I've been running across quite a few controversies lately regarding free speech. A short summary:
1) Many Muslims are boycotting Facebook due to pages or groups that either directly or indirectly insult Allah. It is their avowed purpose in doing this to get Facebook to not allow pages like this.
2) The U.S. House of Representatives was considering a bill that would make "hate speech" a federal crime. This included pastors who spoke from the pulpit against homosexuality.
3) (This one is from a couple of years ago) A valedictorian, during her speech at the graduation ceremony, preached about how Jesus was the only way to heaven.
4) And the multiple instances of (perceived) racist, religious, or sexist comments by public figures.
This is, of course, more than one question. Free speech by an individual is different than official policy that discriminates against people. Company policy about hiring is different than a pastor speaking from the pulpit. A group of people boycotting something is different than one person making "un-pc" comments.
As always, I love to hear from my readers. If I get a good response, I'll post some of your comments regarding free speech.
Questions: Should free speech be allowed? Does free speech include sexism, religious intolerance, racism?
Does a person speaking at a graduation ceremony (where the school went back and forth on whether the audience was "captive") have the same rights?
Should companies, such as Facebook, give in to boycotts such as this? If they do, does it devalue freedom of speech?
1) Many Muslims are boycotting Facebook due to pages or groups that either directly or indirectly insult Allah. It is their avowed purpose in doing this to get Facebook to not allow pages like this.
2) The U.S. House of Representatives was considering a bill that would make "hate speech" a federal crime. This included pastors who spoke from the pulpit against homosexuality.
3) (This one is from a couple of years ago) A valedictorian, during her speech at the graduation ceremony, preached about how Jesus was the only way to heaven.
4) And the multiple instances of (perceived) racist, religious, or sexist comments by public figures.
This is, of course, more than one question. Free speech by an individual is different than official policy that discriminates against people. Company policy about hiring is different than a pastor speaking from the pulpit. A group of people boycotting something is different than one person making "un-pc" comments.
As always, I love to hear from my readers. If I get a good response, I'll post some of your comments regarding free speech.
Questions: Should free speech be allowed? Does free speech include sexism, religious intolerance, racism?
Does a person speaking at a graduation ceremony (where the school went back and forth on whether the audience was "captive") have the same rights?
Should companies, such as Facebook, give in to boycotts such as this? If they do, does it devalue freedom of speech?
