Of course, I was just making a point. I never disputed the need for certain laws, and I also mentioned that it's not very nice to insult people to hurt them. Still, you can't/shouldn't allow strangers, or anyone really, who try to hurt and insult you to get to you.
where do you draw the line at free speech though? what if i went around with a microphone and made public speeches reciting hitlers words? it's my right to do so right? in berlin it is illegal to make the hail hitler salute and to deny the holocaust i would think that reciting hitlers words should be illegal too as intelligent individuals it is our duty to know what is and isn't right to say in any given situation one single word shouldn't provoke anyone or harm them in any way but sometimes it does sometimes people forget the word tact tact |takt| noun adroitness and sensitivity in dealing with others or with difficult issues : the inspector broke the news to me with tact and consideration.
Free speech is free speech aas long as it isn't used to provoke the intent to harm others, IMHO...As far as the word we're discussing, I HATE it. My personal opinion is that usage of such a word implies a lack of intelligent capacity in expressing oneself...It's a situation where I will think a lot less of a person that thinks the word is OK to use to describe anyone of any race, culture, etc. For the sake of disclosure I've been around black people before that use the word rather freely and I am just as offended. The actual etymology of the word has nothing to do with race but was misappropriated at some point much like most of the english language consists of borrowed words.
The Brits who posted here are not too aware of American history apparently. The British imposed censorship in their colonies. Newspapers and journalists were routinely shutdown or censored if they opposed the ruling class. It was treason to suggest a revolution. Yet Americans chose to publish incendiary articles that suggested that America would be better off free from British rule. They chastised King George and ridiculed his policies. If the King had more troops on the ground he probably would've done just what Ahmedinejad is doing now - complete censorship. So freedom of speech is what led to America becoming an independent country, free from British Imperialism. Therefore it has always been one of our core values and one of our few protections against the power of the elite. I bet the English were called a LOT of nasty words during the revolution... So it's not just about the N-word or about racism. It's about freedom of speech from start to finish. If you can't say what you feel about one group of people, you can't say it about any group. So once you draw a line against criticizing black people, you do the same about criticizing Republicans, or even politicians in general. You can say well these ppl choose to be Republicans, but black people are born that way. Well then you can't then criticize or ostracize gay people either (yet black people seem to do that a LOT). See what I just did? I criticized black people for criticizing gay people and not wanting them to have equal civil rights like black people supposedly have now. Now I suppose I should be censored for that right? The real question is are you upset at the words being used, what they mean, the people who use them, or all of the above? Cause you're gonna have to dig very deep and get those pitchforks, white hoods, crucifixes, submachine guns and molotov cocktails ready if you expect to get to the bottom of it all. Just making the N-word the issue makes a mockery of the real issues underlying it. Issues that aren't going to go away no matter how much you try to ban the fucking word! And saying black people can use it, but white people can't is just as racist as anything I can possibly imagine...
:iagree: Free speech is a right that comes attached to responsibility, just like driving a car or carrying a loaded gun. I grew up around people who used the word routinely. It has very little meaning to me, but I purged it from my vocabulary many years ago out of the desire not to provoke unintended controversy or trouble.
