It’s in the news all
the time. The head of a company or a public
figure being harassed by special interest groups
because he said something that was INSENSITIVE.
Jimmy The Greek, famed sports announcer, was
forced out of his job for saying that blacks were
bread in slave times for their physical ability
(which is a documented fact). Jesse Ventura had
to apologize on TV for telling a JOKE about
drunken Irishmen. Am I missing something here?
Or, have we gone from the toughest, most mature
nation on earth to a bunch of first grade school
girls crying because someone hurt our little
feelings?
What
is wrong with this country? We’ve over
sensitized people so much that there are actually
speech codes on college campuses. There are word
police in the work place. It’s like
something out of George Orwell’s Novel
“1984”. You can’t tell an adult
joke to another adult, because sex harassment
lawsuits are being handed out like condoms in a
public high school. Sure sex harassment is a
serious thing. But telling a joke or using an
unpleasant swear word is something Thomas
Jefferson called FREE SPEECH! We have gone a from
a nation which believes in freedom OF speech, to
a nation that believes in freedom FROM speech. Is
that what America should be about? Years ago when
someone said WORDS that offended you, you shook
your head in disgust and walked away. Today, we
run sniffling to the Federal Government and we
sue for discrimination or harassment the way a
child runs to the teacher at recess because some
mean kid called them ugly.
Recently a group of students in Massachusetts
protested the play “West Side Story”
claiming it was INSENSITIVE to Latinos and,
“humiliated the Latino people, especially
Puerto Rican’s.” Hey, if something that
minor offends you so much, then it is YOU who has
issues to deal with. The rest of us should not
have to walk on egg shells because of YOUR over
sensitive psychosis. And, if you are offended by
a play, here’s an alternative to shutting it
down, JUST DON’T GO!
Here
is Lawrence we see it all the time. Protests and
demonstrations every time someone in the Hispanic
community doesn’t get their own way. People
cry racism and discrimination over every little
thing until most of us are just sick of hearing
it. This is the tragic part of all this. Remember
the story of the boy who cried wolf? People who
are legitimately discriminated against, and need
help with REAL racism are no longer taken
seriously because of all the Jesse Jackson’s
of the world crying wolf, and fanning the lames
of mistrust over issues that have nothing to do
with race.
Can we GROW UP here? Let’s be realistic.
Racism is the belief that one race is superior to
another. That’s the definition. And by the
way, it’s not unconstitutional to be a
racist. Nor should it be! NO belief should be
made illegal no matter how stupid or closed
minded it happens to be. No WORD should be made
illegal either. A free society must tolerate
speech which is offensive. That’s why the
first amendment to the U.S. Constitution is the
FIRST amendment. Because it was the most
important right our founding fathers could
protect.
Discrimination, however, is an ACT. The act of
denying someone basic rights because of their
race, religion, or gender. That’s the
definition of discrimination. Not someone who
tells a joke. Not someone who points out
differences between cultures. Not a public figure
who lets his hair down for three minutes and
tries to be funny.
Here
is another revelation for you. Someone who says
the word “nigger” is not a racist by
default either. As much as I despise the word
(especially when minorities use it) the reality
is, IT’S JUST A WORD! People say things they
don’t mean all the time. You’ve done
it. You have a fight with your spouse, your
friends, your neighbors, and you say things you
don’t mean because you are mad. You
don’t really mean every word that comes out
of your mouth. And you can’t pretend that
you do. That’s what being human is all
about. But as soon as someone uses a word that
hurts someone’s feelings these days we call them
names, (like racist) and we humiliate them,
publicly crying about how TOLERANT they should
be. Am I the only one who sees the hypocrisy in
all that?
We are adults, and when adults interact with
other adults we are going to offend each other.
There is no constitutional provision which forces
people to be nice. Oh, we’re headed in that
direction. But, I was brought up to believe the
saying “sticks and stones may break your
bones but names will never hurt you.” What
happened to that? Isn’t that real tolerance?
When someone made fun of my family calling us
Irish drunks, I just ignored them because they
were showing their own ignorance. Even as a kid,
it never bothered me because I was taught
tolerance towards other people. REAL TOLERANCE.
Not today’s watered down version of
tolerance where you only respect people who share
your own beliefs. Unfortunately, the
psychiatrists and politicians have brainwashed
America with all this SENSITIVITY, and now
everyone is crying themselves to sleep because
some idiot made fun of them.
Are you an adult who can think for yourself? When
you hear someone tell a joke about drunken Irish
people do you really believe that all Irish
people are drunks? Of course not. Only an idiot
thinks that way. So why are we dumbing down
America for the idiots and cry babies who get all
upset about words? The answer is simple. We have
been brainwashed to become a nation of pansies.
Now the government has the right to punish you
based on your beliefs and thoughts instead of the
criminal ACTS which you might commit.
Well, I for one, still fight for free speech.
Especially the speech I don’t like.
It’s easy to defend speech we all agree
with. But that’s not what the First
Amendment to the Constitution is all about.
It’s about protecting speech which is
unpopular and offensive. Speech we agree with
doesn’t need protection. The first amendment
is about stopping the government from regulating
speech. And the government is doing just that
with Ted Kennedy’s hate crimes legislation
and sex harassment laws.
For the record, I believe that anyone who is a
racist is ignorant and closed minded. But,
let’s be consistent. I also believe that
people who protest and cry racism over WORDS are
equally ignorant and closed minded. There is very
little difference between the philosophy of the
Ku Klux Klan and the Latino Agenda (look it up).
And there is very little difference between Jesse
Jackson and David Duke. That is, if you listen to
what they are SAYING and not what you want to
hear. If you want to fight racism, fight REAL
racism. Even if it’s among your own people.
No, ESPECIALLY if it’s among your own
people. Crying about words and jokes only masks
the REAL racism that goes on around here, ask
Officer Kevin Sledge
Do you want to be part of the solution instead of
part of the problem? Here’s an idea.
Don’t run to a lawyer or the government
every time someone offends you. Suck it up! Be an
adult. Be a role model for your kids. We have a
special word for every kind of insult you can
imagine in this country. Racism, sexism, gay
bashing, homophobia, religious intolerance, (and
my favorite) look-ism. The irony of these WORDS
is that they convey the very ideology that their
users pretend to protest. When you call someone a
racist for telling a joke, or a homophobe because
they disagree with gay rights you are doing the
very same thing as someone who uses the word
“nigger” or “fag”. You are
labeling them. You are over generalizing their
beliefs and completely disregarding their worth
as a human being. That makes you a hypocrite Do
two wrongs make a right? Think about it. And
please, pay attention to what a person is really
saying instead of over reacting to the words they
might choose to use. You might just find yourself
a little more educated and a lot more open
minded. You might even find yor self to be
tolerant. The dictionary's definition of
tolerant...not the liberals.
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