The shock, the outrage! Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit said "that demonizing the ACLU is a bit silly". And he admitted to working with them! Now some blogs are dropping their links to him.
Now, I will admit that I think that some of the people and groups that the ACLU has represented are bad people. Even evil people. I have mocked them for it. I have expressed wonder that they can stand to associate with these people. I also know that if I or anyone in my family were arrested over a free speech issue one of the first calls I would make would be to the ACLU.
You don't have to like everything the ACLU does or everyone they represent to appreciate the value of what they do. I couldn't do it, but as long as they're out there making sure that some wacko nut case (technical term for "ACLU client") has the right to speak about whatever idiocy he's promoting, I know that my right to speak out against him, or even ignore him, is secure.
I think it's better to let people who want to say things that are stupid, evil, or just plain wrong say them in public. It gives the rest of us a chance to point out how and why these things are stupid, evil, and wrong. Suppressing speech doesn't stop it, it just makes bad ideas harder to fight.
Posted by marybeth at August 31, 2005 03:58 PM Box of Rocks