so long as they still serve the will of the Party.