Hate Speech Isn't Free

http://ishouldbelaughing.blogspot.com/2012/01/hate-speech-isnt-free.html

I'm all for Free Speech. I mean, a quick trip around my blog and you know I'm all for Free Speech. But Free doesn't have to mean stupid, ignorant or hateful...or even hate-filled.
Up in Tennessee, which seems to have a firm grip on irrational homophobia these days, there is a bill proposal by some state lawmakers to allow students to speak out against homosexuality, if that's what their religious beliefs call for.
You know, "Fags should die."
"You're gonna burn in Hell queer."
That kinda religious conviction.
Supporters say this is about protecting the Free Speech rights of students who want to express their views on homosexuality, but gay rights groups are calling it a "license to bully."
And that's what it is.
See, if you are a religious person, isn't here a little something about not casting stones unless you're free of sin? And then you couple that with the religious conviction that everyone is a sinner and, well, by that logic, you should never say anything negative about anyone.
Including, "Filthy fag."
And, um, Tennessee, if you want to legislate that people can say whatever they want under the guise of religious conviction, remember it works both ways.
Like, maybe, "Die Christian."
Or "There is no God."
People have the right to believe what they want and say what they want, but they need to choose their words carefully, and realize that Free Speech is a two-way street. You put out the negative and the hateful, you just might get it back.
So, Tennessee, how about legislating that bullying is wrong, whether aimed at the gay kid, the fat kid, the allegedly gay kid, the skinny kid, the black kid, the Jewish kid, the Muslim kid, the Christian kid.
How about that, Tennessee?


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