第 377 期·中文精讀

哈維·西爾弗格拉特:言論自由

Harvey Silverglate: Freedom of Speech

民權律師談言論自由的法律邊界、校園言論爭議,以及為何要保護不受歡迎的觀點。

官方音訊00:00 / --:--
中文精讀由 AI 基於原始訪談改寫,非官方翻譯,可能存在偏差或錯誤;表述以原音訊與官方文稿為準。說明

2023 年 5 月,一位 81 歲的律師正在競選哈佛大學監督委員會(Harvard Board of Overseers)的席位。他的綱領裡有一條:解僱哈佛 95% 的行政人員。

他算過賬,光是這一條,學費就能降四成。

而他的名字印不上選票。

簽名數量不夠,他只能以 write-in(手動填寫姓名)的方式參選。更荒誕的是上一輪選舉,哈佛校友會給全體在世校友發了一封信,附上所有“官方提名候選人”的履歷和政綱。他和另一位請願候選人不在其列。他寫信去問,為什麼不能把他的政綱也發出去。校友會回覆:我們的政策,是隻向校友轉發官方提名候選人的立場檔案。

他的原話是:這不叫壓制選民,這叫壓制候選人。

一位在言論自由領域幹了二十多年的律師,在自己母校的選舉裡,沒法向校友陳述自己的主張。這件事本身就是他全部論點的註腳。

仇恨言論比愛的言論更重要

哈維·西爾弗格拉特(Harvey Silverglate)是 FIRE 的聯合創始人。1999 年成立時,這個組織的全稱叫“個人教育權利基金會”(Foundation for Individual Rights in Education),只盯校園裡的言論自由問題。2023 年初,他們決定把戰場擴充套件到校園之外,名字裡的 E 從 Education 換成了 Expression,縮寫沒變。

這個改動裡有清楚的時代背景。美國公民自由聯盟(ACLU)曾經承擔大量言論自由訴訟,而西爾弗格拉特認為它現在更像一個進步派組織,不再是一個公民自由組織。空出來的位置,FIRE 接了。

他給出的第一個判斷是這樣的:仇恨言論比愛的言論更重要。

我更想知道自己該提防誰,而不是誰喜歡我。仇恨言論能告訴我前者。(Harvey Silverglate)

這句話如果只當口號聽,會漏掉它背後那個很硬的邏輯鏈條。他的推理是:一個社會如果只能聽到善意,你就失去了識別惡意的能力。誰恨你、誰想害你、誰在背後說你壞話,這些資訊對生存來說是剛需,比“誰愛你”重要得多。把這些話壓進陰影裡,它們不會消失,只會從可見變成不可見,從可爭辯變成不可爭辯。

他因此反對學校裡那種“不要說讓別人難受的話”的教育。他的說法很直接:孩子在學校裡學不到第一修正案的光榮,只學到閉嘴的技巧。

言論和思想是同一根線的兩端

被問到言論自由和思想自由的關係時,他給了一個很樸素的畫面:想法在腦子裡產生,然後從嘴裡出來。這是同一根線的兩端。

所以審查言論,本質上是在審查別人獲知你在想什麼的通道。他補了一句:社會里有一部分思考是集體完成的,如果不能互相說話,這種集體思考就進行不下去。

至於“言論自由最終會導向真理”這個經典命題,他沒有全盤接。

這個說法不一定成立。但我確實認為,有言論自由的時候會做出更好的決策。人們把觀點坦率、準確地擺到桌面上,這些觀點互相碰撞,出來的通常是更好的那個決定。不總是,但多數時候是。(Harvey Silverglate)

反過來,如果某個人被排除在決策桌之外,決策過程就變得更單薄、更多同質、最後更不成功。這裡的因果鏈他沒有說得更玄,就是多樣性來自碰撞,而碰撞的前提是所有人都在場。

他在《影子大學》(The Shadow University,1998)裡把這套邏輯用到了校園上,那本書是和普林斯頓同學艾倫·查爾斯·科爾斯(Alan Charles Kors)合寫的。科爾斯的身份值得一說:賓夕法尼亞大學啟蒙運動史榮休教授。這本書在 1998 年出版,比後來那波校園言論規範爭議早了將近十年。

他自己的解釋帶著一點自嘲:作為一個悲觀主義者,他總是先看到壞的一面。

自由社會的門票是難受

訪談裡最有張力的一段,是萊克斯追問:仇恨言論可以對很多人造成真實的痛苦,你不擔心嗎?

他的回答沒有繞:

生活在自由社會,就意味著你要把自己暴露在某種不適裡。你管它叫痛苦,那大概是情緒上的痛苦,不是身體上的。但這就是我們為自由社會付的價錢。(Harvey Silverglate)

然後他給了一個經驗性的論據。他在布魯克林的本森赫斯特長大,小時候有句童謠:棍子石頭能打斷我的骨頭,但名字永遠傷不了我。

我五歲時這句話是真的,快 81 歲了,它還是真的。(Harvey Silverglate)

他還說過一句被廣泛引用的話:你沒法被保護到不被人叫混蛋。萊克斯接了一句,尤其是當你真的是個混蛋的時候。他笑著承認,但也補了一刀:你不需要真的是混蛋,也會被叫混蛋。這一點是網際網路教會他的。

關於“網路霸凌會真的傷到人”這個反駁,他的回應是:那就把臉皮練厚一點。

我知道這話聽起來不近人情。但你生活在一個自由社會里,把臉皮練厚一點。(Harvey Silverglate)

這段話會不會太輕飄?他自己也知道會被這麼質疑。但他給了一個更硬的支撐:真能造成傷害的言論,法律已經管了。

第一修正案不保護的幾類話

西爾弗格拉特自稱絕對主義者,但他並不主張法律意義上的“零限制”。他把不受保護的類別列得很清楚。

  • 誹謗和造謠(libel and slander)。你說某人打老婆,而你知道他沒打,這不合法。
  • 直接威脅。你說“你要是如何如何,我就殺了你”,這不合法。
  • 欺詐。你賣車說“車況極好”,實際上那輛破車跑不了十英里,這也算不上言論自由。

還有一個常被誤引的例子。很多人說“在電影院裡喊起火了”是例外。他強調,這個說法傳錯了:

如果真起火了,你喊“起火了”是在履行一項重要的公共職能。例外是“虛假地”喊起火。你會引起踩踏,人會擠死。(Harvey Silverglate)

他自己其實不太喜歡誹謗這個例外。他更認同已故朋友納特·亨托夫(Nat Hentoff)的立場。亨托夫在《村聲》(The Village Voice)寫了幾十年專欄,寫過一本書叫《為我的言論自由,不是為你》(Free Speech for Me, but Not for Thee)。西爾弗格拉特說:在誹謗這一條上,我也站在亨托夫那邊。

那誹謗該怎麼辦?靠更多的言論,靠把真實情況說清楚。他用自己舉例:波士頓環球報寫過關於他的不準確內容,他們先後刊登了他的讀者來信。他也不客氣,直接聯絡記者。每家報紙的專欄末尾都附記者郵箱。他承認自己比多數人有更多媒體通道,但他說那只是意味著他比多數人更“有名”。

網際網路只是又一次媒介革命

萊克斯提出了“言論自由”和“觸及自由”(freedom of reach)的張力:網際網路讓言論可以病毒式擴散,瞬間抵達幾十萬人,這個規模和從前不是一回事。

他承認這是挑戰,但把它放進了歷史序列。

我們已經經歷過好幾次傳播方式的革命。報紙是第一次挑戰,廣播和電視是新一次挑戰,FCC 試過管控,最後放棄了。最高法院在這件事上一直很清醒。(Harvey Silverglate)

他提到一個耐人尋味的現象:自由派法院和保守派法院在絕大多數議題上分歧巨大,但在言論自由上高度一致。

原因大概是他們意識到,我的群體今天在上風,明天可能就在下風。所以我需要一套客觀、清晰的規則,等我成了少數派,我還能說話。(Harvey Silverglate)

唯一的例外是光譜兩端的極端人群。他的用詞很不客氣:最右邊那群他叫法西斯,最左邊那群他叫共產主義者。剩下的人,共和黨、民主黨、社會主義者、自由意志主義者,在言論自由優先這一點上有共識,因為這個權利在他們需要保護的時候保護他們。

他自己對網路言論的規則,和報紙、課堂、講座、私下聊天完全一樣。

沒人會死。死亡威脅不在保護範圍之內。所以最壞的情況是有人被冒犯了一下。這是自由社會的小代價。(Harvey Silverglate)

大學是言論自由最重要的地方

被問到為什麼校園言論自由值得他打二十多年官司,他給的理由跟“校園特殊”無關,落點在“校園最根本”。

言論自由在整個社會都重要,但在大學裡最重要。因為那裡是我們培養年輕公民的地方。(Harvey Silverglate)

如果學生受的教育是“你說了一句被認為是種族主義的話,某個院長就可以把你叫去訓話”,那這就不是一所文理學院了。

他把科學方法搬過來做類比。科學的方法是做實驗,看哪個成立,然後基於實驗結果建立理論。

這跟生活裡其他所有領域沒有本質區別。你得容納不同觀點,聽完所有觀點,然後自己判斷哪個更準確。(Harvey Silverglate)

他明確說,這個方法要應用到歷史、新聞,所有學科。科學方法有個硬性要求:你不會因為“萬一這個實驗結果被證實了會很糟”就不做這個實驗。觀點也一樣,包括那些讓人仇恨的觀點。

他給了一個特別形象的對比,講的是哈佛校園的地理邊界。

有個事不對勁:在哈佛廣場(Harvard Square)上你可以毫無顧忌地說任何話,一點恐懼都沒有;可是穿過那道圍牆,在哈佛園(Harvard Yard)裡,同樣的話你就說不得。應該是反過來的。(Harvey Silverglate)

行政膨脹是怎麼吃掉大學的

這是西爾弗格拉特最鋒利的一段。他的論點是:美國的大學,從最好的到最差的,從最著名的到最不知名的,都已經被行政人員接管了。

他列了行政人員的幾條罪狀。

第一,他們不承載學術價值。他們不懂憲法,不懂言論自由,不懂學術自由。他們認為自己的工作是“維持秩序”。

第二,於是他們發展出言論規範(speech codes)和袋鼠法庭(kangaroo courts)來執行這些規範。

第三,也是最要命的:美國高等教育裡,行政人員的數量已經超過了教員。

他給出的解決方案因此特別激進:解僱 95% 的行政人員。他認為這一刀下去會有三個連帶效果。

  • 學術環境會變好
  • 言論自由和學術自由會變好
  • 學費能降大約 40%

萊克斯追問:為什麼行政膨脹對大學是這麼壞的事?

他的回答分兩層。第一層是成本。行政人員的數量超過教員,這筆開支巨大。第二層更要命:行政人員和教學事業是敵對的。

他們覺得自己的工作就是控制,確保不出問題,確保沒有人被冒犯。因為你說了一句話冒犯了某人,就被叫到院長辦公室去,這在美國高等教育裡不該發生。但它發生了,因為有一批行政人員認為保護人不受冒犯就是他們的職責。(Harvey Silverglate)

他舉的例子很直接:你冒犯了一個黑人學生,你冒犯了一個女性,然後就開紀律聽證會。

不該這樣。黑人習慣了被冒犯,猶太人習慣了被冒犯,女性習慣了被冒犯。而且知道誰不喜歡你,這很有用。(Harvey Silverglate)

他把這一點講成了一種認識論:如果所有人都被強迫說“我愛你”,沒有人被允許說“我恨你”,你對生活是什麼就會得到一個完全錯誤的圖景。

萊克斯追了一個反向的問題:大學有沒有責任保護學生?尤其是女性、非裔、猶太人這些容易成為仇恨言論目標的人。

他劃的線很清楚:身體攻擊要管,冒犯不管。

他們保護你不被身體攻擊。有人打你,他會被懲罰。但他們不該保護你不被冒犯,那侵犯了學術自由,也侵犯了冒犯者冒犯你的自由。(Harvey Silverglate)

他補了一句已經被他講過很多遍的話:知道誰不喜歡你,對所謂“受害者”是有用的。他自己就非常想知道誰不喜歡他,這跟知道誰喜歡他一樣重要。

至於冒犯者會不會最終被淘汰,他是這麼看的:冒犯者通常會把好感耗光。而且在經驗層面,冒犯者往往沒有他們冒犯的人聰明。

我不打算在這裡做精神分析,但很多心懷仇恨的人,在智力刻度上確實偏低。這可能正是他們要去冒犯別人的原因之一,他們感到自卑。(Harvey Silverglate)

FIRE 是怎麼從校園走向全社會的

1999 年成立 FIRE 的時候,它的全稱叫“個人教育權利基金會”,火力全部對準校園。二十多年後改名為“個人權利與表達基金會”,保留 FIRE 這個縮寫。

這個轉折點值得注意。西爾弗格拉特的判斷是,ACLU 曾經承擔的大量言論自由案件,現在空了出來,沒人做。

ACLU 現在更像一個進步派組織,不再是一個公民自由組織。言論自由這一塊在全社會範圍內的活兒,我們接了過來。(Harvey Silverglate)

而他認為現在這個時代,特別容易走向審查。

每個人都覺得自己對,跟自己不同的人就不該有發言權。這是我很長時間以來見過的最不寬容的時代。(Harvey Silverglate)

他生於 1942 年 5 月 10 日,母親節那天出生的,接受這次訪談的時候快 81 歲。他出生在麥卡錫時代。

我想不起有比現在更糟的時候。我出生在麥卡錫時代,這話說明了一些問題。它讓我想起那個年代。(Harvey Silverglate)

一個 81 歲的老人,說自己經歷過的所有時代裡,現在是最不寬容的。這句話的重量,不在於它是否精確,而在於說話的人經歷過什麼。

為什麼美國的最高法院在言論自由上罕見地一致

訪談裡有個細節值得單拎出來。西爾弗格拉特提到,他人生大半段時間裡,美國最高法院是沃倫法院,是威廉·O·道格拉斯(William O. Douglas)和布倫南(Brennan)的年代,是自由派法院。現在因為特朗普的提名,法院轉向保守派。

兩代法院在幾乎所有議題上對立,唯獨在言論自由上保持一致。

他的解釋前面提過:因為大家都知道自己可能明天就成了少數派,所以需要一套客觀的規則。這個邏輯其實是個博弈論結論。一個權利之所以能被寫進憲法並被反覆確認,是因為所有人都預期自己有一天會需要它。

這也是他對“言論自由會不會被濫用”這個問題的底層回答。濫用是必然的,問題在於你能不能用規則去約束濫用,而不是靠臨時判斷。臨時判斷永遠偏向當下的強者。

哈佛監督委員會:一個 81 歲的 write-in 候選人

訪談的很大一部分圍繞他這次競選展開,因為訪談錄製的時候,選舉就在幾天後,5 月 16 日週二美東時間下午 5 點截止。

先說清楚這個機構。哈佛的最高權力機構是哈佛學院院長與評議員會(President and Fellows of Harvard College),通稱 Harvard Corporation,掌握實權。監督委員會(Board of Overseers)是第二層機構,權力小很多,但影響力很大。

西爾弗格拉特對監督委員會的定位是:一個“制高點”(perch)。他自己進不去 Corporation,但可以從監督委員會這個位置去說服真正掌權的那批人。

他開場就開了個不太好笑的玩笑:他預測五年內這個機構會改名,因為“overseer”(監督者)這個詞讓人想起奴隸制時代。

我們正處在一個政治正確的年代,英語這門語言正在被限制、被敗壞,因為某些詞被禁了。(Harvey Silverglate)

這次是他第二次參選。第一次他收集到了足夠的簽名,上了選票。然後哈佛校友會給全體在世校友發了一封信,推薦“官方提名候選人”,他和另一位請願候選人被排除在外。

他寫信去問:你們已經把官方提名候選人的履歷和政策立場發出去了,選票上有兩位請願候選人,我希望也能把我的立場發給選民。

校友會的回覆:我們的政策是隻向選民傳送官方提名候選人的政策立場和競選綱領。

他在訪談裡連問了兩次“你能相信嗎”。

這是一所文理學院,對吧?觀點碰撞出真理的地方。結果我們在監督委員會的選舉上,擔心觀點碰撞。(Harvey Silverglate)

他給這件事的定性很精確:這叫壓制候選人(candidate suppression),跟壓制選民(voter suppression)讀起來差不多,實際更隱蔽。所有人都能投票,但不是所有人都能參選。

這次他簽名不夠,只能 write-in。這就要求投票的人必須把名字拼對:S-I-L-V-E-R-G-L-A-T-E。

拼寫這件事對他來說是個歷史遺留問題。他祖父母從俄羅斯來的時候,姓氏在俄語裡大概讀作 Zilberglit。移民官有幾個選項:可以是 Silvergate(gate 是英文詞),可以是 Silverglade(glade 是英文詞),最後落到 Silverglate,一個說不通的音節組合。他說自己永遠搞不懂那個移民官為什麼這麼選,這個選擇成了他一生無窮無盡錯誤的來源。

投票流程本身也值得一提。只有哈佛校友能投票,需要先在 mgelectionservicescorp 那個地址收到驗證郵件,拿到驗證碼,然後線上投票,或者申請紙質選票。如果流程卡住,可以寫郵件到哈佛的 help 郵箱投訴。萊克斯在節目裡承諾把所有連結放在簡介裡。

巴科、蓋伊,和“給他一個機會”

西爾弗格拉特對哈佛現任和候任校長的評價,值得逐字讀。

對勞倫斯·巴科(Lawrence Bacow),他的評價是正面的。哈佛在巴科任內,在言論自由這件事上“做得相當不錯”。他見過巴科幾次,說自己喜歡他。他還捐了一張照片給哈佛:他已故的妻子拍的,鮑勃·迪倫和艾倫·金斯伯格在“滾雷巡演”到哈佛廣場時的那張合影,她管它叫《音樂課》,因為畫面裡迪倫在教金斯伯格彈吉他。這張照片現在掛在巴科的辦公室裡。

對候任校長克勞丁·蓋伊(Claudine Gay),他的評價是負面的,而且說得不留餘地。

人們跟我說,給她一個機會。我會給她一個機會,但她是有履歷的。她是個官僚。我不認為她相信言論自由和學術自由。我認為她是進步派,不是自由派。(Harvey Silverglate)

他明確說,蓋伊的任命讓他這次競選變得更必要了。

“進步派和自由派不是一回事”這個區分,在他的語境裡很重要。自由派在西爾弗格拉特的理解裡是古典意義上的,核心是程序正義和個人權利;進步派的重心在結果平等和群體保護。這兩者對待言論的態度確實會分岔。

“每個人長得不一樣,想得卻一樣”

萊克斯問起多元化、公平與包容(DEI)專案。西爾弗格拉特說,多元化的理念本身很美。然後他補了一句被廣泛引用的話:

哈佛的多元化理念,是讓每個人看起來不一樣,想得卻一樣。(Harvey Silverglate)

他把這個批評拆成兩個層次。

第一層:如果文理教育是認真的,學生就不可能“舒適”。因為大學的功能之一,就是挑戰學生從小建立的全部信念,那些多半來自父母和小學老師。

沒有言論自由和學術自由,這些觀點就會被固化,不會被挑戰。所以任何限制,都違背了高等教育機構的基本職能。(Harvey Silverglate)

第二層:如果學生之間不能坦誠相待,他們就真的不瞭解彼此。

他講了自己講座裡反覆說的一句話:

我更想聽恨我的人說什麼,而不是愛我的人。我更想知道誰不同意我,而不是誰贊同我。這是我學習的方式,這也是他們學習的方式。(Harvey Silverglate)

這是第一修正案背後的那個理論:觀點碰撞以後,真理會浮現出來。就算浮現出來的不是真理,至少是一個更好的真理、更真的真理、更有用的真理。

關於“舒適”這件事

把訪談裡散落的幾條線索串起來,會發現他對“舒適”這個概念有一個完整的立場。

在家被叫混蛋,你不能告人。在校被冒犯,你不該找院長。在網上被罵,你該把臉皮練厚。這三件事在他看來是一件事。

他說,沒有誰向我們承諾過玫瑰園。

他也承認另外一面。他是移民的後代,父親那一支來自俄羅斯,母親那一支來自波蘭。他的原話是:我很慶幸我的祖父母從俄羅斯來了。我今天不想待在俄羅斯,我大概會跟一個華爾街日報記者共處一間牢房。

這個對比他講得很輕,但意思很重:他說的那種“難受”,和另一種“難受”不在一個量級上。前一種是你被冒犯了,後一種是你被關起來了。

你說了普京的壞話,你最後會進古拉格。你說了拜登的壞話,你最後會上紐約時報。你更願意待在哪邊?(Harvey Silverglate)

他也沒有美化美國。他主動列了清單:我們打過內戰,我們搞過種族隔離,我們幾乎滅絕了印第安人。我們不完美。但在珍視自由的人眼裡,這是世界上最好的地方。

這個時代的兩端都在收緊

西爾弗格拉特的批評不是單向的。他明確點了光譜兩端:最右那群他叫法西斯,最左那群他叫共產主義者,這兩撥人是僅有的不認同言論自由優先的人。

這兩撥人數量都不多,但影響不小。極端立場在動員上天然佔優:它不需要說服,只需要激怒。

中間那一大片人反而不容易被看見。共和黨、民主黨、社會主義者、自由意志主義者,在言論自由優先這件事上其實有共識,只是這個共識不產生流量。

他講這些的時候沒有表現出憤怒,更多是一種老人的疲憊。81 歲了,還在打同一場仗,對手換了幾茬,戰場從校園擴到全網。

他在哈佛法學院只教了一個學期

訪談裡有個細節,他一帶而過:他只在大學教過一個學期,1980 年代中期的哈佛法學院,一門課。他說原因可以稍後再講,但那次訪談裡始終沒有展開。

不過他把這件事和另一個觀察連了起來。他說,大學是一個人在每個方向上真正探索的地方。畢業以後,你就做不到了。

這句話放在他的整體論證裡位置很關鍵。他反對行政膨脹,理由不只是成本,也不只是效率。他反對的是那套東西會擠掉大學最珍貴的那部分:教學、學生生活、抗議、社團、那種近乎浪費的自由。

他列舉這些東西的時候,用的詞是“樂趣”(fun)。一個打了半輩子官司的律師,在描述理想大學時用了“樂趣”這個詞。

這和前面那套“你不該被保護到不受冒犯”的強硬主張,其實是同一件事的兩面。自由之所以值得,是因為它允許你試錯,而試錯必然包含難堪。

他寧願讀《我的奮鬥》

訪談接近尾聲時,兩人聊到一個更微妙的層面:理解仇恨的人,和成為仇恨的人,中間那條線在哪裡。

西爾弗格拉特的說法是,他寧願去讀《我的奮鬥》(Mein Kampf),為的是理解那些恨的人。

這句話需要一點停頓才能消化。他說的跟這本書有沒有價值無關,他想說的是理解仇恨的機制,是抵抗它的前提。你把這種東西封起來,它就從可分析的物件變成不可分析的物件。不可分析的東西,人只能用恐懼去應對,而恐懼從來不會讓人變聰明。

萊克斯在這裡補了一層:大學是一個講規則、也講基本文明的地方,所以在大學裡,分歧也應該有質量。

這個補充其實點出了一個真問題。西爾弗格拉特的絕對主義立場,在實際操作裡高度依賴一個前提:參與者得願意把話說清楚,願意回應,願意在被打倒之後站起來繼續。

而網際網路上大量的“言論”,不滿足這個前提。那是噪音、是刷屏、是純粹的羞辱。這種內容對“觀點碰撞產生真理”這件事,貢獻接近於零。

他對這個反駁的回應,仍然是程式性的:法律能管的只有誹謗、威脅、欺詐這幾類,其餘的空間必須留給混亂。因為一旦你開始劃線,劃線的人會換,線的位置也會跟著挪。

這個立場不討喜,但它有一個好處:可預測。對少數派,可預測比“合理”重要得多。

一個 81 歲的人還在競選,說明的問題

把整場訪談串起來看,西爾弗格拉特做的事其實很樸素:他一直在把抽象原則換算成具體場景。

言論自由不是一句憲法條文。它具體表現為:你不能因為罵人被開除,明星教授不能因為觀點被趕走,哈佛的行政人員不該多過教員,一個請願候選人的政綱應該和官方提名人一起寄給校友。

最後這一條最諷刺。一個以“觀點碰撞產生真理”為立校根基的大學,在自己章程規定的選舉程式裡,拒絕把一位候選人的主張發給選民。理由很正當:政策如此。

他沒有把這歸為陰謀,只是當成行政邏輯的自然產物。行政人員的工作是維持秩序,而秩序的最短路徑就是減少變數。減少變數的具體操作,就是讓不可控的聲音進不來。

所以他的九十五條百分比的提案,邏輯上是一致的。不換掉那批人,規則就不會變。換掉之後,學費降四成只是副產品,真正變化的是校園裡能不能說難聽的話。

至於他自己能不能贏,他說得很實在:如果能把資訊傳出去,他會贏一個席位;贏了之後,他就有個制高點去說服真正掌權的 Harvard Corporation。

一個 81 歲的人,靠 write-in 參選,名字還得靠口口相傳才能拼對。這大概是言論自由這件事在 2023 年最具體的樣子。

可以立刻做的幾件事

這場訪談裡沒有多少可以馬上執行的東西,但確實有幾件。它們不需要你同意他的絕對主義立場,只需要你承認:一個能被叫混蛋而不用承擔後果的社會,比一個不能的社會要好過一點。

  • 如果你是哈佛校友,在 5 月 16 日美東時間下午 5 點前投票。想支援他,必須手動填寫並拼對姓名:Harvey Silverglate,S-I-L-V-E-R-G-L-A-T-E。填錯的票不會算給他。
  • 如果你想支援這類工作,去看 FIRE 的案子。它現在接的是 ACLU 過去承擔的那部分訴訟,校園內外都做。
  • 在你自己的組織裡翻一遍規則手冊,找出那些以“維護氛圍”為名、實際限制表達的條款。多數時候你會找到幾條,它們從沒被認真審視過。
  • 練習區分“被冒犯”和“被傷害”。前者是你的情緒反應,後者涉及身體、財產、法律權利。混在一起,你就會不斷要求別人閉嘴。
  • 主動去讀一篇你強烈反對的文章,讀到最後一段。目的不是被說服,是搞清楚對方真正的論證,而不是你想象中的那個。
  • 如果你被不實報道了,別隻在社交媒體上抱怨。查文章末尾的記者郵箱,直接寫信,同時投一封讀者來信。這條路徑比大多數人以為的更有效。
  • 對孩子或者學生,把那句老話說一遍:棍子石頭能打斷骨頭,名字傷不了人。然後解釋為什麼這句話在網際網路時代依然成立,而不是假裝網際網路不存在。

最後一條可能最難。因為它要求你在孩子受委屈的時候,不衝出去替他討公道,而是坐在旁邊告訴他:這件事很難受,但你能扛住,而且知道誰不喜歡你,是件有用的事。

西爾弗格拉特 81 歲了,還在為這句話打官司。

文稿由本站用語音識別模型(基於官方釋出音訊)機器轉寫,可能有識別錯誤,人名與數字請以音訊為準。
Lex Fridman Podcast #377 – Harvey Silverglate: Freedom of Speech Machine transcription by Qwen3-ASR 0.6B (MLX, local, Apache-2.0). May contain recognition errors. The following is a conversation with Harvey Silverglade, a legendary free speech advocate, co founder of Fire, the foundation for individual rights and expression, and the author of several books on the freedom of speech and criminal justice, including *The Shadow University*, *The Betrayal of Liberty* on America's campuses. Harvey is running to be on the Harvard Board of Overseers this year with a writing campaign. So you have to spell his name correctly, Silverglade, promising to advocate for free speech and to push for reducing the size of Harvard's administration bureaucracy. Election is over this Tuesday, May 16th at 5 p.m. Eastern. To vote, you have to be Harvard alumni. So if you happen to be one, please vote online. It's a good way to support freedom of speech on Harvard campus. Instructions how to do so are in the description. As a side note, please allow me to say that since there are several controversial conversations coming up, I tried to make sure that this podcast is a platform for free discourse where ideas are not censored but explored and if necessary challenged in a thoughtful and pathetic way. It's by having such difficult conversations, not by avoiding them, that we can begin to heal divides and to shed light on the dark parts of human history and human nature. And now a quick few second mention of each sponsor. Check them out in the description. It's the best way to support this podcast. We got Factor for nutritious and delicious pre made meals, Simply Safe for home security and Athleta Greens for well delicious delicious health. Jews wise and my friends. Also, if you want to work with our amazing team, we're always hiring. Go to lexfreeman dot com slash hiring. And now onto the full ad reads. As always, no ads in the middle. I try to make this interesting, but if you must skip, please still check out the sponsors. I enjoy their stuff. Maybe you will too. This show is brought to you by Factor, a ready to eat meal kit service that delivers nutritious and delicious meals straight to your door. They got keto, they got vegan, they got calorie smart, they got protein plus, and if you know me, you know which one I go with. I go with keto. For over a decade, I've been eating mostly carnivore keto, which when I don't have services like Factor, ends up me going to the grocery store getting some ground beef and just cooking that and eating that with a little bit of salt. Now there's nothing wrong with that, but there's downsides. One of the downsides is there's not diversity and flavor and richness and experience in the eating process, especially if I get to share that experience with somebody else. Second, it takes quite a bit of time, and so I think Factor solves these problems. They got such amazing meals, they're so delicious and they fit into my diet, my keto diet. And they allow me to share those meals with other people and really enjoy them. The full variety of it, it tastes delicious and it's fun and it's so easy to do. It fits into my day. You just heat the thing. I don't know how many minutes maybe like two minutes. And you just get to enjoy it. It's fresh, it's healthy, it's affordable. I love it. Get Factor and enjoy clean eating without the hassle. Go to factormeals dot com slash lex forty and use code lex forty to get 40 off your first box. That's factormeals dot com slash lex forty and use code lex forty. This show is also brought to you by Simply Safe, a home security company designed to be simple and effective. Thirty minutes setup, and you can customize the system for your needs. I have set it up. I feel like it took like less than 30 minutes. It was super fast. I have a ton of cameras. Everything is easy to use. It's one of the key components of my physical security systems. Of course, I take my cyber and physical security extremely seriously for many reasons. I have many ways in which I protect my security, everything from physical to cyber to mental, all that kind of stuff. But I think for most people and for myself, there should be this kind of low hanging fruit of make sure your home is protected with an easy to use, easy to monitor, easy to interact with, easy to set up security system. That's what Simply Safe is. Go to simplysafe dot com slash lex to get a free indoor security camera plus 20 off your order with interactive monitoring. And I do recommend you get the interactive monitoring. This show is brought to you by Athleta Greens and it's AG One Drink, which is an all in one daily drink to support better health and peak performance. I've been drinking it every single day, twice a day. It's the thing I break my fast with when I'm traveling. Got the travel packs. I mean, it's just it's a simple part of my day that makes me feel at home, that makes me feel happy, that makes me feel like I have a nutritional foundation to take on the day and do all the kinds of crazy stuff physical and mental that I do. Sometimes things become such an integrated part of your life that you start to take them for granted and you only realize how much they mean to you when they're gone. So the times when I run out of travel packs and I'm traveling or or there's a curveball where I have to travel unexpectedly all that kind of stuff I realize. Oh wow, there's these little parts of the day that bring me joy, and one of them is drinking an Athleta Greens drink. Maybe it can be part of your life in the same kind of way. They'll give you a free one year supply of vitamin D and five free travel packs with your first purchase when you go to athletagreens dot com slash lex. This is a lexfreeman podcast to support it. Please check out our sponsors in the description. And now, dear friends, here's Harvey Silverglade. You co founded the foundation for individual rights and expression, also known as Fire, a legendary organization that fights for the freedom of speech for all Americans in our courtrooms, on our campuses, and in our culture. So let's start with a big question: What is freedom of speech? First of all, the organization when I co founded it in 1999. Was called the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. It focused on free speech issues on college campuses in academia. And only earlier this year did we decide to expand our reach beyond the campuses, which is why the name, although the acronym Fire remains. It's now the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. The E used to be education. The E used to be education. It's now expression. And we basically do a lot of the cases the ACLU used to do. The ACLU now more is. They're a progressive organization rather than a civil liberties organization. And and we've taken the the the role of dealing with free speech in in the society generally. And and now this is a particularly. And era prone to censorship. Everybody thinks they're right that people who disagree with them should not be able to voice their views. It's a very difficult period right now, both on campus and off campus. It's about as intolerant an era as I can remember. I'm going to be 81 May 10th. I was born on Mother's Day 1942. And I can't remember it being this bad. I was born during the McCarthy era. So that says a lot, and it sort of reminds me of that. Well, let's start with that almost a philosophical question, a legal question, a human question: What is this freedom that you care so much about that you fought for so much freedom of speech? It is the most important right that Americans have. It's not a coincidence or an accident that it's named in the First Amendment to the Constitution. Without it, no democratic society can be democratic for long. And I'm an absolutist. That is, I believe that for example, people say to me, "But what about hate speech? Well, hate speech is much more important than love speech, and the reason is I'm much more interested in knowing whom I should not turn my back on. " Than I am interested in figuring out who loves me or who likes me. So hate speech is the most important in my view, and yet it's it's banned in for example schools. It's unbelievable. Kids are not schooled into understanding the glory of the First Amendment when when schools say to them they shouldn't say things that are going to make somebody feel bad. Um, the purpose of speech is to express honest views that people have, and so I believe hate speech is as important as love speech, and my view is more important. So it should be brought to the surface rather than operate in shadows. Absolutely, absolutely. What is the connection between freedom of speech and freedom of thought? Well, in a free society, thoughts start in the brain and then they come out the mouth. So they're different ends of the same spectrum. So to you, the censorship of speech eventually leads to a censorship of thought. Of course, censorship of the mode by which other people know what you're thinking. So there's some aspect of our society that is that thinking is done collectively and without being able to speak to each other, we cannot do this kind of collective thinking. And out of speech, the theory is that ultimately out of speech comes truth. That isn't necessarily so. But I do think that when there's free speech, better decisions are made because people put their views on the table in a frank, accurate way. And then those views mix together and clash, and out of that usually comes the better the better decision. Not always, but usually more more often than not. But if somebody is not allowed to be a you know sit at the table of decision making, then the decision making process is poorer, less robust, less diverse, and ultimately less successful. So can you elaborate on the idea of free speech absolutism? So hate speech can be quite painful to quite a large number of people. Does this worry you? Yep, living in a free society requires that you expose yourself to some discomfort. You call it pain. It's maybe emotional pain. It's not physical pain. Um, but it's it's the price we pay for living in a free society. Every so often we're insulted, we're emotionally hurt. Think of the alternative. All the alternatives are worse. Nobody ever promised us a rose garden. We're lucky to be in a country that has the First Amendment. It's also the it's the most diverse country in the world because of immigration. I mean, my my grandparents, my father's side came over from Russia, my mother's side came over from Poland. I'm very happy that my grandparents came in from Russia. I would not want to be in Russia today. I'd probably be sharing a cell with a Wall Street Journal reporter. Um, so I'm I'm thankful that they came in. And this is a great country. It's got troubles right now, but our country doesn't. And we've had before we had a civil war, we had segregation, we had the decimation of the Indians. We're not perfect. But it's the best place in the world for somebody who values liberty. So you don't think that hate speech can empower large groups that eventually lead to physical action to physical harm to others. No, I don't. I think that that we have developed a culture in which it's understood that if you don't like what you hear, you talk back. You write, you write something. Um, we don't punch each other. We insult each other. Um, is insulting great? Well, I don't know, it's okay. I used to as a kid in Brooklyn, where I was born, I was born and raised in Bensonhurst. We used to say sticks and stones can break by bones, but names can never harm me. And it's absolutely true. What was true when I was five is true when I'm I'm almost 81. So I've lived a long time. I've seen it all, and I'm talking from experience as well as theory. It's what happens when you reach your 80s. I read that you had this line that you cannot be protected from being called an asshole. Correct, especially if you're an asshole. Well, that's but you don't have to be an asshole to be called an asshole. Correct, and I think the internet has taught me that. Well, the internet has posed a particular challenge to free speech absolutists because of some of the stuff that's on there is god awful. But I have no different rule for freedom of speech on the internet than I have in newspapers or in lectures or in classrooms or or conversations among people. What do you think about the tension between freedom of speech and freedom of reach as is kind of sometimes termed? So the internet really challenges that aspect. It allows speech to become viral and spread very quickly to a very large number of people. Yeah, well you know we've had we've had revolutions in in in the modalities of communication. After all, newspapers were the first challenge. Um, radio and television posed a new challenge. Um, the FCC tried, but ultimately gave up the attempt to control um obscenity, for example. Um, and the Supreme Court has been pretty close. The one thing that liberal and conservative Supreme Courts right now we're in a conservative era due to Trump nominations. Um, during the much of my life, we were the Warren Court. It was William O. Douglas or Brennan. It was the liberal court. One thing they agree on is free speech. They don't agree on much else, but they do agree on free speech. And I think the reason is that they recognize that well, my group is in the ascendence today, but it may not be tomorrow, and I want to have objective, clear rules so that when I'm in the minority, I'm able to voice my opinion. And so it's one of the few things that both sides of the political spectrum agree on. The only people who don't are the the people way over on the right that I call the fascists and the people way over on the left, who are the communists, but with respect to most people in this on the political spectrum. Republicans, Democrats, Socialists, Libertarians, um, they agree on the primacy of free speech because it protects them when when protection is needed. So to you, even on the internet, free speech absolutism should rule. Yes, nobody's going to die. Remember, death threats are not are not protected. Nobody's going to die, so people are going to be a little bit insulted. That's the price you pay for living in a free society, and it's a small price. In my view, people some people don't have as tough a hide as others. Well, then develop it. I hope I don't I don't mean to sound cruel, but you know you're living in a free society, develop a tough hide. So that's the cost of living in a free society. Yep, there are there's a cost. The thing is, it it can really hurt at scale to be cyber bullied to be attacked for the ideas you express or maybe ideas you didn't express but that somebody decided to lie about you and use that to to attack you. Well, first of all, there are there are so there are some exceptions to the First Amendment. Libel and slander is an exception. Direct threats are an exception. You know if you if you say such and such, I will murder you. That is not lawful. If you say that somebody, if you say about somebody, oh you know you beat your wife, that that is not lawful. If in fact the person knows you don't beat your wife, there are some limits. Defamation is one, direct threats are another. Um, so it's not absolute. This is not the First Amendment is not absolute, but it is it's more absolute than it is in any other society, and it's pretty near absolute. Um, for example, fraud. If you sell somebody a car and you say, "Oh, this is in great running shape," and in fact it's an old jalopy and it's not going to make it more than 10 miles. That's fraud. That's not free speech. Um, so free speech is not absolute. There are these limits, but they're very narrow specific categories of limits. But there's gray area here because while legally you're not allowed to defame a person in the court of public opinion, especially with the aid of anonymity on the internet. Rumors can spread at scale. Thousands, hundreds of thousands of people can make up things about you. You have to defend yourself. Using more speech. We're big. We're through freedom of speech. We're big boys and girls. Um, you have to defend yourself. Um, you know in in in some societies if you say something, if you right now if you say something nasty about Putin, you'll end up in the Gulag. Um, you say something nasty about um Biden, you end up in the New York Times. Where would you rather be? Well, let's talk about the thing you've done for over twenty years. Which is fight for the freedom of speech on college campuses. So, why is freedom of speech important on college campuses? Well, it's important everywhere in the society, but it's most important on college campuses. Why? Because that's where we educate our young citizens. And if you are educated under a notion that some dean can can call you on the carpet because you say something which is considered racist or you can say something which is considered dangerous to to social cohesion. Then it's not a liberal arts college. Now the the theory that I used in in the shadow university. A book you've written, The Shadow University nineteen ninety eight nineteen ninety eight you were ahead of a lot of these things. I was I am afraid that as as a pessimist, I always saw the bad side of things. Betrayal of liberty on America's campuses. The shadow university, a book you co authored with Alan Charles. Yes, with one of my Princeton classmates, Alan Charles Coors, who's now a Meritorious Professor of Enlightenment History at the University of Pennsylvania. I only taught for one semester, and I can go into that later. The reason I did not continue to teach in colleges. It was Harvard Law School. I taught a course in mid nineteen eighties. But in any event, the college campuses are one of the most important of fora for free speech because it's where people get education. And if you don't really get a good education, if certain points of view are not allowed to be expressed because education comes from the clash of ideas. And you then have to decide this is the this is how you become a thinking adult. You have to decide which ideas make more sense to you, which ones you are going to follow. The college experience is transformative. And if there is censorship on campuses, it's highly destructive of the educational enterprise. And ultimately to the entire society. You know we have in the sciences, we have a scientific method. Scientific method is you try experiments and you see which ones work and then you develop theories based upon the results of experiments. Well, this is not much different from every other aspect of life. You have to entertain different views on different subjects. You hear all the views and you make a decision as to which one is accurate and which one is not. So scientific method I apply to to non science to history to journalism. To all of these things, so that scientific method includes ideas hateful ideas also. Correct. If you don't allow hateful ideas, I mean when when scientists do experiments, nobody says to them, "Oh, you know, don't don't do that experiment because it would be very bad if that turns out to be accurate that outcome. That's not the way it works. " Every every point of view is thrown into the marketplace, whether it's science or whether it's you know non science. And that includes the kind of ideas and the kind of discourse that might actually lead to an increasing hate on campuses. The the the First Amendment prohibits speech which is liable to produce imminent imminent violence. So for example, you know the the exception is yelling falsely falsely yelling fire in a crowded movie theater. A lot of people mistate it. They say, "Oh, the exception is yelling fire in a movie theater. " If there is really a fire, you are performing a real important function by yelling fire. Part, but it's falsely yelling fire. You would start a riot. People would be crushed trying to get out. So there are these that that's one of the exceptions that the First Amendment as the Supreme Court has defined it. There are very few exceptions, and defamation is an exception. I am I am not a fan of that exception frankly. But if you say something about somebody that has serious implications in their in their life and their ability to earn a living, if you say accuse somebody of being a pedophile but it's not true. That person can sue you. My own view is I think that's an unfortunate exception, but I am not on the Supreme Court. I think that I am with a friend of mine was Nat Hentoff. Nat Hentoff who wrote for decades for the Village Voice in New York. He was a friend of mine. He was a free speech absolutist. And he wrote a fabulous book called "Free Speech for Me, but Not for Thee." And he was an absolutist, and I am with I am with Nat Hentoff. Even on the defamation aspect, I mean I agree with you in some sense, just practically speaking, it seems like. That the way the best way in the public sphere to defend against defamation is with more speech. Correct. And through authenticity, through authentic communication. Of the truth as you see it. Yeah, you know at times the Boston Globe has said something about me that hasn't been accurate. They have variably published my letter to the editor. I am also not bashful about getting in in touch with the reporter. At the end of every column, they give the reporter's email address. And I know people say that I I have more access to the media than most people. But all that means is I get the fame more than most people. Can we also comment on from the individual consumer of speech? There is a kind of sense that freedom of speech means you should be forced to read all of it. Freedom of speech versus freedom of reach. We as consumers of speech, do we have the right to select what we read? We do, and nobody can force us to sit in the room and listen to a radio program that we don't want to listen to. Nobody can force us to read a book that we don't want to read. The whole notion of freedom of speech means that people have autonomy on their choices. In order to form a complete mind and complete human being, there is a kind of tension of that autonomy versus consuming as many varied perspectives as possible, which is underlying the ethic of free speech. So on college campuses, it seems like a good way to develop the mind is to get as many perspectives as possible, even if you don't really want to. Well, that's that is the theory. Academic freedom is the is supposed to be the highest degree of free speech. Yeah, you should be able to entertain all kinds of hateful, threatening ideas, and the way I put it is there is something wrong when you can say something with complete abandon without any fear in Harvard Square. Whereas on the other side of the fence, you can't say it in Harvard Yard. It should be the opposite. And what happens is universities from the best to the worst, from the most famous to the least well known, have been taken over by administrators. Administrators do not really subsume academic values. They know nothing about the constitution. They know nothing about free speech. They know nothing about academic freedom. They feel that their job is to keep order. And so they develop speech codes, kangaroo courts to enforce the speech codes. And these are very dire developments. I wrote about them in the shadow university in nineteen ninety eight. And try to deal with them in nineteen ninety nine when I started fire, co started fire. And I would fire the reason I am running currently for the Harvard Board of Overseers is what I'd like to do is convince the Harvard Corporation. The so called President Fellows of Harvard College, the Chief Governing Board of the University with the real power. The Board of Overseers is a secondary body, but quite influential. To fire ninety five percent of the administrators, it would have a salutary effect on the academics of the university. It would have a salutary effect on free speech and academic freedom. It would cut tuitions by about forty percent. And it would create a whole different atmosphere on the campus and the same set of MIT or any other place. I think administrators are a a very bad influence on American higher education. Can you sort of elaborate the intuition why this thing that you call administrative bloat is such a bad thing for a university? Well, first of all, just in terms of the the the cost. Maintaining there are more administrators in American higher education than there are faculty members. The cost is enormous. Number two, they are inimical to the the the teaching enterprise and and they feel that their job is to control things to make sure there are no problems that nobody's feelings are hurt. Being called you know before a dean because you said something. That insulted somebody is something that shouldn't happen in American higher education. Yet it happens because you have these administrators who think it's their job to protect people from being insulted. You you insult a a black student, you insult a woman. There is a disciplinary hearing. Well, there shouldn't be. Black people are accustomed to being insulted. Jews are accustomed accustomed to being insulted. Women are accustomed to being insulted, and it's very good to know who doesn't like you. It's useful. It is very it is essential information to know who doesn't like you. If everybody is forced to say I love you and nobody can say I hate you, you get a false view of what life is all about. Outside of the university, outside the university, I mean you do graduate eventually. And that's ultimately the mission of the university is to prepare you to make you into a great human being and to a great leader that can take on the problems of the world. Correct. And you don't do it by by treating you like a like a little flower. But what role does the university have to protect students to women, African Americans, anybody, Jews, anybody who gets can get could be victim of hate speech. They they they protect you from physical assault. If somebody physically assaults you, then they they get punished. But they shouldn't they shouldn't protect you against insult because that is a violation of academic freedom, the freedom of the insulator to insult you. And also as I said, it's very useful to know who doesn't like you. It's useful for the so called victim. I think it's as I want to know who doesn't like me. It's as important to me as knowing who who likes me. But do you also believe in this open space of discourse that the insulator will eventually lose? I think that's true. I think of the insulator eventually will wear out his or her welcome. I do, but I like to know who the insulator is because it gives you a deeper understanding of human nature. Yeah, and and usually by the way, by experience has been that the insulators have generally not been as smart as the people they have insulted. And that's probably one of the reasons they insult them because they they feel inferior. I mean I am not trying to be a a psychoanalyst here, but a lot of the people who are the haters are pretty low down on the intellectual scale. Anyway, ninety five percent of administration, you would fire your calling to fire ninety five percent of the administration. People should know. I think people that don't really think about the structure the way the universities work are not familiar. I think with the fact that administration there is a huge bloat of administration. You know when you think about what makes a great university it's about the students it's about the faculty it's about the people that do research if it's a research university. They don't think about the bureaucracy of meetings and committees and rules and paperwork and all that and all the people that are involved with pushing that kind of paper and there is a huge cost to that but it also slows down and suppresses the the beautiful variety that makes the university great which is the teaching the student life the protests the the the clubs all the fun that you can have in a university all the very kind of exploration which you can't really do once you graduate. Correct. It's the place. The university is a place to really explore in every single way. So let me just talk about this important thing because I am very fortunate to have contacted you almost by accident in a very important moment in your life. You are running for the Harvard Board of Overseers. What is this board? How much power does it have? And what would you do if elected? Okay, first of all, I have a prediction. Yes, that in about five years they're going to probably change the name because overseers reminds people of the slavery era and we're in a such a politically correct era now. That the English language is being restricted, corrupted the way I put it because certain words are are forbidden. We we have some problems in this country and I think part of the problem is the educational system. Has lost the sense of what academic freedom and free speech are all about, and and and I think it's essential that the educational system begin to take more seriously what free speech and academic freedom really are. That's why I am running for the Harvard Board of Overseers. So let me just linger on the the role of the administration in protecting free speech. So what often happens I think you've written about this is there is going to be a few, maybe a small number of hypersensitive students and faculty that protest. So how does Harvard administration? Resist the influence of those hypersensitive protesters in protecting speech, in protecting even hate speech. Harvard has done fairly well under the presidency of Lawrence Backhae. I have had a couple of meetings with Backhae. I like Backhae. I have donated to Harvard a print of my late my late wife took a picture of Bob Dylan and Alan Ginsburg when the Rolling Thunder Review got to Harvard Square. And it's a it's sort of an iconic photograph. It's she called it the music lesson because it's got Dylan teaching Ginsburg how to play the guitar. And I donated one of those to to Harvard. It's hanging in Backhae's office. He the new president, Claudine Gay is not known for respecting academic freedom and free speech. People have said to me, "Well, give her a chance." Well, I am going to give her a chance, but she does have a record. And she's a bureaucrat. I don't think she believes in free speech and academic freedom. I think she's a progressive, not a liberal. I am not happy with the the the appointment of Claudine Gay, and it has made more essential my attempt to get on the board of overseers. So let's talk about the board of overseers and your run for it. The specifics actually. Okay, it would be nice because I think you are a writing candidate. And the election is over on May sixteenth. Yes, and I think there are specifics. I'll probably give them in the intro. I'll give links to people, but the specifics are complicated. Let me just mention that you have to be Harvard alumni. So I have graduated from Harvard. You have to in order to run and in order to vote. In order to vote, and the process I imagine is not trivial, but this is done online. And if you are an alumni, you should have received an email from a particular email address, Harvard at mgelectionservicescorp dot com. And presumably there is a way to get some validation number from that email and then you go online. You enter that validation number and you vote. And you to vote for Harvey, you have to enter his name correctly, Harvey Silverglade and spell it correctly. Obviously, I am imagining this because I am MIT not Harvard. So I am imagining the process is not trivial. You have to click on things, you have to sort of follow instructions that are not trivial. And I'll also provide an email if the process is painful it doesn't work for you that you can email email Harvard and complain it help at Harvard.edu and so on. I'll provide all the links. But is there something else you can say about the voting process? What you are running on. This is my second run. The first time I got enough signatures to get on the ballot. Then the Harvard Alumni Association sent out a letter to all living Harvard alums. Recommending that they vote for the officially nominated candidates, that excluded two petition candidates of whom I was one. And I wrote to the alumni association and I said, "You have now sent out the curriculum vitae's and the policy positions of all the officially nominated candidates. There are two petition candidates on the ballot. I would like to be able to send out my." Positions to the voters. They wrote me back saying, "Our policy is to only send out the policy positions and the platforms of officially nominated candidates. Can you believe that?" Well, this is a liberal arts college, right? From the where from the clash of ideas, truth emerges. Well, really, this is what I call Harvard's not so subtle means of candidate suppression, not voter suppression, candidate suppression. And everybody can vote, but not everybody can run. It ill becomes a liberal arts college where you know the clash of ideas will produce the truth. We worry about the clash of ideas on the board of overseers. The board of overseers is important. It doesn't have the same power and authority as the Harvard Corporation of so-called President Fellows of Harvard College. But it's very influential and very important, and it would be a great perch for me to try to exert influence for the university to get back. To where it was before it was taken over by the administrators. Well, I am pretty sure that most of Harvard alumni, most of the students currently going to Harvard, most of the faculty at Harvard, probably stand behind the ideas and the ideals that you stand behind. Yep. The people that love Harvard and what it stands for. See, the alumni were educated in an era when these concepts were taken more seriously, and before the administration administrators took over. So I do think if I get my message out, I am going to win a seat, and if I win a seat, I will have a great perch for for trying to convince the real power that be, which is the Harvard Corporation. To do the things that I am suggesting, you know, get rid of ninety-five percent of administrators, get rid of the speech codes, reduce tuition by forty percent, all of these salutary benefits. Can you imagine if Harvard became the most affordable college in the United States? Well, the affordability is another aspect, but I think before that, the just the freedom of expression, freedom of speech, freedom of thought. At America's greatest universities, I think is something that everybody would agree on. It would have it would have a tremendous effect on the whole country. And is there something to say about the details of how difficult it is for alumni to vote? Have experience with this. You could vote online or you can vote by paper ballot. You could request the paper ballot. Um and all I could say is that the the hard part is getting the message out. My name doesn't appear on the ballot because I couldn't get enough signatures. Um well Harvey Harvey Silverglate S I L V E R G L A T. You know that when my grandparents arrived from Russia, the the the name in Russian was something like Zilberglit. Yeah. And the immigration officer had several choices. He could have said Silvergate. Gate is a real silver and gate are real English words. He could have said Silverglade G L A D E. Those are real English words. That's how my name is often dispelled either Silvergate or Silverglade. Silverglate is a nonsense syllable. And why the immigration officer chose to transliterate Zilberglit as Silverglade? I will never understand, and it is the cause of endless mistakes. In my name, well the the fundamental absurdity of life, yes, is also the source of its beauty. Yes, anyway, we shall spell it out, and we shall get yell loud and wide that everybody who has ever graduated from Harvard should vote for you if they believe in the ideals of the great American universities, which I think most people do. Let me also ask about diversity, inclusion, and equity programs. You've been you've had a few harsh words to say about those. You know the idea of diversity, I think is a beautiful idea. You've said that Harvard's idea of diversity is for everyone to look different and think alike. Correct. Can you elaborate? And be comfortable, and be comfortable. Yeah, first of all, it is impossible if liberal arts education is taken seriously. It's impossible for students to feel comfortable. Why? Because one of the roles of colleges to challenge all the beliefs that they grew up with, which mostly are the beliefs inculcated by parents and by elementary school teachers. And the idea is to be able to challenge those thoughts, those ideas, and if you don't have free speech and academic freedom, those views get reified. They do not get challenged. So it is it it it violates the fundamental role of higher educational institutions to have any restrictions at all. That's number one. Number two, as I think I said earlier, if people students are not allowed to be frank with one another, they don't really learn about one another. And you know I I've given a lot of lectures in which I said and I think students now understand that. I am much more interested in hearing from the people who hate me than the people who love me. I am much more interested in knowing who disagrees with me than people who agree with me. That's how I learn, and that's how they learn the clash of ideas, which is the theory behind the First Amendment. That truth will somehow emerge, or if not truth, at least a better truth, a truer truth, a more useful truth, if ideas are allowed to clash. Especially in the structure of a university, where at least I would say there is some set of rules, some set of civility. I think I would rather read Mein Kampf. To understand people that hate, there is also quality to disagreement that we should strive for, and I think in university is a place where when disagreement

本集資源與出處