Free and uncomfortable speech: Today So Far

• Seattle certainly loves its First Amendment rights. But what about the freedom of speech for those with whom you strongly disagree? That's a line the Seattle Library finds it has to often walk.
• Why Alaska Airlines keeps canceling flights.
• Washington farmers have wheat in the ground now, but their anxious about what to plant in the fall ... or what they can afford to plant.

This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for April 5, 2022.

Free speech can get uncomfortable. That's what I was thinking while listening to a chat with KUOW's Soundside and Seattle Chief Librarian Tom Fay. He explains that while the Seattle Library is moving forward into another era, it continues to stand for freedom of speech.

"There is no freedom without freedom of thought and expression," Fay said.

That sounds pretty great. And Seattle certainly loves its First Amendment rights. But what about the freedom of speech for those with whom you strongly disagree?

The Seattle Library has luckily been spared from the current surge in censorship and calls for book bans. But it has experienced other dilemmas. In 2019, a group called the Women's Liberation Front reserved meeting space at the Seattle Library. It's a feminist group that has become known for its opposition to transgender rights. All of that is going to prompt some opinions as you read this. So it's no surprise that, at the time, the meeting drew pushback from the public.

Now, Fay could have simply said, "That was before my time. I wasn't chief librarian then." We see officials do that a lot. Instead, he commented that the challenge of a public institution is that it is open to all voices (aside from certain exceptions, like groups inciting violence). The library did take certain actions — it got the event moved to off hours, and it had administrators work the building so regular staff didn't have to be around.

“That censorship piece, that intellectual freedom piece, comes into play with our reading rooms, our auditoriums ... it’s also been in case law," Fay said. "That also means that folks won’t often like some of the things the library puts on, or that the library has come into its spaces. For sure, that Is always one of the challenges that we face in being able to present a number of viewpoints. And when we open meeting rooms ... if we open them to the public, both by free or by pay, we are required to make them available to everyone. And that is one of the challenges that we face."

That is a very tough, very tense line to walk. Hear Fay's full conversation with Soundside here.

If you've tried to fly with Alaska Airlines lately, you have my sympathies.

On Monday alone, the company cancelled 40 flights, stranding thousands. And it's just the latest in a series of cancelations for the Northwest-based airline, which faces a shortage of pilots. At least, a "shortage" is what some are calling it. Though it seems the pilots are around. They are just going to fly for other airlines. Also, Alaska Airlines is currently in the middle of negotiations with the Air Line Pilots Association union to craft a new contact for its pilots. It doesn't seem to be going too well, hence the lack of pilots and all the cancelations. Read more here.

Farming is generally a tough gig for families. But Northwest farmers are facing challenges, and high costs, like they haven't seen before. The war in Ukraine is part of the problem. It's affected the market globally. For example, the chemicals farmers use for pests and fertilizers aren't made locally — they come from overseas where costs are rising. While there's wheat in the ground now in Washington, farmers are anxious about what to plant in the fall — and what they can afford to plant.

As Northwest News Network's Anna King reports, famers are signing on the dotted line for new loans to keep on growing. Though in the end, it's our food that is on the line.

AS SEEN ON KUOW

Sasha LaPointe's memoir Red Paint: The Ancestral Autobiography of a Coast Salish Punk is the story of a Pacific Northwest native punk, as well as strength in the face of generational trauma. LaPointe spoke with KUOW's Soundside about writing the book. (Courtesy of Sasha LaPointe)

DID YOU KNOW?

Farms could be considered "ma and pa" shops in Washington state. Don't be fooled by the expansive fields, 89% of Washington's 35,700 farms are considered small farms in terms of their operation. They earn less than $250,000 each year.

Though despite having so many small farms, Washington has the greatest agricultural diversity in the nation after California — more than 300 varieties of crops. We are at the head of the pack when it comes to producing apples, cherries, wheat, and potatoes, among other crops. Washington is also a leading producer of grapes and hops, which speaks to the thriving wine and beer industries here. In fact, the state is the second largest producer of wine in the United States.

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