Beth thought this important enough to discuss and I agree. The link: http://beta.news.yahoo.com/jilted-ex-boyfriend-puts-abortion-billboard-194142831.html
Since I subscribe to the principle that in the vast majority of cases free speech should win at the end of the day it didn't take me long to reach my conclusion. I read the article twice and it doesn't say if the ex's name was used on the billboard but it clearly falls under free speech even if he shouldn't have done it. Of course you could make the argument that since it's a specific guy on the ad people in the local area can easily put 2&2 together and deduce who the ex probably is but it's a very interesting case and I love this stuff. Now Tracy Morgan of 30 Rock has said some stuff, some antigay jokes down in some nightclub and well it didn't take long for the almost immediate pro-forma apology from Mr. Morgan (maybe in the future it can come right after the joke, saves time) but the thing about these cases is I absolutely HATE political correctness. Now I'm not antigay by any stretch but when the obligatory gay spokesman from some group issues the mandatory official statement that everyone's feelings got hurt you just wanna call him a faggot. You see the thing about humor is it's entirely subjective, it's in the eye of the beholder. There's no objective norm to humor in the first place and so some people in the club, the ones who weren't offended did find his comments hilarious but that doesn't prove exactly they hate gays. The best gay jokes I ever heard in my life came from liberals btw. Here's the other thing, how does censorship solve the Problem? Why not let Tracy Morgan make his jokes and the gay guy can call him a dick? Works for me and why if he's such a big star on 30 Rock is he doing standup in the first place?:)
A few thoughts on this.
ReplyDeleteOne, there's two sides to every story. She claims she had a miscarriage. No one but the two of them and any medical people involved will ever know which story is true, so there's no way to either prove or disprove his claim.
Two, if there's no personally identifiable information on the billboard, she really hasn't got much of a case for libel or slander or anything like that.
Three, on a personal level I think it was a shitty thing to do. Plus, the fact that he did it because she broke up with him in my opinion proves he's basically a vindictive asshole. But from a legal standpoint I think he's covered.
Sorry Z but u lost me @ "vast majority of cases.."
ReplyDeleteAs in when somebody usually some type of celebrity or someone in the public eye says something controversial. Why don't we just go with it? What terrible thing would happen if we allowed most free speech, would the earth spin out of its orbit or millions get cancer?
ReplyDeleteAgain, "most" free speech. What the fuck is that? You either have free speech or you don't.
ReplyDeleteWhom decides which speech doesn't fall under the "most" category?
Seriously Z you're losing me here....
child porn
ReplyDeletelibel & slander,
that sort of thing.
NOTHING is absolute soap even the right to own a gun. Hey look would you rather have me or someone who believes in free speech 50 or 60% of the time which describes most people these days?
ReplyDeleteWe have laws against those Z. They're not First Amendment issues.
ReplyDeleteNAMBLA would beg to differ, so too the NRA (up to a point).
ReplyDeleteIt is a classic matchup in this article, those who love to tout free speech when they want to allow stupid art like of the Virgin Mary painted with doggie doo doo (namely LIBERALS want to allow that in the name of no censorship and free speech) pitted against those who want to get a pro-life message across (usually CONSERVATIVES) but OH WAIT the liberals all of a sudden don't want free speech if it might be a pro-life message!
ReplyDeleteHow true. You know many many years ago I tried getting a pro-life film into the county library system here, even offered to pay for it. I don't do this stuff anymore but those were the heady days of youthful activism. Anyway I finally got it in but it was like trying to squeeze oil out of a rock. Now I wouldn't have cared so much 'cept libraries are always crowing about what big and I mean HUGE supporters of FREE SPEECH they are. Every year they have Banned Books Week in which they showcase classic books that have been banned over the years and yet in my case there were the usual and expected rationales thrown up re my pro-life message. All I'm saying is if you're gonna brag about how big free speech you are walk the walk and don't just talk the talk.
ReplyDeleteSelective free speech from the lefties, no surprise there.
ReplyDeleteUh, maybe it's worth looking at who wants to ban what books and why. It's only okay to ban books that don't contradict our white, Protestant, middle class lifestyle/values/ethics.
ReplyDeleteThis is why they're rewriting American history books in Texas to reflect and support their views of history, and why places like Conservapedia are so popular amongst those who like to feel validated in their often irrational, frequently ludicrous beliefs.
that DO.. that DO contradict..
ReplyDeletefor the love of petunias I have only slept four hours in the past three days.
I don't want to ban books or rewrite history.
ReplyDeleteSaty: "For the love of petunias I have only slept four hours in the past three days."
ReplyDeleteYou sound like Meredith Vieira.
Um, well speaking of banning books in most libraries I've been at if you check out the abortion section for lack of a better term unless it's my imagination pro-choice books vastly outnumber the pro-life ones if there are any. It's a rare person indeed who believes in free speech across-the-board, I mean how many people wanted to censor Glenn Beck?
ReplyDeleteMeredith Viera.
ReplyDeleteIs this good or bad?
We only get 11 channels at our house and the only channel I consistently watch is called MeTV. The only TV show I consistently (some might say obsessively) watch on that channel is the original Hawaii Five O.
So you can see how I might be boggled. I think she used to be on a NYC news station, but I can't remember for sure.
Well, Beck is an interesting case, isn't he? He developed a huge following on Fox for his controversial (on many levels) rhetoric. As a result of consumer protests against said rhetoric, over 400 companies cancelled their advertising on his show, which resulted in huge revenue drops.. and then when his incendiaries went over the top he experienced a ratings drop and in all free market capitalist enterprises money is the bottom line, so he and Fox mutually decided that they mutually would be mutually better off without each other and had a parting of the paths.
ReplyDeleteNow Beck is launching a subscription channel. I think this is an absolutely magnificent idea and probably the best of all possible outcomes.
Meredith Vieira after she accepted the quite lucrative offer of being the co-anchor with Matt Lauer on the Today Show always complained about her lack of sleep, said she got on average 3 hours of sleep a night because she couldn't fall asleep before 11 PM and then had to get up at 2:30 AM to get ready for Today. Sleep deprivation, something she always complained about but in her case she got the big bucks that we never had. Sleep deprive me baby!
ReplyDeleteWell I was never a fan of boycotts though they are not illegal. They would seem to go against the spirit of free speech but in a totally free speech society which we do not have if you don't like Glenn Beck simply change the channel or station. Used to be the mantra of liberals back in the day.
ReplyDeleteWe live in a capitalist nation, which means money talks and everyone else shuts up and listens.
ReplyDeleteBoycotts are a peaceful means to hit them where the mouth/money is.
It works.
I actually agree with Saty here, you "vote" with your dollars, so you can support organizations you agree with and boycott those you don't. As long as misinformation isn't causing the boycott, I see no problem with them.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sayin' there's anything unconstitutional with boycotts but if you really believe in free speech something bothers you you change the dial.
ReplyDelete