Should People Have the Right to Say Offensive Things?

Freedom of speech: we agree it’s an essential freedom; after all, it’s in the constitution. However, since smartphones and internet has made communication so easy, we start to question exactly how this freedom can be used. So there are laws that make slander illegal. That’s fine. What about things that are offensive to entire groups of people? When is it slander and when is it an opinion that people just don’t like? Where do you draw the line?

It’s a blessing and a curse that the internet is so public. It used to be that people had a professional life, a home life, and a private life, but the internet now links them all. In the past, people could make some stupid mistakes and laugh about it years later. Now everything goes on the internet and stays there forever, sometimes ruining a job opportunity or giving your grandmother a little too much information.

One main problem is Facebook intersecting with work life. Facebook was created to be casual tool for social networking. Now, employers use it to judge current or future employees’ responsibility. Since Facebook is such a public form of communication, it has become impossible to separate someone’s personal opinions from that of his or her employer. One teacher in Paterson was recently fired for posting on Facebook that she felt like a “warden for future criminals”.

The reality is that children who attend poorly funded schools do not have the same opportunities as others. If they cannot find employment, they often do turn to crime as there are few other options. Teachers are the ones who work directly with students and administration. Often, they have to spend more time with discipline than with actual education. Are teachers to keep silent about the problems in their place of work? In my opinion, it was not a smart choice to vent on Facebook instead of speaking to administrators. Also, it probably wasn’t fair to the children, as they did not choose to be put into poorly funded schools. But did she deserve to be fired? I say no, as it’s not really solving the problem. Her post called for improved teaching conditions and if that is never addressed, then she was being silenced – denied her right to express her opinion.

Also, I suspect this is an American thing, but people can’t seem to handle being incorrect about things. Often when someone answers a question incorrectly, especially on the internet, someone else delights too much in correcting the error. So what I’ve seen more in social situations is that the questioner attempts to console whoever’s in the wrong, with “Well you’re partially right” or “I can see how you’d think that”. Since it’s impossible for anyone to know everything, you are going to know some things I don’t, and vice versa. Personally, if I’m wrong about something, I’d like to know, and maybe learn something new.

In the news, I’m thinking of Todd Akin and his infamous “legitimate rape comment”. His words displayed a poor understanding of the female reproductive system. A mature response to his comment would come from, say, a prominent scientist or doctor who would explain why he was incorrect, with evidence. This would promote education for all people who lacked that knowledge (he can’t have been the only one!). Instead, it is far too common to see politicians like him claim that they “misspoke” rather than just admit they were wrong. After all, it’s an easy way to placate everyone who was offended.

The bottom line is that it’s impossible to please everyone. It’s also impossible to shut your ears to everything you don’t like hearing. So the only way we can take care of these problems is to view and react to them with a mature outlook. When faced with words we don’t want to hear, why not have more discussion, rather than censorship?