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Richard Price (they/them) @advincensorship.bsky.social · 13h

I'm a week behind thanks to things, but here is my look at last week's censorship class. Smutty film to come soon. adventuresincensorship.com/blog/2025/10...

Censorship Class: Smutty Literature — Adventures in Censorship

After examining the comic book panic , my censorship class turned to one of my favorite topics: smutty literature in the 1950s and ‘60s. Obscenity and censorship has always had an obsession with ...

adventuresincensorship.com

Richard Price (they/them) @advincensorship.bsky.social · 16h

This reminder about Scheppele's concept of autocratic legalism is a good one. I have some classes that need revamping and I have to revisit her work in a big way.

Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 1d

As the Supreme Court term begins, keep this framework in mind: Autocratic Legalism.

Instead of “rule of law” (law constrains the power), we get “rule by law” (law as a weapon for power).

Authoritarians usually have to install allies. Trump started his second term with that step already complete.

The only effective opposition is through the language of morality and documented harm—not legal technicalities that can be swept away with a 6–3 vote.” The text is centered on a neutral background, with “morality” and “documented harm” slightly emphasized to underscore the moral and empirical contrast with “legal technicalities.”

Richard Price (they/them) @advincensorship.bsky.social · 17h

I study a similar kind of argument in a very different context. When a group says "we don't support X" but "X" happens every single time they take action, then the connection is pretty obvious. Of course Turning Point supports harassment and threats, it's their primary tactic.

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 17h

This pretty much captures the contradictions of the politics of Kirk and Turning Point: Of course we oppose doxxing and violence, but we will absolutely use inflammatory language, false claims, and enemies list that fuels threats and intimidation.

Several days after publishing the petition calling for Dr. Bray’s dismissal from Rutgers, the Turning Point USA chapter added an update saying that it did not support harassment or the doxxing of him or anyone else.

“I think that all death threats and doxxing are unjustified and not how political disputes should be resolved in civilized society,” Ava Kwan, a Turning Point USA chapter member, said in an email on Wednesday.
But she defended the broader point of the petition, saying, “I think Dr. Antifa, who believes in violence as a political tool, should be fired, of course. Taxpayer money should not fund the salaries of terrorists.”

For years, Turning Point USA has maintained a watch-list of hundreds of professors whom the group accuses of advancing leftist propaganda in the classroom. Dr. Bray is on the list.

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 17h

This pretty much captures the contradictions of the politics of Kirk and Turning Point: Of course we oppose doxxing and violence, but we will absolutely use inflammatory language, false claims, and enemies list that fuels threats and intimidation.

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Richard Price (they/them) @advincensorship.bsky.social · 1d

Was having a good day until I got home and found it raining in my garage. Discovered a seal broke on a toilet supply line and so now have some repairs to schedule. Being an adult fucking sucks.

Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 1d

As the Supreme Court term begins, keep this framework in mind: Autocratic Legalism.

Instead of “rule of law” (law constrains the power), we get “rule by law” (law as a weapon for power).

Authoritarians usually have to install allies. Trump started his second term with that step already complete.

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Richard Price (they/them) @advincensorship.bsky.social · 1d

When I talked with a USA Today satirist he just laughed because how do you satire this.

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Florida Freedom to Read Project @flfreedomread.bsky.social · 1d

Are you familiar with the shock that happens when you look back at an old picture of your child and realize the change that happened little-by-little, day-after-day?

Well, we just realized that we have tracked over 11,000 censorship attempts in FL on over 4,500 unique titles since fall 2021.

a woman in a green shirt is holding a cup of ice cream

Alt: Emma Stone in a green shirt is holding a cup of ice cream

media.tenor.com

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Richard Price (they/them) @advincensorship.bsky.social · 1d

Got some coverage of our silliness from higher ed press.

Weber State Censors, Then Cancels, Censorship Conference

University officials said that several planned presentations violated a Utah state law banning diversity, equity and inclusion at public universities.

www.insidehighered.com

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Richard Price (they/them) @advincensorship.bsky.social · 2d

You know it is serious when *checks notes* the AG announces a massive undercover operation to the groups that he is supposedly infiltrating. Serious people around here.

Will Oremus @willoremus.com · 2d

Obviously not the main point here, but it's interesting how this is framed as content rather than policy.

"BREAKING" is typically what journalists or influencers say when they have a big story -- not what government officials say when they launch "undercover" operations

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Will Oremus @willoremus.com · 2d

Obviously not the main point here, but it's interesting how this is framed as content rather than policy.

"BREAKING" is typically what journalists or influencers say when they have a big story -- not what government officials say when they launch "undercover" operations

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Richard Price (they/them) @advincensorship.bsky.social · 2d

Asked to write an oped for one of bigger papers and I always struggle with opeds. I have like one closing line I love and everything else is gibberish.

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Richard Price (they/them) @advincensorship.bsky.social · 2d

Pretty much the perfect representation of Log Cabin Republicans. "I mean sure they hate me and want to see gay people wiped from the Earth, but I like lower taxes and hate non-white folk too so they get my vote!"

Olivia Messer @oliviamesser.bsky.social · 3d

I kind of can’t believe this Bari Weiss quote is even real, and yet www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/b...

“I know that there are some people in this room who don’t believe that my marriage should have been legal … and that’s ok. Because we’re all Americans who want lower taxes.”

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Richard Price (they/them) @advincensorship.bsky.social · 2d

Fucking this! I want to put this on a sandwich board to wear around campus. Not a single one of these students has actually felt unsafe because of their ideology. They just don't like learning things that challenge it.

Audrey Truschke @audreytruschke.bsky.social · 2d

Feeling unsafe on campus.

This is a common claim by right-wing students at present. What they mean is they don't like learning about left-leaning ideas. But college is about being intellectually challenged; that's the point.

Hearing ideas you dislike poses no physical threat.

Richard Price (they/them) @advincensorship.bsky.social · 2d

This is Kirk's legacy. Students manufacture supposed fears, based on nothing apparent in the person's teaching just their assumed political views and scholarship, and drum up death threats against them.

Audrey Truschke @audreytruschke.bsky.social · 2d

A Rutgers professor has been forced to flee the country for his safety, after targeting by a far-right student group that was *checks notes* claiming they felt unsafe.

I'm horrified.
I'm angry.

A short 🧵 #AcademicFreedom #Rutgers #violence #antifa

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Rutgers professor moving to Europe after threats over antifa accusations

Mark Bray says threats intensified after a Turning Point USA petition accused him of promoting political violence

www.theguardian.com

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Audrey Truschke @audreytruschke.bsky.social · 2d

Feeling unsafe on campus.

This is a common claim by right-wing students at present. What they mean is they don't like learning about left-leaning ideas. But college is about being intellectually challenged; that's the point.

Hearing ideas you dislike poses no physical threat.

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Audrey Truschke @audreytruschke.bsky.social · 2d

A Rutgers professor has been forced to flee the country for his safety, after targeting by a far-right student group that was *checks notes* claiming they felt unsafe.

I'm horrified.
I'm angry.

A short 🧵 #AcademicFreedom #Rutgers #violence #antifa

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Rutgers professor moving to Europe after threats over antifa accusations

Mark Bray says threats intensified after a Turning Point USA petition accused him of promoting political violence

www.theguardian.com

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Olivia Messer @oliviamesser.bsky.social · 3d

I kind of can’t believe this Bari Weiss quote is even real, and yet www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/b...

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Richard Price (they/them) @advincensorship.bsky.social · 3d

I highly recommend having a fluffy belly next to you while grading. The belly rubs don’t make the grading quicker but it eases the annoyance.

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Richard Price (they/them) @advincensorship.bsky.social · 3d

Until quite recently I still had my Borders reward card on my keychain.

Richard Price (they/them) @advincensorship.bsky.social · 3d

My brain started to slot these two into an interesting narrative of straight students wanting the straight uni back. With some good details from the fee battles of the time, it all sort of fell into place (with wonderful help from the reviewers)

Richard Price (they/them) @advincensorship.bsky.social · 3d

It was a fun story to lecture on but didn't provide enough of a hook for a paper. Then about 1 year later an archivist sent me a bunch of college group papers with the weirdest thing: a STRAIGHT group was organized at Penn State in the 1990s.

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Richard Price (they/them) @advincensorship.bsky.social · 3d

This was fun because it was kind of a series of happy accidents that led to the paper. I first found an interesting legal battle in Alabama in the 1990s with great internal details. But what to do with it?

Richard Price (they/them) @advincensorship.bsky.social · 3d

Yay! New publication is up. This is my first substantive output from my queer educational activism side gig. This explores three instances of straight backlash on 1990s college campuses as a means of digging into the idea of backlash and inclusion a bit more.

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Richard Price (they/them) @advincensorship.bsky.social · 3d

We are now thanks to this drama at my uni.

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Richard Price (they/them) @advincensorship.bsky.social · 3d

Here's the official link, if you need a copy just email me. I'll sneak it onto my site soonish but don't tell the publisher.
www.tandfonline.com/eprint/M5CDN...

The straight college strikes back: 1990s backlash against inclusive campuses

In the literature on social change and rights, the backlash narrative plays an enormous role. Advocates of the backlash theory posit that judicial declaration of rights stimulate a backlash from po...

www.tandfonline.com

Richard Price (they/them) @advincensorship.bsky.social · 3d

40 MB and a blazing 1MB of RAM. This machine shreds office work!

Retro Computers @retrocomps.bsky.social · 3d

Buy a portable and get a desktop free.

Richard Price (they/them) @advincensorship.bsky.social · 3d

Yay! New publication is up. This is my first substantive output from my queer educational activism side gig. This explores three instances of straight backlash on 1990s college campuses as a means of digging into the idea of backlash and inclusion a bit more.

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Retro Computers @retrocomps.bsky.social · 3d

Buy a portable and get a desktop free.

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Richard Price (they/them) @advincensorship.bsky.social · 4d

Well two thoughts are key here. First he collapses an ideological spectrum into a dichotomy. Second he ignores the difference between ideology and the government putting it into effect.

Tom Nichols @radiofreetom.bsky.social · 5d

If we were living under fascism, none of you would be here daring to post things. You'd be erasing your social media accounts and keeping your head down; you'd know that peacocking your faux-bravery on a network would expose you to being disappeared.
You have no idea what "fascism" really means.

shane @mouthfulofcavities.bsky.social · 5d

the regime is zip tying toddlers and ripping them away from their mothers unclothed... calling it fascism upsets this neo-con.

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Richard Price (they/them) @advincensorship.bsky.social · 4d

Yep I received a kind note apologizing.

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