I feel you, and I tend to avoid political talk because it can always cause problems between friends... and I've seen friends go to enemies over the past 12 years due to it.

That said, Freedom of Speech should never be considered as a political issue, instead more of a human right. And as much as the more wicked of the politicians would like to think it isn't free speech, it is, and porn also shaped a lot of our technology to what it is today.

Namely, I don't think such a bill would pass, and in the rare case it did, it'd be hotly debated on legality via the Supreme Court. But on the other hand, I think people would rather report to jail en-masse than give up their porn... and if they did, I think the government at large would repeal the bill under the fear that the majority of their population, their economy, and even their military would be at risk.

Still, if it comes about, vote against it, contact your local representative and explain to them in detail why it isn't about porn, but the social longevity of the nation as well as how it could stifle future innovation.

Porn is porn. But porn is a freedom of expression.

And goddamn, do I love expressing my freedom.

I believe the real fear is not that the government will take away all the porn - even the most oppressive of regimes would struggle at such a goal. Rather, it's that anti-obscenity legislation can be used as an excuse to shut down opposition through selective enforcement. Define obscenity broadly enough and it can cover just about anything that is even indirectly related to sex.

It's not about scouring all the porn off the internet. It's about making publishers afraid to print books with gay characters in, because they might be prosecuted for promoting a 'sexual fetish' in a place visible to minors. It's about making academics afraid to conduct research into matters of transgender healthcare, and journals afraid to publish it.

You've only got to look at America's own past to see how it goes: Back in the late 1800s there was a movement to ban contraceptives, which were viewed as dangerous to society for undermining the institution of marriage. This was achieve by a law which declared that the entire subject was obscene, including any discussion of how to access contraception, how it works, or even saying that it was available at all - and as the post office is a federal agency, the dissemination of such obscene material through the mail was a federal offence.

Or look at quite a few oppressive states today. When Russia shuts down gay rights activists, it does so under the pretext of obscenity. In the view of the Russian state, any 'promotion of homosexuality' is by nature obscene and, if the obscenity is published in any public forum where it is possible that a minor might set eyes upon it, the activist may be prosecuted for distribution of obscenity to minors - even if the act is no more than sticking a rainbow flag to a lamp-post.

you not wrong. freedom of speech so long as it does not harm people (you cant post porn of someone else unless you have written consent) should be allowed, i should be allowed to say that i hate the US just as much as something like i hate the LGBTQ+ (a radical example but an example none the less) however once one start harming someone physically, that is where you draw the line and put a stop to it, not before.

There is nothing significant I can do to influence political events or cultural trends. I'm not even American, though my own country tends to follow in their footsteps. There is one small thing I can do though: I am a pirate, and a tremendous nerd. I have been striving to archive everything of furry art going back to the old 'zines, including major art sites.

I can promise you this: Should someone take the smutty furry art off the Internet then I will *personally* put it right back again. Even if it takes the form of a static torrent archive. I can't preserve a living community, but I can preserve a legacy for the future.

I know it's not much, in the grand scheme. But it's where my skills lie.

And you are doing a good and valuable service by doing that. Especially now in the digital age, pirates really are the forefront of cultural preservation. You have my full and enthusiastic blessing in pirating anything I have ever uploaded under this name!

It's been bad. There's a growing sense of ideological loyalty as opposed to support for evidence-based guidelines. Federal funding cuts have reduced my financial aid and resulted in my university rejecting both my and most other PhD applications.

I called. I signed. I'm going to be a pain for as long as I can, but it's far worse than people are willing to admit. I'm tired of people caring about their well-being being seen as troublemakers. This is just the start.

I am so very sorry to hear all of that. It's been extremely frustrating and aggravating to watch unfold as an outsider, but being on the receiving end of all of it is surely so much worse. I can only hope things get a lot better extremely fast, but with people outright rejecting scientific methodology and evidence-based reasoning in favor of loyalty to the loud chieftain, I unfortunately can't be very optimistic.

It is so incredibly scary. Living in post-WW2 Germany, we are being taught about this stuff in school hard! The rise of fascism, why division of power is essential, all of that stuff. It is so incredibly scary watching so many checkmarks of our shameful history being ticked off again in real-time right now. I really really hope this surreal nightmare ends sooner rather than later, and things get better again for both you personally and the world as a whole.

Yeah. It's worse because I recognize it all, but people won't listen to me. I hope that if things get too bad, I can go elsewhere. But, it's the US. If things are bad here, everyone will feel it. I don't think there are any options for me. I just bide my time, step up when I can, and try to not let my temple vein strangle me like Stressed Eric.

I'm seeing worrying echoes of 1930s Germany. The increasingly divisive politics. The dictator-to-be assuming ever increasing power and ridding the government of anyone regarded as disloyal. The fearmongering and taking patriotism to jingoistic extremes. And now it has progressed to the government openly claiming that non-citizens have no legal rights, not even habeas corpus, and may be arbitrarily grabbed from thr streets without charge or trial to be imprisoned or deported. Plus all the old rhetoric about traditional values as an excuse to persecute all who do not conform to their social roles.

It's not reached the 1940s yet. Concentration camps for temporary holding of the unwanted population with an aim to deport, but no death camps... yet. But that's how it started in Germany too. Only when it became impractical to deport millions of people, as it surely will in the US, did the exterminations start. I wouldn't be surprised if we see another Operation Wetback at some point: Just start shoving people over the border by the thousands into the desert without supplies, and if they die than they died off of US soil and the government can deny all responsibility.

for the bill in question "https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th...../737/text"; i hate it due to privacy reasons however the bill that targets furries in Texas i understand as it forces schools to stop the disruptions in the classroom. i wish that it was not needed but you get 1 idiot ruining it for everyone.