Comments on: Protesting "Free" Speech

CBS' Meyer Sort Of Applauds Efforts To Clean Up Pop Culture In Wake Of Imus Farce And Va. Tech Tragedy

[hypnotoad72]

Who decides what is and what is not acceptable?

Whatever is said, everybody else will merely throw a tantrum.

Eventually, everybody starts yelling that there are no standards of decency and blames everybody else as being the cause.

Government is said they can't do it.

Corporations won't give a ************* unless there's a big profit tied to it. (otherwise they'd let it die for all they could care...)

Name a church that isn't riddled with scandals; they may have some credibility. But most churches conveniently ignore the sections of the Bible devoted to what happens to the greedy, and the same lot also tend to warp the translations...

So, who's left to decide? You bet your sweet bippy: Us. You and I. The people. And do we know what is or isn't civilized? Will we take the time to accept enough issues we all agree on and build up for there? Or is the sale at JC Penney more enticing?

You know, Imus deserved to be fired. The sleaze who "sing" it in their songs should be as well. They should ALL go to counselors so they will stop being so derogatory toward others. They've all made themselves rich with their controversial garbage, so they can pay to get taught civility as well. Helping the poor is not a bad thing. Giving money to the rich who made themselves rich via unethical or immoral means is quite another.

[anndoty]

I don%u2019t see what the big deal is in regulating free speech. The second amendment debate has shown us that %u201Cthe people%u201D does not mean individuals, but means the governments. For example, what the second amendment REALLY says is

. . . the right of the government to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed

Wrong, wrong, wrong. I just looked at a copy of the constitution over the weekend and the 2nd amendment clearly states "a militia". Defined, by congress in the Uniform Militia Act of 1792, when it declared that the militia constituted all white males aged 18-45.

Oh oh, I'm a woman,I guess I don't have a right to my gun.

[i-tack]

BIGDADPATRIO

Imus has the right to say whatever he wants, but he gets bleeped out if he uses wrong words right? This is deemed acceptable has it not.

Free speech is not the same as unlimited, uncontrolled, unrestrained and valueless speech.

Don lost his job because he was on the losing end of a popularity contest not because his free speech was violated.

Just keep the authorities out of it and we'll be fine. Imus will probably go satellite now and make more money than ever - all for saying garbage.

[michellem99-2009]

I think psk123 tells it like is. Parents won't step upto the plate and do the right thing.There are those who do. I feel that children learn their parents ways.Some won't put the time as it is a 24/7 everyday thankless duty.
While I do find some words are better not said. Children too young have no idea that a word,action etc is not said at home,in public,their parents do. It is not cute. I feel the govt should not be in the busness of telling parents how to bring up John/Jane Doe. They should let parents do that.

[bigdadpatrio]

Myself, along with over 300 employees where I work (majority are minorities) have collectively agreed to boycott NBC and CBS, both radio and television; their collective programs and the sponsors who do business with them, for firing Imus. We believe that what Imus said, although repugnant in itself, was protected speech (by our Constitution) and he had the right to say it. CBS and NBC is practicing a double standard for firing Imus but have failed to act accordingly to others who have said equally offensive remarks against other races. Freedom of speech must be applied evenly to ALL not just a politically correct few.

[i-tack]

The government deciding what is and is not acceptable to say?!?! Lunacy.

Imus got fired because he offended too many people and they fought back. If the Rutgers BB team had rolled over on this, it would have gone away. Some sponsors would have temporarily bailed....carefully watched ratings and then re-upped with Imus if it made sense for them.

The fact is, the Rutgers BB team stood up for themselves and exercised their free speech and it was entirely less objectionable than Don's, so bye bye Don.

Free speech worked just fine. Don't let the government in it.

[susanhelit]

Sharn - CBS, obviously (eyeroll), is not part of the government. The government would love, LOVE to be able to stop them from saying some of what they say, from reporting on embarasments small and large. If you think just a little, you'd realize that if they had that power, they'd prevent reporting on Gonzales and the death toll, and the lousy situation in Iran, rather than merely getting a shock jock who said things that didn't disturb the government at all, fired.

What got Imus fired was freedom of speech - a bunch of ordinary people telling his employer that they wanted him gone. Our freedom of speech matters too - and freedom to chose who we buy from, who we boycott.

[sharncedar]

"Free speech is you can say what you want, but if you work for me and say things I do not approve of, why can't I fire you"

This is a prevalent argument. It is the contractor escape clause. I, the government, cannot torture you, but I can hire a contractor to torture you. I cannot stop your free speech, but I can set up a flunky corporate system that can destroy your job and your life if you attempt free speech. This is the out clause for the whole constitution - we didn't do it, corporations we support and create and protect did it on our behalf.

The fact is the government as such now includes entities like CBS, who have protected rights to public airwaves, and use the court system and direct intervention of the government to prevent competition. Where does the line draw between the government and a big insurance company, or the government and the credit bureaus that spy on all Americans?

Hitler's government never did a thing on the "night of the long knives" it was independent "non-government" brownshirts, supposedly, that did the killing. That's how fascism works. So these ideas aren't new, just very tired and old.

[anndoty]

"I'm still working out what the VA Tech shootings had to do with free speech. From all reports, he just walked in and started shooting without a word. What's the connection?"

To my mind, the connection is that the reason Cho Seung-Hui was still at the school at all is because no one wanted to 'offend' him by kicking him out, regardless of how he acted.

[xzavierbrown]

they way i see it is, just because you have the right to free speech DOES NOT mean your speech is right. Modern Liberal Media's decades of slowly conditioning society to accept "NON-ACCOUNTABLE and NON RESPONSIBILITY" is finally paying off. Now we are seeing the effect of reckless "free speech" and "reckless policitical correctness". Of course, the liberal media is not 100% to blame BUT THEY SURE gave the idea so much exposure for thier own gains.