Parler, the neutral, town-square app for discourse, sounds delightful. I imagine gentlemen sporting top hats, and women with parasols lounging on picnic blankets on manicured grounds, complete with a gazebo, of course

Webster defines discourse as “a social boundary that defines what statements can be said about a topic.” Perhaps that’s why “civil” often precedes the word.

Let’s join the outing, settle in for some sunshine and discourse.

“To me, the easiest fix is every conservative kills 2 liberals … If we all killed 2 in a single day there would be so many dead but no one alive would give a damn,” says @Mountainman78629. And @DonHo pipes up, “Go to the range and practice … #CivilWar is coming and it won’t be fought online.”

This is neither civil nor neutral.

Oh, yes, that’s right, the neutral part of Parler is not the discourse. The discourse includes death threats, bombing buildings, a list of politicians that “must be hanged” and so on.

The neutral part of Parler is the “town-square” governing board. Sleepy eyed, with hands in their pockets, they let it all fly. Anything goes: free speech without guardrails, not even the ones that frame the First Amendment. You know, the things like defamation, slander, inciting violence, etc.

Fortunately, my free-speech rights allow me to write this perfectly civil statement: Parler, the autonomous zone for uncivil discourse, has no place here in America.

Sandra Warren
Naples