Nice post! You definitely make a good point, I think that generally the strongest argument against political correctness comes against the times that it infringes on free speech, though that certainly does not mean you should be an asshole!
You are viewing a single comment's thread from:
Freedom is freedom so long as it doesn't infringe on someone else rights and freedoms right? These things aren't taught to us as they used to be i believe.
of course! The problem is when these things are defined waaaay too loosely, to the point where something like confronting an idea that you are not comfortable with or perhaps find offensive is construed as an infringement of freedom, even when none of it is even specifically directed at you.
Indeed- i witnessed a lady offended by talk of culling a chicken that was not to breed standards yesterday... which if someone doesn't feel comfortable with, that's fine. Where the trouble was: it was a chicken breeders guild...
I think someone being offended is much different than having their rights infringed on.
Most definitely. Chickens aren't humans, although they are life which I think should be respected, they are chickens bred for a purpose, so that's ridiculous. Know what else you may find ridiculous, if you were local I would offer the chicken a home rather than it be killed. :) I'm not so far out there that I don't know the difference between a human and a chicken though.
Hypothetically, if I made a joke about the car you drive being a junker that would be one thing, but say you own a business and I made a joke about the work you do being sub par even dangerous, then I spread this really funny but inaccurate joke around town, you wouldn't be offended, you would be angry to the point of kicking my ass all over town! There is a difference between being offended and speech that damages another person. Speech can be dangerous.
Check out this film made by the war department. It's aged and lengthy, but makes some great points, everyone should watch it once.. Not that we are worried about nazis so much, but the premise is valid regardless of the group. Should all words be protected as free speech?
http://www.openfirepolitics.com/fascist.html
I see your point Brock, but if the result is contributing to the the infringement on others rights by systemic racism, then it should be a concern I think.
Or by any means! :)
Thank you ethorf. I am concerned when free speech may infringe on others freedom though. If it weren't for our history I would have no problem with jokes aimed at certain groups. Jokes aimed at baseball players for instance, since they don't suffer from prejudice that I know of.
Not that I am in favor of going overboard and I do understand it's a slippery slope. Who gets to decide what's acceptable is one concern. I think an employer has every right to take action as they please in these matters, this goes for the NFL as well.