Jenin Younes on Being Canceled by Left & Right Over COVID, Free Speech, and Israel

Canceled by the Left Over COVID Views

• ⚖️ Jenin Younes, a civil libertarian attorney, initially identified as leftist and worked as a public defender in New York.
• 😷 Upon the onset of COVID-19 in 2020, she opposed lockdowns and mandates, viewing them as heavy-handed and disproportionately harmful to working-class and poor individuals.
• 🗣️ Her anti-lockdown activism and association with figures like Martin Kuldorf and Jay Bhattacharya led to a loss of standing in left-leaning legal circles.
• 🏛️ She later took a position at the New Civil Liberties Alliance, which is considered right-libertarian, further shifting her professional associations.

Shifting Political Landscape and Free Speech

• 🔄 Many on the right, who were vocal critics of COVID mandates and government overreach, adopted civil libertarian rhetoric.
• 🤥 However, after gaining power, many of these individuals and groups abandoned these principles, particularly concerning speech critical of Israel.
• 💔 Younes expresses frustration at having taken these figures seriously, only to see them reverse their stances on free speech and other civil liberties issues.
• 🇺🇸 She notes that while the Biden administration's censorship methods were covert, the Trump administration's actions, especially against non-citizens criticizing Israel, were more overtly dangerous.

Trump vs. Biden on the First Amendment

• 🚫 Younes argues that Donald Trump's record on the First Amendment is more concerning than Joe Biden's, citing the arrest and deportation threats against non-citizens for criticizing Israel.
• 📜 The defense that non-citizens lack free speech rights is deemed "utter nonsense," as the First Amendment is a restraint on government action regardless of citizenship status.
• 📢 Universities have also faced pressure to censor pro-Palestine speech under the guise of countering anti-semitism, with threats of withholding funds.
• 🎤 An example cited is the FCC chairman's alleged threat to punish ABC over Brendan O'Carroll's remarks, leading to O'Carroll's firing.

The Dangers of Government Censorship

• ⛓️ The arrest and potential deportation of individuals for expressing opinions on Israel creates a significant chilling effect, particularly for non-citizens.
• ⚖️ Younes highlights the case of Mahmud Khalil, who was arrested for criticizing Israel, illustrating the government's willingness to use foreign policy concerns to suppress speech.
• 🗣️ The First Amendment's purpose is to prevent the government from punishing dissenting perspectives, a crucial element for a functional democracy.
• ⚠️ Younes concludes that the Trump administration's heavy-handed tactics, including jailing and deporting individuals, pose a more severe threat to free speech than the more covert censorship methods employed by the Biden administration.