An Englishman Defines Freedom of Speech and the Right To Offend
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Freedom of speech has been taking quite a hammering over the last couple of decades. “You have to be so careful what you say and who you say it to” opined a chum recently. “No” I answered immediately, “as long as I’m not inciting hatred or violence I will say what the hell I like”. He was aghast. He was genuinely amazed that he knew anybody that actually thought and acted this way still.
“I never set out to offend anybody” I continued, “but I’m reaching the conclusion that I need to show equality to everybody in this process. It’s getting so difficult to say anything without causing offence to somebody, I’ve decided to be equal and offend everybody. If anybody out there is not offended then please tell me and I will set it right and offend them. Then they can’t say I’m picking on them by not offending them”.
That is where I feel I am at so to speak.
I am not, for example, Islamophobic. However, my assertion that conservative Islam is not compatible with western values apparently makes me Islamophobic to some.
I am not, for example, sexist. However, my comment to an extremely liberal chum that a passing young lady of somewhat large proportions shouldn’t wear such tight leggings and, if she bent over there might be a total eclipse had him calling me sexist and a body shamer.
Now, look. I would not dream of making such a comment to the unknown young lady in question. That would be rude and cruel. However, three other chums laughed. They understood it was a joke. Yes, it was a joke against the generously proportioned young lady, but a joke none the less. My liberal chum felt it was in bad taste, and perhaps, to some it was, but I defend my right to tell bad taste jokes.
Such a thing is not inciting hatred or violence against the young lady so what is the problem outside of taste?
I refer to Muslim women in full-face veils as ‘peek-a-boos’ simply because they appear to be ‘peeking’ out of their full face covering. My daughter tells me off for calling them ‘peek-a-boos’ so I don’t in front of her – as I will refrain from ‘bad taste’ jokes in front of my liberal chum in future.
Respect for my liberal chum and my daughter means I will not knowingly offend them but that’s just me. I have respect for others and, if I know a certain comment will offend them, I won’t make it in their earshot.
I will, however, make the comment if I so desire. That is freedom of speech.
After all, the names I see Trump supporters regularly called is a case in point. I’m certainly not arguing with the names I see them called – I’m not American so I respect that those who hate Trump and his supporters are angry at their current predicament. Calling names is a part of freedom of speech.
Now if someone called for Trump supporters to be shot, for example, then it is not freedom of speech, it is an incitement to violence.
The lines seem to be blurred.
“We have allowed in too many immigrants” makes me a racist. The fact that my opinion is based purely on numbers and our creaking infrastructure rather than on race, creed or color is ignored. The comment is ‘racist’. Garbage.
If I have offended anybody with anything I have written above then I apologize. I did not set out to offend.
However, in the interests of equality, if I have not offended you with anything I have written above, please let me know and I will try harder to offend everybody equally in the future.
I am an equal opportunities offender – in a manner of speaking.
1918: Millions have died in WWI
1938: Millions are about to die in WWII
2018: Millions offended by freedom of speech.
Oh boy.
Some people really need to grow up.
In case you missed it: The Strange Power of Speech or Talking Bollocks?
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Why, that’s easy! It wuz the Debble! Of course Adam must have had the apparatus already when El created Eve because hers was designed to fit. Why Adam was created with nipples, I don’t know, but it would be blasphemous to ask.
Sometimes just telling the truth to someone is offensive to some people. During a discussion on Facebook one evening I pointed out to a very good Southern Christian fellow that whether you were Christian and believed in the Adam and Eve story or an atheist and believed in evolution all people on the planet were actually related to each other to some extent. He became so flustered that all he could do was call me names none of which I will repeat here but I doubt that he got them from his Bible. In fact, he finally unfriended me when I tried to remind him that his religion along with the Muslims and the Jewish faith were all born in the same place. I was not trying to be unfriendly, just informative. Granted one would have to trace their genetics back further than Ancestry.com does but it is there. We all came out of the Garden of Eden or Africa. I have always wondered though, in either case, who taught the originals about screwing around. I mean surely somewhere along the line someone had to figure out how to do it and tell all the others. Man, just think if you were the only one who knew that secret and could sell it. Talk about getting rich.
Tribal warfare exists throughout societies worldwide. Within families and workplaces, and the halls of power, not forgetting the divisions in sporting affiliation. All the tribes think they are right, where it gets scary is when tribes need to be right.
I was forever in trouble for expressing my distaste for an issue, policy, and etc., freely, without the chains of political correctness. No one liked it. I am now long retired, except for my university job which gives me the opportunity to say pretty much what I want, as long as it’s cloaked in liberal terms. I can do that 🙂
Chinese historians talk about the “warring States” period. Marx certainly tried to show modern life as class warfare and I think sometimes we now live in an even more Hobbsian warring political groups period where everything is political. It’s also a Darwinian situation where groups that control more people, incite more people survive according to those abilities. It behooves anti-racist groups not only to see everything in terms of racism, but to inflate and incite. The more people classified as racists and the more contemptible they are made to seem, the stronger the group.
So all white people are racist, have massive guilt to expiate through confession and penance – or persecution by the controlling authorities of antiracism. Trying to suppress anything but the approved words or phrases used int the correct fashion consolidates power and as with everything – it’s all about power.
No it doesn’t matter how much you love your fellow man (or woman) and in fact that might get you in trouble too, but of course it’s not about freedom of speech – you’re free to parrot the talking points of any group you like, but that earns you the condemnation of another one. Every group is at war with every other and you don’t have to wade through Hobbes to see it.
I couldn’t have put it better myself. In fact I didn’t because I couldn’t. Nice Glenn. Very nice!
Hope not!!!
😂😂😂😂..thanks chum 😘
In my experience, anyone who calls their friends chums, is a racist.
Probably won’t get much of an argument old man.