Wasserman is right

Howard Wasserman observes, on Prawfsblawg, that my recent National Affairs essay, “The First-person Appeal of Free Speech,” neglects to call out contemporary impulses toward censorship emanating from the right. My piece begins by describing an episode where University of Illinois at Chicago Prof. Jason Kilborn was punished for merely referring to racist episodes on the left, and mentions some other demands for speech restrictions from the left. Wasserman writes: “Based on these examples, one would conclude that the sole (or at least paradigmatic) threat to free speech remains the lefty sophomore at Bard complaining about racism. Not universities firing faculty (at the behest of complaining students) who say bad things about Charlie Kirk posthumously. Not universities firing faculty and shutting down departments (whether at the behest of students or under threat from state and federal government) over teaching about race, gender, and the existence of trans people. Not universities…