Discussion: "Free" "Speech" + 6th Anniversary!!

* Shoes-Off Venue * *

This venue requires that you remove your outdoor footwear on arrival.

* * Feel free to bring food or drinks * *

* * Participation is optional - you can join us to speak or to listen * *

Let's celebrate the 6th anniversary of this Meetup group!!

Free speech has long been held up as one of the foundational elements in any free, democratic, and civilized society. Allowing people to say unpopular opinions gives a voice to the underprivileged by protecting their right to speak against those in power, who might otherwise oppress them. Although we shudder when we must protect the speech rights of the hateful and the misinformed, we accept it as a necessary evil in protecting everyone's rights.

But will this concept of free speech deliver on its promise? We live in liberal, progressive times and we protect the free speech rights of Nazis and conspiracy theorists. If the balance of power shifted to them, would they return the favour, and protect the speech rights of minorities and experts who challenge their views?

Do you believe that free speech advocates want these rights for everyone, or only those they agree with? Do you believe in the "free market of ideas"? Is free speech OK?

Join us for fun, friendly and substantive discussion about the important topics of the day. All opinions are welcome for this friendly, moderated discussion.

How it Works

Everyone will be invited to share their opinion, share relevant facts and reasoning, and respond to the views of others.

Our moderator will ensure that everyone has equal opportunity to speak and that dialogue will be kept respectful. All viewpoints are welcome. After the event, you are invited to stay for friendly, informal discussion if you wish.

Aren't you worried about having an event with 50+ people?!?

No because there will not be 50 people at the event. On Meetup, many attendees cancel at the last minute, and many are no-shows who skip the event without cancelling. I set the RSVP limit to 55 people, I reduce that limit to 45 in the last two days before the event, and then 20-30 people will actually attend.

This allows us to hit our attendance target of 15-30 people, and it ensures that attendees have their spot guaranteed weeks in advance. This makes the guest count inaccurate, but it's the simplest way to provide you a reliable and positive RSVP experience.

Suggested Reading

Any suggestions?

Ideals

Please read the Studio 42 Ideals before attending the event:
http://stu42.co/ideals

Admission

Admission is free. We accept donations to help fund our events.

Latecomers

Latecomers are welcome but we start promptly at 6:05pm so if you arrive late, you will miss out!