Where free speech gets tricky
Fred Phelps is pretty much a worthless human being that doesn't deserve the time of day, let alone support from the ACLU.
Yes, that's right. The American Civil Liberties Union has taken up the cause of the all-too-visible leader of the Westboro Baptist Church, the founder of the "God Hates Fags" website, the utter moron who has protested at funerals of servicemen saying that God is letting American troops die because of our nation's tolerance of homosexuals. First off, that tolerance is meager at best, particularly at the legal level. More to the point, I'm pretty sure somewhere in the Bible it says something about "love thy neighbor as thyself" and somewhere else, I seem to recall something about "love the sinner, hate the sin", and... well, I could go on, but I'm not here to argue against Phelps and his moronic beliefs.
What I am here to argue, or at least discuss, is how difficult this particular issue is for me, as a die-hard First Amendment advocate. At first, I was furious at the ACLU for taking on this case. But I started to wonder how a true free speech lover can isolate protests outside funerals. Of course they're despicable, but that alone can't allow us to restrict them. As Jeff wrote in a post awhile back condemning the proposed flag-burning amendment, "We can't differentiate between speech we like and speech we don't like - otherwise 'freedom of speech' becomes meaningless." He's absolutely right.
Then of course the question becomes when do we decide other people's rights are being infringed upon. Borrowing from my dad, I've often said that a person's freedom to swing their fist ends when they hit someone else's nose. Can we reasonably argue that a nose is being hit when Phelps protests? It certainly feels like the rights of the bereaved to mourn the loss of a loved one are being violated, doesn't it? But then, if we argue that, can we similarly argue against protests in any public setting? Consider a group of people protesting outside a McDonald's or something. The people who want to eat at that McDonald's have a right to grab their greasy fattening food without being harassed. I'm aware that it's ludicrous to compare a fast food outing with a funeral, but I hope my point isn't lost. Once we start restricting people's right to protest, where do we stop?
The law currently on the Missouri books seems reasonable enough: you have to give a funeral an hour buffer zone on either side without a protest. I feel like that's a fair compromise. That doesn't completely sit well with my fervent belief in free expression, but that's just how I feel about it. I'm willing to support the rights of mourners to grieve in peace, even if it means creating an extremely small crack in the pillar of free speech.
Oh, you wanna know the best thing about free speech? It allows college humor magazines to publish pictures like this, and articles like this. (I had never seen the comment at the bottom of the article before, but it's utterly hilarious.)
Song lyric of the day:
"But to face doom in a sock-stenched room all by myself
Is the kind of fate I never contemplate
Lots of people would cry though none spring to mind
Though I ought to be learning I feel like a veteran
Of 'Oh, I like your poetry but I hate your poems'"
- the Trash Can Sinatras, Obscurity Knocks
Yes, that's right. The American Civil Liberties Union has taken up the cause of the all-too-visible leader of the Westboro Baptist Church, the founder of the "God Hates Fags" website, the utter moron who has protested at funerals of servicemen saying that God is letting American troops die because of our nation's tolerance of homosexuals. First off, that tolerance is meager at best, particularly at the legal level. More to the point, I'm pretty sure somewhere in the Bible it says something about "love thy neighbor as thyself" and somewhere else, I seem to recall something about "love the sinner, hate the sin", and... well, I could go on, but I'm not here to argue against Phelps and his moronic beliefs.
What I am here to argue, or at least discuss, is how difficult this particular issue is for me, as a die-hard First Amendment advocate. At first, I was furious at the ACLU for taking on this case. But I started to wonder how a true free speech lover can isolate protests outside funerals. Of course they're despicable, but that alone can't allow us to restrict them. As Jeff wrote in a post awhile back condemning the proposed flag-burning amendment, "We can't differentiate between speech we like and speech we don't like - otherwise 'freedom of speech' becomes meaningless." He's absolutely right.
Then of course the question becomes when do we decide other people's rights are being infringed upon. Borrowing from my dad, I've often said that a person's freedom to swing their fist ends when they hit someone else's nose. Can we reasonably argue that a nose is being hit when Phelps protests? It certainly feels like the rights of the bereaved to mourn the loss of a loved one are being violated, doesn't it? But then, if we argue that, can we similarly argue against protests in any public setting? Consider a group of people protesting outside a McDonald's or something. The people who want to eat at that McDonald's have a right to grab their greasy fattening food without being harassed. I'm aware that it's ludicrous to compare a fast food outing with a funeral, but I hope my point isn't lost. Once we start restricting people's right to protest, where do we stop?
The law currently on the Missouri books seems reasonable enough: you have to give a funeral an hour buffer zone on either side without a protest. I feel like that's a fair compromise. That doesn't completely sit well with my fervent belief in free expression, but that's just how I feel about it. I'm willing to support the rights of mourners to grieve in peace, even if it means creating an extremely small crack in the pillar of free speech.
Oh, you wanna know the best thing about free speech? It allows college humor magazines to publish pictures like this, and articles like this. (I had never seen the comment at the bottom of the article before, but it's utterly hilarious.)
Song lyric of the day:
"But to face doom in a sock-stenched room all by myself
Is the kind of fate I never contemplate
Lots of people would cry though none spring to mind
Though I ought to be learning I feel like a veteran
Of 'Oh, I like your poetry but I hate your poems'"
- the Trash Can Sinatras, Obscurity Knocks
