Free Speech, Its Use And Abuse
Mar. 1st, 2012 10:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madwriterAll from this week:
Just when you thought the so-called "Free Speech Zones" were bad, The "Trespass Bill" offers up a vaguely broad power to squelch protests. Ostensibly this is about protecting the president and anyone else who gets Secret Service protection, but the vague language of the bill could give the government the power to restrict protests at any time and place, including...
...a building or grounds...in conjunction with an event designated as a special event of national significance.
The term "national significance" is not defined here, which historically means that in practice the government could arbitrarily declare any event one of national significance.
So heads up Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street: Once again it seems that the only time the government can act with complete bipartisanship is when they're laboring to take away everyone's rights.
Once upon a time I would catch at least a piece of Rush Limbaugh's radio show almost every day, and he gave me a phrase that's since become one of my favorite tenets: "Words mean things".
One big reason I stopped listening to him a few years ago was because he acted as if he'd quit believing this. He also used to insist that conservatives don't engage in name-calling. But obviously he's quit believing this too, having drawn fire for ignoring the meaning of the word "slander" and referring to Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown University student who wanted to testify to Congress about contraception, as a "slut" and a "prostitute".
Rush, of course, isn't the only male who engages in using derogatory sexual terms to condemn women he disagrees with. Plenty do it, and it's the same mentality that blames a rape victim for being raped. But provided you're not interested in taking the high ground, or if you no longer believe that words indeed mean things, I say if these people are going to set the rules, then they should have to live by them too.
So from now on, if you disagree with Limbaugh then please feel free to call him a "pimp". There's also "male prostitute", or simply "sex worker".
Then again, why stop with sexual terms? As long as someone feels that it's perfectly legitimate to accuse an opponent of engaging in an illegal activity without regard to any facts, then one could thus legitimately accuse Limbaugh of being a "thief", "vandal", "slave trader", or even "inside trader". The choices are endless.
A little sanity too: San Diego sports anchor Ross Shimabuku just got suspended after implying to Danica Patrick's face that she's a bitch. And for implying that it's a bad thing when a woman knows she's sexy. And in the context of the interview, for implying that a female athlete is either "sexy" or a "bitch". Kudos to KSWB for doing the right thing. (Thanks to Laurie for the heads up on this article.)
...a building or grounds...in conjunction with an event designated as a special event of national significance.
The term "national significance" is not defined here, which historically means that in practice the government could arbitrarily declare any event one of national significance.
So heads up Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street: Once again it seems that the only time the government can act with complete bipartisanship is when they're laboring to take away everyone's rights.
One big reason I stopped listening to him a few years ago was because he acted as if he'd quit believing this. He also used to insist that conservatives don't engage in name-calling. But obviously he's quit believing this too, having drawn fire for ignoring the meaning of the word "slander" and referring to Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown University student who wanted to testify to Congress about contraception, as a "slut" and a "prostitute".
Rush, of course, isn't the only male who engages in using derogatory sexual terms to condemn women he disagrees with. Plenty do it, and it's the same mentality that blames a rape victim for being raped. But provided you're not interested in taking the high ground, or if you no longer believe that words indeed mean things, I say if these people are going to set the rules, then they should have to live by them too.
So from now on, if you disagree with Limbaugh then please feel free to call him a "pimp". There's also "male prostitute", or simply "sex worker".
Then again, why stop with sexual terms? As long as someone feels that it's perfectly legitimate to accuse an opponent of engaging in an illegal activity without regard to any facts, then one could thus legitimately accuse Limbaugh of being a "thief", "vandal", "slave trader", or even "inside trader". The choices are endless.
