Opinion: ‘Speech should be free regardless of how many people want to support it’
By L.V. Anderson, Slate
It’s hard to know how to respond to the horrific murders of much of the staff of Charlie Hebdo earlier this week. For the past few days, social media has seen an outpouring of grief and condolences, of cartoon tributes to the controversial magazine, of the #JeSuisCharlie hashtag.
But if you felt like you wanted to do something to take a stand against terrorism instead of just emoting on Twitter, some commentators had a suggestion: Subscribe to Charlie Hebdo.
These reactions echoed a sentiment widely shared last month, after theaters began backing out of plans to screen “The Interview” in light of threats from the group that hacked Sony.
“I probably wasn’t even going to see ‘The Interview’ until theaters started pulling it, but now I will drive as far as necessary to watch it,” tweeted one typical would-be moviegoer, expressing a view that grew in popularity after Sony (temporarily) suspended plans to release the film.
The impulse to support a piece of media that has provoked violence (or threats of violence) is understandable. If you want to stand up for free speech, buying a movie ticket or newspaper that you normally wouldn’t buy seems like a simple, concrete way to take a stand against censorship. Subscribing to Charlie Hebdo might also feel like a satisfying way of thwarting the terrorists and those who share their goal of suppressing the magazine’s influence.
The issue is not that simple, speech is not free, we cannot shout fire in a crowed building and how many white men can stand on a corner a say “******”. No we regulate speech thru libel and slander laws and most of us try hard not to offend others even to the extended that we do not call women “girls”?. How is it that we can expect these things, but not the wishes of others to not be offend? No, I suggest the real issue is the method of enforcement, to kill some one for any reason is wrong and it should be condemned. These men, in the name of free speech, are entitled to their opinion, they just don’t get to kill those who disagree any more then any of us who might be offended. Lets condemn and punish for the right reasons, lets not just kill them for expressing them selves, in the name of free expression.
Herb, I’m not sure I follow you. You can call the event what you will, I consider it a terrorist attack, not free speech. The article was talking about how we shouldn’t support every type of speech, and I don’t equate murder with speech, you may I suppose. When you say, “I suggest the real issue is the method of enforcement, to kill some one for any reason is wrong and it should be condemned.” Don’t you think that France already has those laws just as we do? You also seem to think that the terrorists should have punished the artists another way, you are forgetting something. The people who committed this act do not follow western values. There is no judo-christian ethic even most anesthetists would agree to. They have a completely different value system that does not value free speech, does not value some human life, and murder in the name of their prophet (or perhaps God) is completely acceptable. I happen to disagree with them, I get a feeling you do as well. But people need to understand what the Greeks and the Hebrews (and many other minorities) have been dealing with for centuries, you can’t negotiate with certain people bent on killing you because you aren’t one of them. You can’t win them over with love. You can’t reason. You can’t out theology. Just a fact of life I wish more people understood.
And in one of the biggest public events in history to support free speech on the streets of France, Under King Hussein Insane, the USA was absent. He did send the AG there who must have been busy, the same one who stepped down last year but never left. And this is called absent leadership and it is a joke. History will take note of the most pathetic lack of leadership ever seen.
@inJustice-Jon Stewart did a nice little piece on who some of those ‘supporters’ of free speech were, and then showed how the governments of some of those marching were jailing, flogging(yes, as in whipping in public) journalists in their own country.
Is the Daily Show too liberal for you? Here’s another:
From ‘the daily Caller-not exactly a liberal blog: “Reporters Without Borders, which promotes journalistic freedom, stated that several “countries that restrict freedom of information” were represented at the march. The organization especially called out Turkey, Egypt, Russia, Algeria, the United Arab Emirates and Gabon for their hypocrisy. Many of these countries punish journalists for far smaller offenses than those committed by Charlie Hebdo’s staff.
History HAS taken note of the most pathetic lack of leadership this country has seen…it was Darth Cheney’s.
Hmmmm, good come back. Justanass always thinks his s#+= is the truth. Dick(head) Cheney is one of the creepiest old (and decaying)politically corrupt people we(Americans) have to support. Hopefully his third heart attack will rid us of the burden.
Wow. With comments like that, I don’t wonder that Kae sometimes considers doing away with the chat board.
Valueless rudeness.
Kae continues to show her own hypocrisy by continuously posting these garbage click-bait articles, which she knows will elicit ridiculous comments, and then complaining about the negative response. Funny that you would mention doing away with the comment section on the article about free speech by the way.