tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post7229419121632916352..comments2024-03-28T00:11:33.489-04:00Comments on bensozia: Free Speech as an Endangered CommonsJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037215533094998996noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-54383573687396693022017-04-15T16:41:38.865-04:002017-04-15T16:41:38.865-04:00The ex-NASA roboticist-turned-cartoonist Randall M...The ex-NASA roboticist-turned-cartoonist Randall Munroe summed up a lot of my feelings on free speech quite eloquently.<br /><br /><i>"Public Service Announcement: The <b>right to Free Speech</b> means the government can't arrest you for what you say.<br /><br />It doesn't mean that anyone <b>else</b> has to listen to your bullshit, or host you while you share it. The 1st Amendment doesn't shield you from criticism or consequences.<br /><br />If you're yelled at, boycotted, have your show cancelled, or get banned from an internet community, your free speech rights aren't being violated.<br /><br />It's just that the people listening think you are an asshole, and they're showing you the door."</i><br /><br />If 34% of Americans think that the 1st Amendment goes too far, then I can only imagine that most of that number must not really know what the 1st Amendment actually says or does.<br /><br />To suggest that the 1st Amendment goes too far is to suggest that you believe the government should be able to arrest people for dissent. And if you honestly want to live in a nation like that, might I suggest North Korea as being more in line with your views, or perhaps one of several African dictatorships?<br /><br />Harvard students inviting controversial speakers to their school has absolutely nothing to do with Free Speech. The government does not enter into the equation.<br /><br />That said, no one has any obligation whatsover to support these students, and every allowance to criticize and oppose them. If they choose to lay down with dogs, they have little grounds to complain about getting up with fleas. They should be prepared to suffer whatever consequences befall them (short of illegal acts). They have every right to embrace whatever speech they choose, but so too does the rest of society have every right to censure them for choosing to support abominable types of speech.<br /><br />In the excerpt you supplied, Alexander talks at several point about the need to "invoke" free speech - and consequently demonstrates he has no idea what he's even talking about. There is literally only one reason to ever invoke free speech - when the government itself is suppressing your voice. If that isn't happening, then it makes no sense whatsoever to talk about free speech.<br /><br />If someone refuses to let you speak at their college campus, your rights aren't being violated - you're just being shown the door. And on the flipside, if a college receives negative backlash for hosting speech which people find unacceptable, their rights aren't being violated - they're just suffering the consequences of their poor choices.G. Verlorennoreply@blogger.com