Today I'm going to ask for your opinion on freedom of speech.
Freedom of speech gets invoked a lot for a lot of annoying things. Westboro Baptist "Church" uses it to spread their hate. Stuff like that.
Yet we all know it has limits. You can't print lies about someone, you can't yell "fire" in a crowded theatre, you can't say "bomb" on an airplane...limits.
But how far should those limits go?
I'm asking because recently somewhere not too far from Kansas City, someone in possession of an old rail car painted some slogan on the side of it. I don't remember what exactly it said, but I do remember it called Democrats "parasites".
Okay. He's entitled to his opinion. Does that give him the right to paint a childish insult on the side of something everyone can see?
The article I was reading about it also mentioned that it had been set on fire at least twice. The owner's response, both times, has been to paint his sign again. And we all KNOW arson is a big no-no.
And yet, it's freedom of "speech", in a way. At least, that may well be the defense the arsonist uses, if he's ever caught. And people who agree with the owner, and more to the point, agree he has the right to use his freedom of speech for namecalling, have been quick to point out that the article said nothing about the police looking for the arsonist.
So I guess the question is: does freedom of speech protect our right to hurl insults?
This may well be why I don't like politics. There's a point at which we decide civilized debate and compromise is not enough, and we must result to condescending remarks and shouting and all kinds of behavior unbecoming to adults.
I think freedom of speech should be absolutely protected. And I'll use another example from my own life here...there's a distinct difference between writing the local school board and telling them they don't have the children in mind when they make these decisions and that everyone is going to suffer from their poor choices...and writing the school board and telling them they're all morons and inviting them to jump into the river.
Politics has made it far easier and more appealing to write the second letter.
The question, for me, is this: do the insults rise to the level of injury? Regardless of what that old nursery rhyme about sticks and stones said, names can hurt.
ReplyDeleteThis is where (IMHO) Westboro Baptist crosses the line. By protesting at individual funerals, they take a generic political statement and make it personal --- and therefore hurtful.
Is a statement like "Democrats are parasites" hurtful? Probably less so ... it's close to a political opinion, and being a Democrat isn't a protected category like race or religion. But, as you do point out, even in that situation there are lines not to be crossed.
Holy cow, I just realized we don't get emails when we get updates here...
ReplyDeleteI'm not arguing for restricted freedoms here, necessarily. I think it's more a call to be more civilized. I agree, names can hurt, and really, there's a point at which I would have thought a person outgrew the phase of using them.