Censored

I read an article in the International NYTimes today that reported on American individuals' pride at being on Putin's sanctions list. "A badge of honor," one senator said. Well, it seems that I have my own badge of honor. My niece told me that she cannot access this website at her public school in Connecticut. Apparently it is listed as a "governmental advocacy" site and is thus inappropriate for high school students who should only be taught "facts" and not opinions. The details are vague and she is looking into the matter more deeply, but while this worries me, it is also a bit flattering. It worries me, of course, because even the official sanctioning of facts and opinions is ideological and politically motivated and channels students into narrow debates that do not question the broader organization of society, reducing their capacity as citizens. But it is also flattering that some individual, organization, or algorithm considers these words to be a potential threat (to...?).

My niece reports that she knows of no other blogs or sites that are blocked, just this. Of course, this means only that she hasn't come across others, but it also implies that there is likely an active limiting of free speech in the supposed land of freedom. Security through the suppression of ideas. Now where has that happened before...?

[Or perhaps it's just an expression of over-filtering.]