Saturday, September 5, 2009
Racist Speech
Talking about racist speech has been interesting for me this past week. I really enjoyed the discussion we had in class. It was interesting for me to hear other people’s opinions about racist speech. Racist speech is a sensitive subject for me because I have two half siblings that are half Haitian. This week, I realized that even though it is hard to see someone you love being attacked because of their skin color, it is technically protected under the First Amendment. I wish there was something that could be done to change that, but I think that it will never change because as American’s we love our freedom, even if it hurts somebody else.
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3 comments:
Hi Alison,
Given your experience and your observations of your half-siblings, where do you draw the line between free speech and censorship? As citizens we are guaranteed certain rights, but where does the right to say what one wants end and the right to not have to endure psychic injury begin? What do you all think?
Hi Alison,
Although theres no law against racist speech, but there are laws against false advertisement and laws against discrimination of race, sex, etc. If racist speech was not protected against the first amendment, it doesnt mean racism doesnt exist. By censoring racist speech, it doesnt solve the problem of racism.
But, if everyone just become more aware of their speech and how it affect otheres, it will just make the world just a tiny little better place.
I like that you put that Americans love freedom, because it is true in some circumstances, but in others we like to forget about freedom altogether. When it comes to something like gay marriage, freedom is lost. Sometimes I think our love of freedom is just another excuse to screw things up. Then again, as the worlds longest running democracy, maybe were doing something right.
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