In the Seattle Times Opinion piece, "Is our cancel culture killing free speech?," Prof. Victor Menaldo starts with the statement,
"Once upon a time, folks who considered themselves left of center believed in and practiced free speech and freedom of conscience. They saw these things not only as a fundamental right that transcends politics, but also as an effective tool to advance progressive objectives and social justice."
Prof. Menaldo says that people considered progressive are now on the side of censorship against an opinion which does not suit them or gives support to those with which they do not agree, "Recent victims of these efforts include a motley crew of scientists, pundits and writers, some of them self-described liberals..and while it may also be true that those doing the censoring have noble intentions, it is not true that attempting to stifle speech is a good idea. It’s always certainly a bad idea..."
Prof. Menaldo also notes that suppressing ideas does not destroy them if that is your wish. It drives them underground to spread without examination. Free speech allows ideas to be challenged in the open and shown for what they are.