Sol wrote:shooty08 wrote:Sol wrote:shooty08 wrote:
They intersect, yes, but Freedom of Speech only guarantees the right to speak your mind. It doesn't protect you from offending others, or having a suit brought against you for defamation of character or some other legal action.
See this is what I eventually find; The point of freedom of speech becomes practically moot. If you suffer because of what you say and still call it freedom of speech, then it's no different to suggesting for example, North Korea's people have freedom of speech. They do, but they're sure as hell not going to exercise it.
The point of freedom of speech is that you can say things negatively against your government and they can't just make you disappear.
I don't think the idea should be, or is, limited to that. Even so there are bastion of laws against race/gender/sexuality discrimination (here in Aus, and I would assume the US). If you're caught saying anything that is even slightly off the PC track, in public, you lose your job and get a flurry of hatemails by anyone that doesn't have the balls to man up and get over it.
Sure they wouldn't make your disappear. But it's no freedom of speech. At least any more free than totalitarian governments.
Well, for one you don't have to be afraid of getting a bullet to the back of the skull for saying you don't like the regime. You are perfectly allowed to say whatever you want in the U.S., there isn't a law restricting it. There are laws about defamation of character, I.E. I say something slanderous about someone else. but that doesn't mean I'm going to go to the middle of the nearest bad part of town and start shouting "ya'all niggas is lazy" because 1. I'm not stupid 2. I don't want to be beaten or shot.
So to recap. Freedom of speech. You can say what you want, but you have to live with the consequences. Personal responsibility. You can get kicked out of an establishment, refused service, and so on. Those are the consequences of saying what you think when it is offensive. You want to act like an impetuous child and throw a tantrum because things aren't the exact way you like it, because someone is making you uncomfortable? Fine but I'm not going to kiss your boo-boo and say its all better when the world lashes back.