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Larry Flynt has died

bbc.com

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Re: Larry Flynt has died

#81

Post by mtnGoat »

Rest In Peace Larry, you old curmudgeon!

I had the pleasure of working for Larry and can say that in some ways he was a hero of mine. Not because he was a pornographer, but simply because he did what he pleased and fought like hell to protect that right. He risked everything he had to prove his points because he knew if he failed he would have nothing. I didn't always agree with what we were publishing and producing, but I supported our right to do it. Larry on the other hand eternally supported others right to do the same without question.

America IS a more free place because of Larry. Say what you will about the man, he would not have cared less!

Re: Larry Flynt has died

#82

Post by camjohnson26 »

kenneth wrote: post #77
krapp wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given how much porn there is on the internet I don't think that many people have an issue with the Larry Flynts of the world.

Today the thought people can't bear is no longer porn, it's anything remotely not woke. It's any opinion that even slightly diverges from their own.

I’m not sure a minimum wage is a good idea.

Re: Larry Flynt has died

#83

Post by camjohnson26 »

kenneth wrote: post #77
krapp wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given how much porn there is on the internet I don't think that many people have an issue with the Larry Flynts of the world.

Today the thought people can't bear is no longer porn, it's anything remotely not woke. It's any opinion that even slightly diverges from their own.

I don’t think Trump is a racist.

Re: Larry Flynt has died

#84

Post by bdcravens »

krapp wrote: post #61
eplanit wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm afraid people now see it as an antiquated and outmoded perspective on free speech. His attitude was embraced by progressive people of the late 20th century. That said, he too had to own his own platform in order to exercise his rights.

Given how much porn there is on the internet I don't think that many people have an issue with the Larry Flynts of the world.

Larry Flynt was someone pushing the boundaries of his day, even in the world of pornography (Hustler was more explicit than Playboy, for example). Today's random pornographer is not a "Larry Flynt".

Flynt is more akin to Snowden or Assange, or even Parler, in boldness. (not comparing content, just free speech boldness)

Re: Larry Flynt has died

#85

Post by dragonwriter »

ThrowawayR2 wrote: post #64
eyelidlessness wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t understand what’s wrong with owning your platform to exercise your speech rights. You still have a public square. It’s as free as it’s been since Flynt was a prominent figure. (I’m happy to talk about how unfree it can be from experience, but it hasn’t gotten worse especially for the people most up in arms about platform access.) Instead of being constantly on the defense here... Why do you think you have a r…

> " I don’t understand what’s wrong with owning your platform to exercise your speech rights. " MLK and the civil rights movement didn't own their own platform. The LGBT rights movement didn't own their own platform. The women's rights movement didn't own their own platform. Would you have been okay with them being swept under the rug? It's not as if people in power didn't want to.

> MLK and the civil rights movement didn't own their own platform.

Yes, they largely either did or relied on convincing platform owners, not relying on platform entitlement. Now, they and the allies they convinced didn't own a single centralized platform, it was a decentralized network with big nodes like Rev. Dr. King’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, and small nodes like the individual members of the movement, which relied substantially on person-to-person face-to-face grassroots mobilization.

Re: Larry Flynt has died

#86

Post by eyelidlessness »

ThrowawayR2 wrote: post #64
eyelidlessness wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t understand what’s wrong with owning your platform to exercise your speech rights. You still have a public square. It’s as free as it’s been since Flynt was a prominent figure. (I’m happy to talk about how unfree it can be from experience, but it hasn’t gotten worse especially for the people most up in arms about platform access.) Instead of being constantly on the defense here... Why do you think you have a r…

> " I don’t understand what’s wrong with owning your platform to exercise your speech rights. " MLK and the civil rights movement didn't own their own platform. The LGBT rights movement didn't own their own platform. The women's rights movement didn't own their own platform. Would you have been okay with them being swept under the rug? It's not as if people in power didn't want to.

> MLK and the civil rights movement didn't own their own platform. [... etc ...]

And they didn’t demand publication by others’ platforms either. They demonstrated in public spaces, often at great personal risk because they didn’t have equal access to public spaces.

Edit: sibling comment said even better, yes they did own their own platforms.

> Would you have been okay with them being swept under the rug? It's not as if people in power didn't want to.

Maybe you should stop “they”ing me. I’m not other than the groups that you’re using for your point. I’m directly a part of all of the movements you mention, either directly affected or in solidarity. And while you’re at it stop with the past tense.

In none of these cases did any movement demand to be published by someone else’s platform. All have tried to gain recognition sometimes seeking publication. But none have such entitlement to expect to be in someone else’s mouth against their will.

Re: Larry Flynt has died

#87

Post by eyelidlessness »

phs318u wrote: post #66
eyelidlessness wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t understand what’s wrong with owning your platform to exercise your speech rights. You still have a public square. It’s as free as it’s been since Flynt was a prominent figure. (I’m happy to talk about how unfree it can be from experience, but it hasn’t gotten worse especially for the people most up in arms about platform access.) Instead of being constantly on the defense here... Why do you think you have a r…

So, public square, but bring your own soapbox/megaphone.

I don’t see why that’s so controversial. That’s what me and mine been doing for decades. I consider myself lucky to have access to a comment box on a forum someone else operates.

Re: Larry Flynt has died

#88

Post by eyelidlessness »

abiogenesis wrote: post #74
eyelidlessness wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That seems exceedingly nitpicky given the way headlines get meaningfully edited to say different things here all the time. The words are the same in a different order but grammatically identical.

I disagree. It might be confusing for someone who doesn't know Hustler (the magazine). It sounds unlikely but I'm not sure if younger generation know about those print magazines.

Believe it or not, Hustler has a bustling web presence.

Re: Larry Flynt has died

#89

Post by bobcallme »

I hope freedom of speech and expression does not die with him. He and many others were important in standing up against the fundies and various groups that wanted to the limit the rights that we take for granted today. If you have not seen it yet, I recommend watching “The People Vs. Larry Flynt”.

Re: Larry Flynt has died

#90

Post by eyelidlessness »

soheil wrote: post #76
eyelidlessness wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Now you’ve misinterpreted me. I was under the assumption that Hustler is a widely known pornographic publication/production house and Larry Flynt a widely known free speech advocate as a defender of said business empire. I assumed (wrongly) that the objection to Hustler being in the title was a blanket rejection of sex work as a part of the general social contract worth discussing at all. But I assumed that based on…

You've made a point to read into anodyne comments to credulously fit your narrative of what HN users believe or don't believe?

Actually, eat a metaphorical detective. I obviously didn’t make a point to read anything into your comment. I mistook your meaning because I sincerely thought it was other than what you clarified. And not only apologized directly for the mistake but purposefully made an edit at the top of my comment to be clear I recognized my mistake and had no ill intent. You coming for a snipe after is unnecessary.

I wasn’t as charitable in my interpretation as I could have been, but honestly I had no idea Hustler isn’t such a common name that there would be any ambiguity. You could take a charitable interpretation in turn and recognize that I sincerely thought you were upset by the prominence of that publication/brand being in the title and see where the rest of my response follows from that.

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