Political correctness gone crazy

[Nick Nefarious]

Whether this is legit or purely satirized, there is a huge problem in this country with people's understanding of the phrase "freedom of speech". Just because you may be offended by what I say doesn't mean that you can infringe on my right to say it.

[Rising Dead Man]

Whether this is legit or purely satirized, there is a huge problem in this country with people's understanding of the phrase "freedom of speech". Just because you may be offended by what I say doesn't mean that you can infringe on my right to say it.

Exactly!

[Spookymufu]

Whether this is legit or purely satirized, there is a huge problem in this country with people's understanding of the phrase "freedom of speech". Just because you may be offended by what I say doesn't mean that you can infringe on my right to say it.

I think most people feel this way, but I think the minority are just louder

[Murfreesboro]

Whether this is legit or purely satirized, there is a huge problem in this country with people's understanding of the phrase "freedom of speech". Just because you may be offended by what I say doesn't mean that you can infringe on my right to say it.

I agree, and I would take it a step further. Just because you have the right to speak your mind, that doesn't mean that you are protected from suffering marketplace consequences if you say something unpopular. For example, ten years or so back the Dixie Chicks spoke out against the war in Iraq (I think it was Iraq), and they saw a steep decline in their album & concert sales among their largely conservative fan base. They complained that their freedom of speech was being infringed. But it wasn't. No one arrested them, or threatened their families, or knocked on their doors in the middle of the night to "disappear" them. But they did suffer a marketplace consequence for saying something that was unpopular with their fan base.

I think many people in this country misunderstand what freedom of speech is. The PC crowd wants to constrain speech before it happens. They are playing by the rulebook of Orwell's 1984, although they may not realize it. But then there are those, like the Dixie Chicks, who naively think that they should be able to say whatever they like and suffer no consequences at all. The First Amendment protects us from governmental interference in/reprisals for our free speech. It doesn't guarantee that we will continue to be well liked by our neighbors.

[Nick Nefarious]

Very well said. Bonus points for mentioning 1984. It seems like the Thought Police are a stones throw away.

[Murfreesboro]

Oh, I think we are living in an increasingly Orwellian world.

[NeverMore]

Murf, probably more so than you realize. Interestingly it's not necessarily the governments sending us down the 1984 path. If you look at the laws that are being proposed and passed, a lot are heavily influenced by big industry. Heck, look how the RIAA and MPAA have made congress their whipping boys.

Those same industries (Google?) are very intent on knowing everything about everyone. We truly are living in the information age. Databases are our real enemy. Every scrap of information we give out about ourselves is recorded and all that info is connected together. What you buy, where you go, who your friends are, ect, ect. This information could be used to make our lives easier but I, and a lot of other people, think our leaders are using it to keep tabs on us. This is why I go to great pains to keep my online identity anonymous. Without these dbases and modern computing it would be to much trouble to connect the dots on everyone.

I was discussing this a couple of days ago with a buddy and he said he doesn't care, he's not doing anything wrong. I pointed out that he just took a call on his phone while driving. Right now that's no big deal unless a cop sees you do it. I then told him the other day I read an article where a camera can now scan 36 million faces a second. What if they start putting these next to the road? You do something wrong you can now be identified as the driver and you get a ticket in the mail the next day. No human interaction. BTW: Another buddy is a cop, says all he needs to do is follow someone for a quarter of a mile and he can get them on something.

Seems the laws and technology are almost in place to control the populace instead of protect them?

[Spookymufu]

BTW: Another buddy is a cop, says all he needs to do is follow someone for a quarter of a mile and he can get them on something.

but thats been the case ever since cops and drivers have been around, nothing new, but I get you're point and you're right. My concern ATM isnt our gov using the info against us, but the foreign countries that hack the US computer systems....Those are the ones I'm worried about seeing my info...

[NeverMore]

My concern ATM isnt our gov using the info against us, but the foreign countries that hack the US computer systems....Those are the ones I'm worried about seeing my info...

http://gizmodo.com/5897493/all-chinese+ ... rterrorism

[Spookymufu]

yup, exactly....

[NeverMore]

Those same industries (Google?) are very intent on knowing everything about everyone.

POOH!!! I just read that Google may buy Pinterest. Why do they and Facebook have to get their dirty little paws on everything that gets popular?

[Spookymufu]

Why do they and Facebook have to get their dirty little paws on everything that gets popular?

$

[jadewik]

... From now on, all tests will be written in Sanskrit and will contain yes or no questions. Answers are to be grunted, so no one will be offended.

[Pumpkin56]

... From now on, all tests will be written in Sanskrit and will contain yes or no questions. Answers are to be grunted, so no one will be offended.

But grunting offends me!

[MacPhantom]

I think this idea is double plus un-good.