Free Speech, Unless I Don’t Like It

Unless you've been under a rock I'm sure you've heard of the Don Imus controversy. They underlying point of this whole thing is free speech. Yeah Don Imus made a bad joke that wasn't PC, but in this country he has that right under the 1st amendment. The point of free speech isn't to protect speech that you like and isn't offensive, but the kind that is. Pretty much anything you say someone will be offended by. This country is made up of diverse groups of people from different backgrounds. Its impossible to know every little thing that will hurt people's feelings. And if you do you should be able to say your sorry and move on, not his witch hunt that is currently happening. I can't stand it when people say, "I'm for free speech, but...", no there's no but, either people should be allowed to say whatever they want or they shouldn't there's no middle ground. Then there's this issue of a double standard where certain groups can use words that others can't. So Snoop Dogg can make a career out of saying bitches and ho's, but the second a white man like Don Imus makes one off color comment he should be beaten up. The hypocrisy of the whole situation is what is so infuriating. People who have made racially insensitive comment in the past are acting like their holier than thou. Remember Jesse Jackson refering to New York as Hymietown? Or what about when Whoopie Goldberg defended Ted Danson for wearing Blackface? Hell her production company is called One Ho Productions! If there's one thing I can't stand is when people say black people have been oppressed for so long and didn't have the same opporunities as white people so it's okay for them to say such things. Give me a break Black people are every bit as intelligent and capable as white people or whoever else. Putting them in this separate category only serves to demean every black person. That sure sounds like racism to me putting someone is a different class becaue of their skin color. This whole incident is supposed to open up race relations in this country and make things better. If anything it has pushed things back at least 10 years. Nobody feels comfortable expressing themselves to one another for fear of being label a racist. Its really sad what is happening to free speech in this country. And the networks wonder why no one wtaches TV or listens to the radio. The only programs that are going to be left soon are these "safe" shows that have no content. If people want race relations to improve then we need to have an open dialogue in this country about it. Rather than dividing words into categories based on race.

  1. Personally, I think Don Imus should sue CBS for racial discrimination since they play the music that says the exact same thing and not done anything to said artists, but since he is old and white, obviously he was being racist. So, if rappers and other members of the black community are allowed to say it, why can’t Don Imus or even I say it without looking like a complete asshole? Also, why does anyone even listen to a word the good Reverend Al Sharpton says anyway?

    S. H. Skuld
    April 14th, 2007 at 7:41 am

Post a Comment

(or leave a trackback to your blog)