undefined | Better HN

0 pointschongli12y ago0 comments

instead of trying to paint an accurate picture with statistics.

People are even more unmoved by accurate pictures painted by statistics than they are of "minorities living on the edge". That's the problem here. The ACLU is trying to relate to people on a human level so that they can build some support. So what if they end up producing something very biased? Is this a scientific paper in peer review? I think most people are aware of the fact that the ACLU is a civil liberties advocacy organization and that this naturally biases towards the left wing.

0 comments

enko12y ago

> people are aware of the fact that the ACLU is a civil liberties advocacy organization and that this naturally biases towards the left wing

Does it? I can think of any number of civil liberties which I would associate with the "right" wing of American politics. Right to bear arms, for example, freedom of speech and religion, right to life. The "stand your ground" phenomenon, a very American thing, is definitely right-wing.

It seems to me more that the "right" and "left" have adopted certain civil liberties for their pet causes, and the ACLU, a left wing organisation for sure, advocates for their favoured issues. But let's not confuse that specific organisation and their agenda with the general concept of "civil liberties" per se.

WildUtah12y ago

I can think of any number of civil liberties which I would associate with the "right" wing of American politics.

The ACLU, for example, was a leading plaintiff working to get the Citizens United ruling in favor of freedom of speech including corporate advocacy. The same ACLU is a strong Second Amendment supporter.

And the NSA reform bills in the Congress have about equal support from both parties.

SilasX12y ago

>The same ACLU is a strong Second Amendment supporter.

Could you tell me specifically what definition of "strong supporter" you're using here? I can't think of any reasonable one that would make your claim true. Supporter, maybe.

But a "strong supporter" is not someone who endorses a watered down version of the Second Amendment, and then spends zero effort defending infringements of that.

1 more reply

lotharbot12y ago

In a smaller example, the ACLU recently supported my father-in-law's small church in its suit against a local government ordinance restricting their ability to pass out literature on public sidewalks. Religious proselytizing usually falls more under the domain of the right than the left.

People sometimes like to paint their side as "for freedom" and the other side as "wants to restrict you", but the reality is far more complicated, changing issue-by-issue and occasionally covering legitimate tradeoffs where both sides might be considered "for freedom".

63283012y ago

> biases towards the left wing

The ACLU Is a Conservative Organization - Noam Chomsky

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tebAFbBb0gQ

SolarNet12y ago

I think the problem is that modern conservatives have gone so far to the right that organizations which are traditionally conservative are now considered left wing.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse