As a follow up to my comments on polite discourse earlier this week I offer the following thoughts on "Freedom of Speech"
Freedom of Speech is not the freedom to not be called an asshole because of your speech.People who disagree with you (and call you an asshole, bigot, or hate monger) are not interfering with your Freedom of Speech.If your position on an issue causes people to call you a hate-monger, bigot, or an ignorant fuckwad, that isn't suppression of your freedom of speech (it may however be a reason you should reconsider your position).
A private citizen telling you to shut up isn't suppressing your Freedom of Speech.
If a "celebrity" says something that offends a lot of people and the private company who employs that celebrity fires them, that is not a symptom of political correctness run amok, interference with their freedom of speech, or a violation of their First Amendment rights. It is an example of capitalist principals, i.e. my spokesperson is an asshole and now people won't by my product. Solution, fire my asshole spokesperson.
If the government isn't the one telling you to shut up, your First Amendment rights haven't been violated.
You have an absolute right to your opinion and to voice that opinion. If the courage of your convictions is strong, I commend that even if I disagree with your position, You do not have a right to not have other people comment on, challenge, and deride your opinion.A private citizen telling you to shut up isn't suppressing your Freedom of Speech.If a "celebrity" says something that offends a lot of people and the private company who employs that celebrity fires them, that is not a symptom of political correctness run amok, interference with their freedom of speech, or a violation of their First Amendment rights. It is an example of capitalist principals, i.e. my spokesperson is an asshole and now people won't by my product. Solution, fire my asshole spokesperson.If the government isn't the one telling you to shut up, your First Amendment rights haven't been violated.You have an absolute right to your opinion and to voice that opinion. If the courage of your convictions is strong, I commend that even if I disagree with your position, You do not have a right to not have other people comment on, challenge, and deride your opinion.
Freedom of Speech is not the freedom to not be called an asshole because of your speech.People who disagree with you (and call you an asshole, bigot, or hate monger) are not interfering with your Freedom of Speech.If your position on an issue causes people to call you a hate-monger, bigot, or an ignorant fuckwad, that isn't suppression of your freedom of speech (it may however be a reason you should reconsider your position).
A private citizen telling you to shut up isn't suppressing your Freedom of Speech.
If a "celebrity" says something that offends a lot of people and the private company who employs that celebrity fires them, that is not a symptom of political correctness run amok, interference with their freedom of speech, or a violation of their First Amendment rights. It is an example of capitalist principals, i.e. my spokesperson is an asshole and now people won't by my product. Solution, fire my asshole spokesperson.
If the government isn't the one telling you to shut up, your First Amendment rights haven't been violated.
You have an absolute right to your opinion and to voice that opinion. If the courage of your convictions is strong, I commend that even if I disagree with your position, You do not have a right to not have other people comment on, challenge, and deride your opinion.A private citizen telling you to shut up isn't suppressing your Freedom of Speech.If a "celebrity" says something that offends a lot of people and the private company who employs that celebrity fires them, that is not a symptom of political correctness run amok, interference with their freedom of speech, or a violation of their First Amendment rights. It is an example of capitalist principals, i.e. my spokesperson is an asshole and now people won't by my product. Solution, fire my asshole spokesperson.If the government isn't the one telling you to shut up, your First Amendment rights haven't been violated.You have an absolute right to your opinion and to voice that opinion. If the courage of your convictions is strong, I commend that even if I disagree with your position, You do not have a right to not have other people comment on, challenge, and deride your opinion.
No comments:
Post a Comment