Conservatives and Liberals and the Concept of Free Speech

Image via Wikipedia

Rightly so people are upset about the comments made by Rush Limbaugh directed towards Sandra Fluke, and by implication towards all women.  Petitions are flying across the internet, advertisers are leaving the show and radio stations are either taking down the show or contemplating it.  However, Conservatives out there are screaming hypocrisy because no one took these same kinds of action against Bill Maher for his comments.  Conservatives are also accusing Liberals of trying to stifle “Free Speech”, well let’s just take a look at this, shall we.

First let’s address the issue of Bill Maher, to that I ask where were the Conservatives circulating petitions and raising awareness on Twitter, Facebook and the like?  Just because the Liberals of America are able to recognize a problem and come together to work towards resolving it does not indicate hypocrisy, it merely highlights the fact that Conservatives do not in fact care about individual liberties and rights.  Conservatives care about the bottom dollar and keeping everyone in line, the concepts of liberty and freedom are abstractions to them and only apply when their plans fall apart.

We, the people trying to get Rush off the airwaves, are not trying to shut down Free Speech, we are attempting to get rid of hate speech.  It does not matter to me what any court says, hate speech is not Free Speech and should not be protected as such.  The only intent of hate speech is to add fuel to a specific fire and get people to take radical actions to maintain some status quo.  I fully believe in the concept of Free Speech, however it is not what people assume it to be most of the time.

If the only way Rush Limbaugh can hold his audience’s attention is by attacking people who do not fit into his acceptable mold, named White Anglo Saxon Protestant Males, then perhaps it is time for him to go the way of the Dodo.  There is never a place for personal attacks, attacks based on gender, sexuality or race.  Why are we so accepting of the presence of hate speech?  We should be doing everything we can to shut it down, and no this is not a slippery slope, it merely takes a fair amount of critical thinking and common sense in determining what hate speech is.  Signs saying God hates Fags, Thank God for Dead Soldiers…  those are clearly hate speech, as is Rush Limbaugh and his ilk.  Oh, and just to clarify, I do consider some of the Left leaning talking heads to be guilty of hate speech as well, hence why I listen to none of them.

 

Related articles

• Rush Limbaugh: Loss of ads amounts to ‘a couple of French fries’ (latimesblogs.latimes.com)
• Limbaugh tried to insult, but only got Fluked (marymind.wordpress.com)
• Jacoby: Rush needs better apology (bostonglobe.com)
• Rush Limbaugh Boycott Up to at Least 36 Advertisers (news.firedoglake.com)
• Deplorable Calls for Censorship and Double Standards For Rush Limbaugh (themoderatevoice.com)
• Hypocrisy For All To See And Hear (annem040359.wordpress.com)
• Rush Limbaugh Defended by Bill Maher in Wake of Sandra Fluke Scandal…Wait, What?! (eonline.com)
• Civility and Free Speech (pinkbananaworld.com)
• Apology Not Accepted (ariksavage.wordpress.com)
• Joshua Cranmer: Hate speech? Really? (quetzalcoatal.blogspot.com)
• The Left’s assault on free speech (oforchristsakes.wordpress.com)