Free speech, Garland Tx.

[Coded-Dude]

Muslims believe in Jesus(love and revere)....why would they insult him in retaliation? That being said I get your point...


There is a fine line between free speech and hate speech, and no, I am not saying there ought to be a law. Only that people should consider the impact of their actions. Do we condone verbal abuse and verbal bullying that causes teen suicide? It is free speech after all. We are basically saying adults need to have thicker skin and not react violently when speech offends you. I guess that mean most of you here would smile and thank someone for practicing their first amendment right to call your wife or daughter a whore in public.

I completely agree in anyone's right to protest, but I think the message should be well thought out, not childish and denigrating. But that's just me.

 

[Dale00]

Allow me to share why I support Ms. Geller's event even though it offended some. Even though some of you are saying it was unwise.

I see what has happened in India. In India speaking about Islam is highly discouraged if not forbidden. Major riots have occurred and lives have been lost when individuals have said something offensive about Islam. They have learned to self-censor their speech out of fear.

We must not allow ourselves to allow our country to go down this path. We must not be intimidated by the violent acts of a few. We are a tolerant country that supports freedom of speech and not one which appeases the violent intolerance of a few deranged people.

 

[1krr]

Minors have all kinds of laws and some in the works to protect them. Calling a minor daughter a whore or physically attacking/touching her brings the potential for all kinds of legal action. On the other hand, if someone calls my wife (adult) a whore, I don't have to like it. But I don't get to blow their head off because of it. I get your position of arguing good judgement. Personally I think we have a long history of satire and nose thumbing in this country and no group should be protected from it. I took this cartoon contest as designed to be a reaction to the Chalie Hebdo attack. I read it as a group saying "we aren't going to take this so I'm throwing it in your face." I'm sure they knew there were risks that terrorists will be terrorists. They obviously knew it because they bulked up on security.

I don't really agree that it is bad judgement and I like that someone, within the confines of the law, threw one in the faces of the terrorists. We are melting pot. A heterogeneous society of many peoples and beliefs and sometimes they are not complementary. But as citizens, we fight for this nation so that we might all enjoy its freedoms in our own way. I like sending the message to terrorists that we will never bow to fear. Our nation, this nation is the beacon of hope for all peoples in their world of darkness and oppression. We will never cower from you but confront you and destroy you. In this message, all Americans, Muslims or otherwise, should stand united.

 

[TedKennedy]

Allow me to share why I support Ms. Geller's event even though it offended some. Even though some of you are saying it was unwise.

I see what has happened in India. In India speaking about Islam is highly discouraged if not forbidden. Major riots have occurred and lives have been lost when individuals have said something offensive about Islam. They have learned to self-censor their speech out of fear.

We must not allow ourselves to allow our country to go down this path. We must not be intimidated by the violent acts of a few. We are a tolerant country that supports freedom of speech and not one which appeases the violent intolerance of a few deranged people.

I agree 100%.
Pam Geller, however, is simply trying to get some nutjobs to do something stupid, in order to bolster support for her political ideals. So, while I support freedom of speech, and the application of gunfire to nutjobs, I don't have anything but contempt for Geller.

 

[caojyn]

I agree 100%.
Pam Geller, however, is simply trying to get some nutjobs to do something stupid, in order to bolster support for her political ideals. So, while I support freedom of speech, and the application of gunfire to nutjobs, I don't have anything but contempt for Geller.

Yep, that's the same way I see it.

 

[Dale00]

I agree 100%.
Pam Geller, however, is simply trying to get some nutjobs to do something stupid, in order to bolster support for her political ideals. So, while I support freedom of speech, and the application of gunfire to nutjobs, I don't have anything but contempt for Geller.

You may be correct in your assessment of her. I have not dug deeply into her positions. It is tough to speculate about a person's motivations.

Would you support the widespread publishing of artwork showing images of Mohammed which are not overtly insulting to Islam? It seems that the media is self-censoring such artwork. I find this self-censorship disturbing. This may be the crux of the issue.

 

[RKM]

You may be correct in your assessment of her. I have not dug deeply into her positions. It is tough to speculate about a person's motivations.

Would you support the widespread publishing of artwork showing images of Mohammed which are not overtly insulting to Islam? It seems that the media is self-censoring such artwork. I find this self-censorship disturbing. This may be the crux of the issue.

Any drawing of Mohammed is going to be insulting to Muslims. They do not allow it....period!

 

[TedKennedy]

You may be correct in your assessment of her. I have not dug deeply into her positions. It is tough to speculate about a person's motivations.

Would you support the widespread publishing of artwork showing images of Mohammed which are not overtly insulting to Islam? It seems that the media is self-censoring such artwork. I find this self-censorship disturbing. This may be the crux of the issue.

Yes, I would. I do not support censorship, period.

 

[Dale00]

Any drawing of Mohammed is going to be insulting to Muslims. They do not allow it....period!

Yes I do understand that idea. But you can draw a cartoon of Mohammed that is overtly insulting or one that is neutral or even positive about Islam from the perspective of non-Muslims.

The hard question is whether it is wise or unwise to self-censor images of Mohammed. I believe it is unwise because it leads us down the path to loss of freedom of speech.

 

[Dale00]

Yes, I would. I do not support censorship, period.

A low key approach to desensitizing may be the way to go. Publishing many "non offensive" images would probably defuse the issue and (for those who are not her fans) take power out of the hands of Ms Geller.