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Old 03-18-2011, 12:03 AM   #91 (permalink)
amyuilani
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Currently Oregon - the land the sun forgot
Posts: 319
Quote:
Originally Posted by myq View Post
And Keith, are you saying you don't think racists should have a right to express their racism? Or something different?
I think Chemda and I tried to address this issue on the show, but to clarify, you know that you use a lot of freedom of speech in your life/livelihood, yes? And that it could be viewed as hypocritical to champion your right to discuss who you hate but not afford that right to others?
The Bill of Rights are written in a specific order. They were intended to provide people protection from the government in order of the issues the framers felt were the most important, then second most, and so on. Protection from the government in freedom of expression is the most important thing the framers knew the people needed in order to feel as though they would not be living in the same oppressed society from which they came. People needed to be free to speak against the government and free to speak ideas and thoughts that would be unpopular. That's the whole point of the First Amendment - the ability to express that which is unpopular. As time went on, the Supreme Court would set limitations to the First Amendment, such as fighting words, inciting crime, obscenity, etc. In the modern world, such speech that is not completely outlawed is heavily restricted. Child porn is completely outlawed; explicit porn is restricted to areas children should not normally be able to view or find.

Racists have the same rights to express their opinions as others. It's when words cross the line, as in inciting riots, that free speech becomes an exception to free speech. Free speech cannot be allowed at the expense of the safety of society. That's why it's usually a case-by-case basis.

I have a feeling Keith's opinions on free expression will change over time. This is the first time in years he has spent extended periods of time out of the house, and even then, it's a matter of a couple of blocks between home and studio.
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