Free Speech - Yeah, No.

Today in my local paper, I saw two national stories that dealt with speech issues.

In one, a nominee of #45 for an office overseen by the U.S. Senate dropped out because he couldn't withstand the pressure of being interviewed by senators. This became particularly burdensome after someone produced articles he'd written and published about 20 years ago. The articles were inflammatory and particularly biased against women.

So he got sent back to the washroom.

Another article said Facebook had deleted the accounts of what it called hate speech groups - most of them on the right of the political spectrum (Alex Jones is the only name I remember). Howls of protest and cries of censorship ensued.

I am not in favor of banning books. A book sits on a shelf and is there until someone goes and gets it. It doesn't do anything unless someone reads it, and if someone checks out and somebody else objects, the problem lies with the person objecting, not the reader. If the reader objects to the content, that's an easy fix. Stop reading the book. Don't stop me from reading what I want.

Somewhat like a book, my blog is here and sits here until someone comes to my blog specifically to read it. It doesn't cross people's Facebook feed because I seldom link to it.

Facebook, however, is like a living information center where crap passes in front of your face time and again, whether you want it to or not. TV is like that, too, except now there are more channels to choose from, so there is NRATV and Christian Science TV, neither of which I have ever watched nor will I. But that is my choice and it's not in my newsfeed or on my TV screen.

The information Facebook has banned is available in other places, so if someone wants to find it, they can read it there. Rather like a library, they may have to look for it now. But it's still available.

Facebook is also not the government. It's a corporation, and corporations don't have "free speech" laws that they must live by. They have laws against discrimination that they must live by, and while we don't have actual "hate speech" laws here, "hate speech" in and of itself tends to be discriminatory.

Here's a definition of "hate speech" from Wikipedia (not the best source, I know):

Hate speech is a statement intended to demean and brutalize another. It is the use of cruel and derogatory language, gestures or vandalism often directed towards an individual or group. Hate speech is speech that attacks a person or a group on the basis of attributes such as race, religion, ethnic origin, national origin, sex, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity. The laws of some countries describe hate speech as speech, gestures, conduct, writing, or displays that incite violence or prejudicial actions against a group or individuals on the basis of their membership in the group, or disparages or intimidates a group, or individuals on the basis of their membership in the group. The law may identify a group based on certain characteristics. In some countries, hate speech is not a legal term. Additionally in some countries, including the United States, hate speech is constitutionally protected.

So, constitutionally, in these United States, folks have the right to be bigots, racists, misogynists, or whatever, but that doesn't give them the right to be a jerk anywhere they please, or to be a hate-filled idiot without feeling the consequences. (And I also don't believe all speech is constitutionally protected, not really. You can't yell "fire" in a crowded theater, or maybe in today's world, the example should be "gun." Parents can be held accountable for verbally abusing their children to the point of emotional cruelty, and that same term can be used to dissolve a marriage. If the boss is a woman and she overhears someone saying bad things about women, then that person should not be surprised when said person ends up jobless.)

If someone walks up to me and start dissing women, I'm going to turn and walk away. Nothing says I have to listen. People can have their words and opinions, but my eyes and ears need not see or hear them.

I'm sure that in my long career of writing, I've written stupid things; words that I no longer agree with, even. I've grown and changed. That's what happens as you mature, if you move beyond being 14 years old (some people never do, I'm afraid). Your thought processes don't stay the same. Mine certainly haven't.

Fortunately, I am not a politician or a high-ranking political official. Even so, whatever stupid thing I wrote may someday come back to haunt me. What will it cost me? I don't know. All I can do is take ownership of whatever it might be and say, "Yes, I wrote that. I was 27 years old. I think differently now and I've grown past that. I wish I hadn't written it, but at the time I didn't know any better." I don't know that "I'm sorry" helps in that situation but I would have no problem throwing it in there.

In this day and age, I think it is foolish not to think that something you wrote a long time ago won't come back to slap you in the face. I am prepared for that situation, sort of. Since I don't know what it might be, all I can do is think of how I might react if or when the time comes.

So am I in favor of free speech? Yes - to a point. Am I in favor of listening or reading every piece of trash out there? Nope. I prefer freedom of choice. I think Facebook has the right to ban whatever it wants from its operations. I also think if you're a nasty person, then you deserve whatever nastiness you get from being nasty.

I also think I have the right not to see discriminatory items cross my Facebook page, and I liberally use the "no longer see posts from . . . " feature on my Facebook page.

I also hope that if I should ever start writing things that are terrible and disagreeable, someone stops me and shakes me until I come to my senses.