You're Innocent When You Dream...
What's more important:
Freedom of speech or cultural courtesy?
Being a Dane and living in Denmark, this whole "Muhammed Cartoon" brouhaha
has made me wonder...
Not about my own opinion, so much, which is the same as before,
but about the motivations/sanity/gullibility of certain people.
To me, freedom of speech is damn near absolute.
As my arch-nemesis/somewhat clever friend Reluctant likes to say:
"You can't yell "FIRE!" in a crowded theater when there isn't one."
That I can accept.
But he's also said (paraphrase):
"You have the right to speak, but not to be heard".
Which seems deceptively reasonable and true...
unless, of course, you really think of the ramafications.
The press, wether gag-ordered, leashed, owned
or just "suggested to",
(Free Press? Ain't NO such thing, miss Blueeyes),
will always slant things towards satisfying the presumptions
of the many, unless they can hear a groundswell beneath
a worthy underdog opposition and decide
to gamble on -that- wave.
The press is a whore in the most capitalist sense:
It covers (or rather, wipes) its ass with ideals
and then rakes in the ad-money.
Hey, in comparison, at least hard-working prostitutes offer something
that is comparatively worth the price.
My point is,
unless you -get- anyone to listen,
your freedom of speech seems shallow.
Saw the news last night...
Some disgusting English "historian"
was convicted in Austria for denying the Holocaust.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
I'm so sick of these sort of measures.
Countering Nazi-mentality with Nazi-mentality...
Bravo.
What have you got then?
A turd, by any other name, still smells like shit.
I'll quote Patti Smith:
"I'll fertilize my lawn... with what's running from your mouth".
I consider freedom of speech the way Vaclav Havel
once put it (paraphrase):
"Think not only of freedom of speech as a protection
for your own most beloved theories,
but also as a defence for those utterances
with which you'd most vehemently disagree".
Amen,
and fuck all the Gods.
posted by HairlessMonkeyDK at 6:03 PM
4 Comments:
HMDK:
Arch-nemesis? That's news to me, o furless primate. Somewhat clever? Well, I'm somewhat flattered. Aw shucks.
I don't recall the 'not being heard' part, but as I trust ye, I'll take your word fer it.
To me, freedom of speech is damn near absolute.
Well, I dunno. Howzabout I make a # of phone calls to you while you're trying to sleep?
Freedom not to be heard? You can always turn the phone off, aye?
But you did qualify it, with NEAR.
Love the Patti Smith quote.
I'd quote Paine to your Havel, but they say very much the same thing:
Whatever you do wrong to another, can come back & bite ya on the ass someday.
Forgive my dim-wittedness, but I don't get the connection of the title of this thread to its contents.
Could your Hairlessness enlighten moi?
Karen
Don't know why your flog wouldn't let me in earlier. I wore the fishnet stockings this time. Guess the royal guards are partial to them. ;)
The title is meant as... Well, an example:
You have a right to say you'd like to see someone's nuts ripped off and stuffed down his throat.
But you DON'T have the right to DO that.
What I mean is, that THOUGHTS aren't crimes... ACTS are.
Plus, it's the title of a Tom Waits song.
"It's such a sad old feeling,
the hills are soft and green.
And it's memories that I'm stealing, but you're innocent when you dream".
Ok, gotcha. I was leaning toward something along those lines, but it didn't seem to fit with what you said your point was...about getting someone to listen to what you have to say.
We have the right to think a whole lot more than we have a right to say or actually do, it's true.
Good thing. If there were actually thought police, people would be imploding right and left every moment of every day due to their thoughts.
Sorry to be such a Tom Waits ignoramus. Will have to check him out soon.
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