Freedom of speech. It seems like such a simple and obvious thing, at least in some countries. But it isn’t simple at all. Yes, you have the freedom to say anything, within a few well-established guidelines. You can’t yell “FIRE” in a crowded theatre. You can be sued for libel or slander if what you say about a particular person is an outright lie. When you really get to the heart of it, the right to say anything, which we hold so dear, is based on a social contract. We have all, more or less, agreed to conform to at least a certain, minimal level of socially acceptable language, falling under the generic category of political correctness.
You have the right to use racial slurs, but you will be labeled a racist and a bigot. You certainly are allowed to say stupid and inane things, but don’t blame the rest of us if we start calling you an ignoramus. What it boils down to is that you are judged by your words. Freedom of speech is basically us giving each other enough rope… or tongue… with which to hang ourselves, should we so choose.
On my blog, I insult people all the time. I tell myself that I am doing it for good reasons, because I mostly insult people whom I find obnoxious, people who disagree with me about fundamental issues. I insult terrorists and racists and people who want Americans to be able to collect a basement full of automatic weapons. I insult politicians and climate change deniers. I insult the haters and the ignorant. And I comfort myself with the fact that my freedom to type these words is protected under the laws of this country. But in the end, while I might have the right to say these things, I am also well aware that there are risks to expressing such ideas. Because one of those gun-totting racist bigots could come to my house and use one of his stockpile of automatic weapons to shoot me. I admit that I might be overinflating my importance in the vast scale of things. Maybe I haven’t actually insulted terrorists and religious extremists to the point where they have declared jihad on me, but then again, when the cartoonists at Charlie Hebdo were using humor to poke fun at fundamentalists, did it really occur to them that they were putting their lives in danger? Salman Rushdie knew he was putting his life on the line when he wrote The Satanic Verses. I am not in any way comparing what I do with any of that. I am just pointing out that freedom of speech is a complex issue. Just because you can say something, it doesn’t necessarily follow that you should say it.
As the author of a humor blog and some books that I like to think contain some humor, I understand the inherent need of anyone trying to express what is funny about the world in words, to push the envelope. Comedians and humorists are constantly trying to find the edge of the abyss and walk along it. Because humor is the weapon that some of us choose with which to battle all that is wrong with the world. Humor always serves some other purpose. It means nothing if it doesn’t strive to force people to think about things, to look into the dim corners and hidden recesses of the human condition and pull the stuff piled there out into the light to be examined. And often, the things that hide in the darkness do not want to have the light shone upon them.
Pouring My Art Out 
Reblogged this on Qprin and commented:
Qprin loved it :-
yay!
Ummm, OK. I disagree with some of that but on the whole I find it acceptable to my own sense of right – not that that makes a lick of difference to you just sayin’. The real question is what is your point?
uh, to be honest, somebody wanted me to write 300 words of freedom of speech for something else, and I figured I might as well post it since I wrote it.
wait… disagree with what parts… not that I won’t fight for your right to say that… HA!
Ha! I’m Canadian. I could give a lot of psychobabble about these upcoming statements but I really don’t know why it is different. We see slander against an individual as extending to a group or groups as hatred. Speak hateful or violent thoughts against an identifiable group in Canada and you can be charged with promoting hate. And so it should be. Why Americans would think that groups should have any different rights than individuals, I don’t know. And deliberately acting in a manner that you KNOW will insult or abuse a group can result in some legal problems too.
For instance, Everyone said that the Dallas cartoon fiasco was the fault of Muslims.Bull shit. The organizers knew before they even planned the event that it would draw a violent response from left wing Muslims. In fact they deliberately did it so they could shoot any Muslims who responded and so they did – just happened to be ready with loaded weapons when the inevitable happened,. That is, in my mind, a blatant disregard for human life, at best.
I read articles all the time in American media about how public figures are shot or minorities are targeted. How about that Arizona Congresswoman who got shot in the head a few years back? Turns out that some weak minded soul listened to the vitriolic hatred spewed by public and private figures who impact people’s opinions and figured it would be the right thing to shoot the congresswoman – and many others. To not hold people accountable for their hatred, you are, in fact, promoting violence. i could start a “Kill all Policemen” campaign put signs up everywhere and solicit funds from those who see themselves as having been wronged by police, How well do you suppose that would go over? And if not well,then why? Isn’t it simpler and more just to refuse to listen to hatred and to outlaw it? It’s hard in Canada to get a conviction, so it isn’t a law that is bandied about thoughtlessly.
Americans hold “Freedom of Speech” as inalienable and we don’t. You can’t spout hatred against any person or group, you can’t use words to deliberately cause others physical harm (like hollering “Fire!” when there is no fire or yelling “bomb! in or around an airplane – it’s taking you guys a bit long to catch onto this isn’t it? Do you intend to forbid each example individually? Like convincing someone to jump off a building with the assurance there is a net below when there isn’t?)
I tried to shy away from actually saying freedom of speech is a good thing. I thought I was implying that it isn’t. And that we have a social contract to use speech for good, while trying to retain the idea of freedom of speech, which really isn’t free at all… this is why I try no to leap into writing anything on a deadline… I like to wait till something comes to me that I like… speaking of which, I have decided not to rush the new princess book. I am letting it flow more slowly to give all the characters their chance to become more real… also, I am going to not only have them become pirates, but I am extending the overall plot to be sort of world war two based… the Skulls have Black Robes, like the Gestapo… and there will be a allied invasions and underground resistance movements and spies in occupied kingdoms, and an island hopping campaign like the South Pacific. The Skulls have mobilized for total war…
Ah Ha! Sounds like the book is developing well in your mind. Cool. Sorry if I misread your intention with the free speech.
If you did, then I wrote it wrong… hey, can you look at my newest post and tell me if you see and image there?
Nope, no image – I wrote a comment there and it disappeared. But many other blogs are missing their pictures too – just getting a little box with a title.
join the revolution!
So if someone makes a joke about gun nuts on a blog, and a gun nut comes and shoot, that’s the blogger’s fault?
no, but if you poke a stupid monkey and the monkey turns on you, you might have just increased the odds of being the one the monkey shoes to bite.
Are you calling gun nuts “stupid monkeys”? You should be very, very careful now
I am more likely to be bitten by a gun nut than I am to be shot by a monkey wielding a semi-automatic banana…
Ha! I used to haul bananas and they were shipped in 40 pound cartons from South America by boat. We picked them up from the boat in either Pier 42 Manhattan or Albany,NY (depending on the brand). Anyway they were super sensitive to the temperature and had to be checked regularly. I pulled into our office and before I went inside I grabbed a banana off the load and stuck a thermometer in the butt end so that just the round dial as showing. It took a few minutes for the temp to equilibrate so I walked into the office with the banana. There was a young woman in dispatch who was brand new – 2nd day. She saw the banana and quickly asked : “What’s that?” I told her it was an automatic banana and assured her the whole trailer load was like that. The real dispatcher came along and gave me heck for teasing the new employee.
oh yeah…
Yep, here in canada you can make fun of any illegal group, like gun nuts, pedophiles rapists, child molesters – you know those type of people – so you are not responsible and can shoot back,or even shoot first if he threatens.
Here in the US, gun nuts are very legal and constitutionally protected.
Therein lies the ambiguity – over there in the box. Is there room for doubt? No, the ambiguity has taken up all the space.
but we have really good ambiguity
Ha! The best – just depending on which way the barrel of the gun is pointed – it is either an inalienable right or a miscarriage of justice.
an inalienable miscarriage of just rightness…
right… in fact, they are some of the biggest lobbyists of our political system
well, same here.
except the gun nuts aren’t illegal group here…