Sorry, It’s Call Free Speech For A Reason…
The other day, I was on the Facebook. I saw that one of my friends had joined a group that had a created a petition to have another group removed from Facebook. The group the other group was trying to remove was an organization that apparently doesn’t like soldiers. And is very vocal about it.
I dug a little deeper.
The site was really, just downright offensive, in my opinion. Having served in the military, I feel that our men and women who chose to enlist really are doing a true service to their country.
But, sorry, that first group with the petition is, well, wrong.
One of the founding principles of this country, grounded in the First Amendment to the Constitution, is freedom of speech.
Even speech that is downright hateful. It’s all protected. Why do you think the Ku Klux Klan still exists and can have public marches and pick up led light bulbs and trash off the highways?
Our servicemen and women didn’t take an oath to defend just the stuff they liked? They took an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.
We have to take the good with the bad.
March 4th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
You’re totally right. Oh, and did you see the love for your ditty on said FB?
March 4th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
I think I agree with you in this case, but I doubt that facebook would let the KKK have a facebook group.
March 4th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
You’re absolutely right, even hate speech is protected by our constitution, that’s what makes this country so great, we are all free to speak our minds.
Keep us posted though if FB caves to the pressure on this one like they did with the breastfeeding moms.
You know that one right? Some people complained that the pictures of moms breastfeeding was offensive, so FB removed any pictures that other people complained about.
Do keep us posted as i have no idea what groups you’re talking about.
March 4th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
Actually the initial words of The First Amendment are “The Government shall make no law…” So if the government isn’t involved, the first amendment doesn’t apply.
Otherwise, if I submitted an article to a magazine, it would have to publish it. Regardless of any editorial decision. Magazines, newspapers, and other publishers, however, are allowed to make editorial decisions based on content. Yes, it’s censorship, but as long as it’s not government censorship, it’s OK.
Many websites have restrictions against hate speech, and they have every right to restrict hate speech. In many European countries hate speech is actually illegal, and websites that have a worldwide audience (such as Facebook) need to take that into consideration. I suspect Facebook would delete a KKK group to avoid being sued in those countries.
However, I agree with you that political groups that aren’t being directly hateful shouldn’t be deleted. Politics by its very nature is going to offend due to core disagreement in opinion. But the First Amendment has nothing to say on the matter – and if Facebook does decide to delete a group, they have the right to do so.
March 4th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
In light of John’s clarification, which is technically correct, I feel Americans should honor the spirit of the First Amendment and realize that even speech we don’t agree with has to be allowed.
Also, there are, in fact, several KKK groups on Facebook. Go search on Ku Klux Klan. They ARE there in FB.
For the record, I find these groups abominable, but can tolerate their existence until they infringe on other people rights.
March 6th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
I agree that we as Americans should defend the right to free speech, even for a-holes who say evil, ugly, or stupid things. If we allow any group to curb others’ speech, we are headed down a dangerous path. If we lose our right to free speech, we have no rights that matter. If you can’t say (or by extension, really think) what you want, than you have no real rights.
March 7th, 2009 at 6:49 am
I might step on some people’s toes here, but this would even apply to Muslims or any religion for that matter.We can’t censor people for anything they believe.
March 7th, 2009 at 9:23 am
I don’t think you’re stepping on toes. All religions should be respected unless they infringe on other peoples rights.