Tolerance for open discussion on the left, part 32,634

In today’s installment of “Seriously, the Left Hates Open Discussion of Ideas they Disagree With,” I present Jeffrey Wells. I can’t tell if the title of this post (“Stalinist Purge”) at Hollywood Elsewhere is intended to be ironic or not:

I’ve said this before and here goes again, only I really mean it this time. Vague impressions to the contrary, Hollywood Elsewhere is not — and will henceforth not be permitted to be — a good hangin’ place for crude conservative wingnuts who also enjoy movies. (Emphasis in original.)

I can’t tell if the title’s ironic because this is a move straight out of the Stalinist playbook. I mean, it’s his blog, he can do whatever he wants. But I simply don’t understand banning commenters you disagree with solely because you disagree with them. (I also don’t understand people refusing to read a blog because of what the commenters say…you know, you don’t have to read the comments. Unless you’re reading this blog, of course, where the commenters are uniformly witty, intelligent, and awesome.)

There’s another great example of this phenomenon in the comments section to this post. Says Dangovich: “Film seems to me to be a celebration of art, free expression and intellectual inquiry, three things to which the right is hostile. Witness VP candidate Palin, who wants creationism taught in schools.” (Emphasis mine.) Now, personally, I think that creationism/intelligent design is kind of silly. But part of “intellectual inquiry” is confronting ideas you disagree with. Sweeping creationism under the rug isn’t going to do anyone any good. It should be taught in schools and science teachers should be allowed to present to their students all the reasons why it’s a ridiculous theory.

(h/t Dirty Harry.)