November 30, 2012

• Freedom of Speech is not Conditional

  In Ohio a man was sentenced to prison for making fun of a girl with cerebral palzy.  The man was convicted of two charges:

  1) Menacing Behavior, for swinging around a chain on his front porch and allegedly threatening to strangle the mother.

  2) Disorderly Conduct, for making fun of the kid herself. 

  As a result of the convictions the man was sentenced to 29 days in jail.  Apparently Ohio also has laws about making comments against race and religion:

  Jennifer Fitzsimmons, the chief assistant city prosecutor for this case, says in the three years she’s been in this role, she’s never seen anything like this.

  “I think when we look at cases, there’s case law out there regarding people commenting and gesturing against race and religion. But when there’s nothing out there regarding disabilities, it took me a little bit longer to come to a decision.”

  Source: http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/man-sentenced-jail-teasing-disabled-girl-015101432–abc-news-topstories.html

  Of course the odds are that these “protections” do not extend to white people or Christians. 

  Anyways, I got into it with some liberals in the comment section on the article, but before I discuss how it went down let me say this.  I do not approve of this guy’s actions for making fun of a disabled kid, or for threatening the mother.  But here is the thing, while threatening the mother may justify some sort of legal action (such as a restraining order), making fun of a person, thing, or idea for any reason, no matter how irrational, unwarrented, or mean, is not a crime.  Freedom of speech is a Constitutionally protected behavior, without any qualifiers. 

  I was amazed to see how so many commenters were saying that his prison sentence was not long enough or hard enough.  I left a comment saying what I said in the previous paragraph, albeit with fewer words, and I received an ample amount of hatred for it.  Of course anyone is welcome to hate me if they want to, and I won’t lose any sleep over it.  But what does bother me is how there is a growing disdain and disregard for freedom of speech.

  Freedom of speech is one of the most important freedoms a society can have.  It was one of the guiding principles the US was founded upon.  There is nothing in the Constitution about freedom of speech ending where someone’s feelings begin.  Anyone who wants to have conditions and laws like that is opposed to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.  The main reason why we have guaranteed freedom of speech is so that people in government can be held accountable, which requires a free and umitigated exchange of information. 

  “Oh but it’s mean, and you can’t hurt someone’e feelings.”  Too bad, and yes I can. 

  “But freedom of speech does not extend to using speech irresponsibly.”  Freedom of speech is unconditional, and it’s not up to you to determine what is or is not responsible.  That is a subjective value judgment, and I don’t want anyone’s subjective value judgements controlling my speech.

  One of these guys said that making fun of someone is torture.  No, making fun of someone is making fun of someone.  Driving reeds under your fingernails is torture (China).  Pushing someone back into a burning building is torture (Sudan).  Getting your feelings hurt is not torture.  If your feelings are really that delicate then you are probably not cut out for the adult world.

  Another guy said that I just wanted to make fun of people.  Not really, but if I ever decide to then that is a Constitutionally protected right, and I should be able to criticize anyone or anything without worrying about getting arrested or going to jail. 

  The most humorous comment I received was some guy saying that I must have never been made fun of before.  The story of my childhood is one of pretty much non-stop ridicule from other children, marked by the occasional escalation to physical violence.  It maxed out in 8th and 9th grade.  I got made fun of for thing that I could help as well as things that I could not.  I had terrible allergies at the time, so much so that I had to carry around a box or two of tissues in my backpack, and usually by the end of class my desk would be full of used tissues.  I had to deal with ridicule for that every day.  One time one of the other boys called me a “slobbering faggot,” and everyone else laughed, and the teacher didn’t do anything.  It could be argued that my allergies were a disability, and unlike a retarded person I had the intellectual capacity to understand exactly what was going on and how I was being ridiculed. 

  I also faced physical violence.  Most of the time it was due to random attacks from other students and children, but probably about 25% of the time I struck the first blow in retaliation to continued insults.  Of course when that happened I got in trouble, which is also what happens in the adult world when you react to a situation with inappropriate force.

  I’m not saying this because I want anyone’s sympathy, I’m saying this because there is a lesson to be learned here.  Although I hated it at the time and wanted it to stop, I am grateful for those experiences in retrospect.  They made me into more of a man, and in some areas motivated me to correct deficiences.  For example, the comments about my being scrawny and/or physically underpowered caused me to enroll in a Kung Fu class, which not only taught me valuable self defense tactics but also self control and restraint.  Later on I began lifting weights in order to correct a deficiency. 

  In addition to self discipline, I learned valuable truths about humanity and human behavior during those times of nearly unbroken ridicule.  I became more of a man, with better discipline, self control, and composure as a result. 

  If someone is making fun of you there are options you have in a free society.  You can insult the person back.  The oldest rule of law legal systems in the world have always permitted equal retaliation, because justice is about balancing the scales.  If someone insults you then you are free to insult them back, but not free to use force against them.  Another option you have is to ignore their behavior.  That is what my dad always told me to do when I was young and reactionary.  It is sound and logical advice.  Avoiding the people who irritate you is another option.  Finally, you have the option of correcting a deficiency which may be the source of their ridicule.  While I recognize that not all things which are ridiculed are deficiencies, and not all deficiencies are correctable, there are many things which can and should be corrected.  For example, if someone is fat and getting made fun of for being fat, rather than crying about it, lashing out violently, or demanding that someone else’s speech be muzzled they should take steps to correct being fat.  You can change your diet and work out.  If you are not willing to do those things then you should not be angry when people point out the obvious.

  In an unfree society you can only do and say as much as the state allows.  Maybe no one can make fun of certain aspects that pertain to you, but you must also be careful what you say.  Even something said on accident could trigger an arrest.

  Once you start limiting freedom of speech it is a slippery slope.  It’s only a matter of time before criticism of politicians and government policies is a crime, and then there will be thought police, and neighbors reporting you for something you may have said.  It will be the Salem Witch Trials all over again. 

  So no, I do not under any condition support laws against freedom of speech.  I don’t care if anyone’s feelings get hurt.  Grow up.  If you are that sensitive you are probably not viable.  I do not want people to be arrested for making fun of me.  Of course as a white Christian male there is never going to be any speech laws to protect me from ridicule anyways, but criticism is healthy and good for a society.  There is no one and nothing that should be above criticism and ridicule.  There are no words that should be banned.  Physical harassment is one thing.  Invasion of privacy is also unacceptable.  But freedom of speech and expression is more important than anyone’s feelings.  There are no qualifiers on freedom of speech in the Constitution for a good reason. 

  Stop the insanity.  If you are a sensitive milksop there are trained professionals who can help you.  Being sensitive is a personal problem, not a legal one.  Go and get help if you failed to grow up on your own, and keep your hands off my freedom.

  Also, if you come from a religion that says people have to die for mocking your religion, then the US is probably not the country for you.  In the US we can mock any religion, belief system, or idea without facing a death penalty.  Chances are, your religion is probably not compatable with our values, legal system, and way of life. You have the freedom to believe and say whatever you want, but you don’t have the freedom to carry out violence against others for disagreeing with you.  If you can’t handle that then please go back to your sand box or whatever other backward hellhole you came from.

  • 12:14 pm
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