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And this is good. I must admit, being Oregon I expected them to not rule this way.
Glad to see political correctness didn't win over freedom of speech. You don't have a right to not be insulted, though some seem to think so. Popular speech doesn't need protection, the 1st amendment protects unpopular speech.
And no - before someone throws this out - I don't think it's polite to yell things out like this guy did. But he did and still does have a right to, as everyone should. This is the U.S. of A after all.
Thank you. So often speech that's insulting is now considered "hate speech" but the fact is there's not much that you can have an opinion on that's not going to insult somebody somewhere.
I think our hate speech laws are out of hand and divisive rather than unifying.
Forcing one group to "talk nice" to another group does nothing but breed resentment.
They should let people say what they want and the chips fall where they may. We'd all be stronger and more thick-skinned for it.
As it is, this generation is being raised as a bunch of pansies who can't handle the simplest "sticks and stones" insult. These are tomorrow's leaders? Good grief.
And this is good. I must admit, being Oregon I expected them to not rule this way.
Glad to see political correctness didn't win over freedom of speech. You don't have a right to not be insulted, though some seem to think so. Popular speech doesn't need protection, the 1st amendment protects unpopular speech.
And no - before someone throws this out - I don't think it's polite to yell things out like this guy did. But he did and still does have a right to, as everyone should. This is the U.S. of A after all.
I agree that you do not have the right not to be insulted or have your feelings hurt but this comes kind of close to the "fighting words" exception that the Supreme Court carved out long ago. It could have went either way.
I agree that you do not have the right not to be insulted or have your feelings hurt but this comes kind of close to the "fighting words" exception that the Supreme Court carved out long ago. It could have went either way.
Two women in another car sitting in traffic were going to start swinging? I hardly think so...
And this is good. I must admit, being Oregon I expected them to not rule this way. Glad to see political correctness didn't win over freedom of speech.
Perhaps then you should send a donation to the ACLU of Oregon, which has worked for 25 years to rid the state of this law and (after a partial victory in 1985) finally succeeded.
I agree that you do not have the right not to be insulted or have your feelings hurt but this comes kind of close to the "fighting words" exception that the Supreme Court carved out long ago. It could have went either way.
The "fighting words" defense has not been used successfully in a federal case since WWII. Effectively, it has no current operation. The facts in this state case were that a man yelled racist and anti-gay comments, not out his window, but over a loudspeaker system he had installed on his truck, at two women (one white, one black) in a car that had pulled in front of him to his displeasure at a lane-merge. The trial and appelate courts had found and then upheld the defendant's guilt in violation of the abusive speech clause of the states anti-harassment law. That clause made it illegal to harass or annoy by publicly insulting a person using abusive words or gestures intended and likely to provoke a violent response. The state Supreme Court recognized the legislature's right to act in order to prevent provocation of violence, but noted in tossing out the law that it could not reach that end by criminalizing protected speech.
And this is good. I must admit, being Oregon I expected them to not rule this way.
Glad to see political correctness didn't win over freedom of speech. You don't have a right to not be insulted, though some seem to think so. Popular speech doesn't need protection, the 1st amendment protects unpopular speech.
And no - before someone throws this out - I don't think it's polite to yell things out like this guy did. But he did and still does have a right to, as everyone should. This is the U.S. of A after all.
Notice the way this punk yells at two women, what a real man he is. Probably a Republican.
Ah, an educated poster. Give this one up guys. You're pwned.
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