JIM “PAPPY” MOORE: What Freedom of Speech Means
By Jim “Pappy” Moore
Some of the things I read and hear which call for restrictions on speech are appalling. The gist is always the same. “We cannot allow hurtful, offensive speech that injures others in society.” This approach is repeatedly stated as justification for stopping people from saying and writing things some find offensive. Let me say it clearly: They are WRONG.
Freedom of Speech means you can say anything you want to say in a free society. You can say there is no God. Or that there is only one God, and it is your God: either Christian, or Jewish, or Muslim, or Hindu, or any other deity you can name. You can say what constitutes a sin, from your perspective. You can advocate for or against homosexuality, or transexual identification, or the natural existence of heterosexuality for humans.
The notion that anyone can have their opinion on these matters restricted because it might hurt your feelings is bunk. Offensive speech is the kind of speech most in need of protection. No one gets mad about someone saying “good morning,” or “how are you, or “sure is a nice day.”
We have a commitment to FREE SPEECH. It means you don’t have to like anything I say for me to be able to say. And I don’t have to like anything you say for you to be able to say it.
I think the entire trans phenomenon is way over the top and some of it is indicative of mental illness and people desperate for some unique role to play in society. You don’t have to agree me. You can state your opposing opinion and state why you believe that is right. But you don’t have a right to stop me from having and stating my opinion which you do not share.
You don’t have the right to demand I use pronouns you have invented for yourself. I can choose to ignore your demands and call you by any name you choose, but don’t tell me I have to call you a pronoun. I don’t. I can say “I didn’t order my hamburger with cheese” without regard to how you identify or what your sexual preferences are. I don’t need to know or want to know how you choose to identify.
In politics, every point of view imaginable is spoken or written in America. You want to be a communist? You can. You want to be a socialist? You can. You want to be an anarchist? You can. You want to be KKK? You can. What you cannot do is take criminal actions under the guise of practicing your politics. You cannot burn down the police precinct, no matter which political form you embrace. You cannot steal from businesses and neighbors, no matter which God you worship and advocate for.
We all have to obey the laws which prohibit burning down police precincts, stealing from local stores, blocking traffic while protesting, burning down businesses, and so forth. Those are actions which are prohibited. Your reasons for doing them are immaterial, whether you do so for a political reason, or an economic reason, or because you are a jerk does not matter.
Believe what you wish. Say what you believe. But do not think that your belief allows you to commit crimes – Hamas creeps, KKK jerks, Marxist activists. You are accountable for your crimes. You are only allowed to have your beliefs and your statements of them.
Free Speech means nothing unless it is allowed for speech that many may find offensive. You can’t say “Fire” in a crowded theater because it is a crime (for good reason). But you can say in a crowded theater “this movie sucks,” or “I hate Joe Biden,” or “Donald Trump is Orange Man!” Most speech is protected, and when you say “but offensive speech is hurtful,” I say “suck it up, Buttercup, that’s how the cow eats the cabbage.”
Copyright 2024, Jim “Pappy” Moore. All rights reserved.