Free speech?

So I wake up from my not-long-enough night and pop on Facebook to see what's up before attempting to go back to bed. Along with the usual game requests and other junk----love the pics from those who have escaped this crappy weather for spring break (slightly sarcastic, heavily jealous), I find a post or two linking to and commenting on different news stories.

Or what purports to be news.

Frankly, I don;t find reader reaction to a letter to the editor/opinion column to be news. I find it to be more opinion based on the prior opinion. How is that news? But apparently somebody thinks it is news to react to an opinion piece espousing anti-gay, anti-black, etc. thoughts. And the same someones apparently think all such talk should be at least hushed up, if not outright banned.

No, I did not read the link. I read enough of the reactions of some on FB to irritate me.

No I do not espouse the "kill 'em all" or whatever opinions against any group.

BUT.....

Last time I checked--and someone let me know if Obama has executive-ordered the 1st amendment to be unconstitutional yet---we have freedom of speech in this country. It's one of the things that sets us apart from places like Syria, Iran, etc.....even a lot of Europe these days.

So whether or not you agree with me, or agree with the in-my-honest-opinion nutjob carrying on about getting rid of whatever group he's ranting against, or agree with anything in general, we all have the right to state our opinion, and do so without calls for banning our speech.

Banning certain speech b/c it's not PC, or "nice" or whatever doesn;t make the thoughts go away. I can tell my daughter all I want that she is not allowed to say certain things...mainly based on her age.....but having once been a child, I know that I can;t stop her from thinking those things. All I do is change her venue for saying them. Now she knows she can;t say them around me, or Daddy, or grandparents, or teachers, or whatever....but around her friends? To her siblings? In her journal?

There are always better ways to say some things. Instead of cursing a vulgar, crude blue streak, try using some real vocabulary..be imaginative....instead of saying you hate a certain group, maybe try getting to know someone in that group....I don't condone a lot of lifestyle choices, to say the least, but they are not my choices to make. I try not to judge a whole group (although with Obama voters, it gets tough..lol), but rather deal with the individual. Just b/c one person in a group does something stupid doesn't make the whole group guilty of it. There are a lot of great gay, straight, white, black, purple, polka-dotted, whatever religion or lack thereof folks out there.

Deal with the fact not everyone is the same or thinks the same. Wouldn't this be a boring world if they did?

And yes, if you don;t agree with what someone says/does, you too have the right to say it...as long as you are respectful....if you are not, then you lower yourself to what you think the other person is guilty of being.