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Panel Tomorrow: ‘Freedom of Speech or the Tyranny of Silence?’

Tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. at the Old South Meeting House in Boston, FIRE co-founder and chairman of our Board of Trustees Harvey Silverglate will join Danish journalist and author Flemming Rose, along with The Boston Globe’s Jeff Jacoby and the Ayn Rand Institute’s Onkar Ghate, on a panel to discuss the modern threats and challenges to free speech. Rose, author of The Tyranny of Silence: How One Cartoon Ignited a Global Debate on the Future of Free Speech, was at the center of the world’s attention when, in 2005, he published a number of cartoons of the Islamic prophet Mohammed in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten that led to an uproar in Islamic communities around the globe.

Tomorrow night’s discussion will focus on the principles that undergird the freedom of speech, the right to offend, and the concepts of “hate speech” and “trigger warnings.” The recent murders of journalists at the French publication Charlie Hebdo and the decision by Sony Pictures to pull the movie The Interview from theaters will serve as a sober backdrop for the panel. Anyone in the Boston area who wishes to attend the event may do so for free; however, registration is required.

What: A panel entitled “Freedom of Speech or the Tyranny of Silence?” sponsored by the Ayn Rand Institute, Ford Hall Forum, and Old South Meeting House Partners in Public Dialogue

Who:

  • Flemming Rose, an editor at the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, which in 2005 published cartoons of the prophet Mohammed, and author of The Tyranny of Silence: How One Cartoon Ignited a Global Debate on the Future of Free Speech
  • Dr. Onkar Ghate, Senior Fellow at the Ayn Rand Institute
  • Harvey Silverglate, co-founder and chairman of the board of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
  • Jeff Jacoby, journalist and Boston Globe columnist

When:  Wednesday, January 21, 2015; 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Doors open at 6:00 p.m.

Where: Old South Meeting House, 310 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02108

Admission is free.

To register, visit http://osmhjan21-15.bpt.me.

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