https://padlet.com/100656/xb4u84gkmhre Made from and for the future en-us 2017-06-11 22:23:45 UTC 2023-01-26 09:48:01 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Lightdecrease.png 100656 https://padlet.com/100656/xb4u84gkmhre/wish/175966124 2017-06-10 20:25:12 UTC https://padlet.com/100656/xb4u84gkmhre/wish/175966124 100656 https://padlet.com/100656/xb4u84gkmhre/wish/176019523 In 1984, George Orwell was warning readers about limitations and attacks on freedom of speech and expression in our modern society through his use of "Thought Crime." ]]> 2017-06-11 22:25:49 UTC https://padlet.com/100656/xb4u84gkmhre/wish/176019523 100656 https://padlet.com/100656/xb4u84gkmhre/wish/176019548 VIDEO
This is a video of an interview Trump gave on the Kelly & Michael Show regarding his Muslim Travel Ban that was started on January 27th in 2017 in Executive Order 13769. Then ban itself, in short, kept people from Muslim-majority countries from traveling into the United States of America. In this interview, Kelly Ripa asks Trump if this is a violation of the First Amendment, to which he states that the Muslim ban  "not about religion." 

This artifact relates to Orwell's warning about limitations of freedom of expression in the sub-context of freedom of religion. One of the Thought Crimes referenced in the book is that of having a religion or believing in a god of some sort, and this artifact shows that limitations on religion exist in our modern society, even in the United States where in our constitution it states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." 

This is important because it implies that certain freedoms we have the right to could be under attack and for many already are. The freedom to practice one's religion should be universal and even those not directly affected by the Trump Administration's Muslim Ban should understand that it's not too far away from a restriction on certain religious practices, which frighteningly close to an Orwellian society. 


]]> 2017-06-11 22:26:17 UTC https://padlet.com/100656/xb4u84gkmhre/wish/176019548 100656 https://padlet.com/100656/xb4u84gkmhre/wish/176019557 2017-06-11 22:26:32 UTC https://padlet.com/100656/xb4u84gkmhre/wish/176019557 100656 https://padlet.com/100656/xb4u84gkmhre/wish/176019567 https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/05/30/thailand-thoughtcrime-arrests/85163714/]]> 2017-06-11 22:26:39 UTC https://padlet.com/100656/xb4u84gkmhre/wish/176019567 100656 https://padlet.com/100656/xb4u84gkmhre/wish/176021432 ARTICLE
This is an article from USA Today about arrests under Thailand's Military Dictatorship for crimes related to Orwell's Thought Crime. It was written on May 30th, 2016 by Patrick Winn from GlobalPost. The author is making American readers aware of the situation in Thailand regarding the dictatorship and its rules about speaking against the government or anti-tyranny/pro-democracy that relate to freedom of expression.

This article not only has a direct connection between 1984 and the modern age, it connects to punishments being given when people speak freely or express certain unfavorable thoughts and opinions. According to the article, in Thailand citizens can be arrested for something as simple as reading 1984 in public or liking a "subversive" Facebook meme. An incident highlighted in the article regarded a man who was arrested for eating a "sandwich for democracy." He was dragged from his chair, slapped in the head, and interrogated at an army facility, all for expressing his political ideas in a public setting. This relates to Orwell's warning about limitations on freedom of expression because, in Thailand, people are harmed and arrested for expressing their opinions openly. 

Even though Thailand doesn't have a government being held to a constitution at the moment, the fact that people are being arrested for speaking freely is a human rights issue that extends beyond borders. Considering the fact that Human Rights Watch has put Thailand on their radar because of issues regarding their government implies that this is an issue that should be dealt with and not ignored. Any case in which people's freedom to express their opinion, even in the smallest ways like Facebook memes, is taken away from them is an important issue. ]]> 2017-06-11 23:07:18 UTC https://padlet.com/100656/xb4u84gkmhre/wish/176021432 100656 https://padlet.com/100656/xb4u84gkmhre/wish/176027402 CARTOON
This is a cartoon from the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo that portrays the Prophet, Muhammad. This specific cartoon was published by the magazine in November of 2011 that proclaimed Muhammad to be the editor-in-chief of that week's issue. 

The publication of this cartoon led to an attack on the magazine offices the day after it was released. The Charlie Hebdo offices were destroyed by a petrol bomb, all because of the cartoon and its controversial portrayal of Muhammad. A similar attack on the offices was held in 2015 because of a similar controversial portrayal of Muhammad in the magazine. Both attacks brought about the debate of the true meaning of freedom of the press since it was the magazine's publications that led to the attacks. Even though the Constitution and its first amendment on freedom of expression don't apply the same way in France as they do in America, it still is an example of what Orwell was warning about. People were harmed because of the magazine's expression of their opinions and ideas in their weekly release, and this led to several Muslim groups taking Charlie Hebdo to court for insulting their religion. In the court case, Francois Hollande,  current President of France, testified in favor of freedom of expression. Though the magazine was never shut down for it, which would be very Orwellian, the attacks brought up the debate of freedom of expression and freedom of the press. 

This is incredibly important because it's very recent, relevant and timely. The last of these Charlie Hebdo attacks occurred merely two years ago and created a movement supporting freedom of the press. The slogan  "Je Suis Charlie" spread on social media after the 2015 attacks and led to vigils in Paris and the Eiffel Tower going dark for the victims. These kinds of attacks on press become widely publicized and have the possibility to direct impacts on personal media consumption. It also poses the question of the limits of freedom of expression and press, which could have the potential to challenge the rights of expression and press we have come to know. ]]> 2017-06-12 01:01:11 UTC https://padlet.com/100656/xb4u84gkmhre/wish/176027402 100656 https://padlet.com/100656/xb4u84gkmhre/wish/176038778 "Yo, I thought this country was based upon freedom of speech
Freedom of press, freedom of your own religion
To make your own decision, now that's baloney
Cause if I gotta play by your rules, I'm bein phoney
Yo, I got to cater to this person or that person
I got to rhyme for the white or the black person?"

http://www.metrolyrics.com/freedom-of-speech-lyrics-above-the-law.html]]> 2017-06-12 04:18:37 UTC https://padlet.com/100656/xb4u84gkmhre/wish/176038778 100656 https://padlet.com/100656/xb4u84gkmhre/wish/176038827 SONG
This is a song lyric from the rap song "Freedom of Speech" by Above the Law. The song was released in 1990 along with the album "Livin' Like Hustlers." This song is making a political statement about what's allowed on the radio and what's been censored. It comes back to the message of freedom of speech and the first amendment of the Constitution plays two times during the song itself. 

This song makes a connection between freedom of speech and art, in this case, the art being rap. In the song, the artist speaks of how they feel restricted by what the radio will or won't put on the air. For example, one of the lines mentions how they can use certain curse words but not others. Parts of the song talk about catering to audiences, trying to please the public, but also trying to talk about deep and important topics that are real. In some ways, it's like they're being censored. This connects to Orwell's warning about freedom of speech because, besides the obvious literal connection, the song conveys the theme of artists feeling restricted in their art in order to get good ratings. They also feel like they can't talk about the real things, like violence or peace, because it won't sell. This relates to Orwell's warning with Thought Crime because both the rappers in the song and Orwell (through Winston) in 1984 speak to being fearful of having controversial thoughts in a public setting.


Even though the 90s might seem like they were a while ago, this song is still fairly recent. And even though this message of censorship doesn't apply to all forms of music, it is still a very prevalent issue in the rap community. Censorship in music, particularly rap music, is a commonly debated topic concerning its necessity. What we listen to on the radio and how it's controlled can be seen as a freedom of speech issue, especially when certain songs aren't allowed to be played or sung in certain areas. This affects the general populous because it concerns media intake and what media we're exposed to.

]]> 2017-06-12 04:20:30 UTC https://padlet.com/100656/xb4u84gkmhre/wish/176038827 100656 https://padlet.com/100656/xb4u84gkmhre/wish/176044818 2017-06-12 06:11:29 UTC https://padlet.com/100656/xb4u84gkmhre/wish/176044818 100656 https://padlet.com/100656/xb4u84gkmhre/wish/176044842 MEME
This is a meme made on memegenerator.net by the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory account that was created on February 7th, 2013. It's of Gene Wilder in the film "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" released in 1971. This meme was probably made with the intention of general meme enjoyment, but it also is hinting towards the freedom of speech debates that have occurred on different forms of social media, like Twitter and Instagram. 

On social media, there is often debate as to what is "allowed" or not allowed to be said or posted. When someone says something controversial, like on Twitter for example, and people take offense to it, the first amendment and freedom of speech are often cited. When certain memes are seen as hateful or inappropriate, people try to ban them or shut them down, but the issue of free speech is always brought up. When radical groups take to Twitter to recruit or promote, Twitter has been called to shut down the accounts. In one case, Twitter shut down 125,000 ISIS related accounts. In cases like these, the general populous were happy that these accounts were shut down because they were linked with a terrorist group. This is an example in which it's arguable that limitations on freedom of speech aren't necessarily a bad thing. It still is an example of an Orwellian type society in which thoughts and ideas are censored, even if the ideas and thoughts are that of malicious intent. 

Media censorship and it's connection to freedom of speech are incredibly important because as active users of social media, it's valuable to know and acknowledge possible limitations. It's also important to know the limits of free speech in general, and that there are consequences for antagonistic online presences. In cases such as Twitter and ISIS, it shows how there can sometimes be an unforeseen benefit to a limitation on speech and its freedoms. This poses questions about freedom and if there should be limitations on freedom. Of course, we'd like to think that freedom should be unlimited and that we should have all the rights we deserve, but with social media, hashtags, and memes connecting us in ways unlike before, it brings about that debate of restriction of speech, at least when it comes to online communication. ]]> 2017-06-12 06:11:43 UTC https://padlet.com/100656/xb4u84gkmhre/wish/176044842