General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Not liking an offensive movie is not an excuse to riot and kill people. [View all]LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)" People do not have a right not to be offended in a free society."
However, I do have a personal responsibility to not offend anyone merely for the sake of offending someone-- a responsibility I practice and maintain. I would imagine that's a responsibility we all would choose to accept, whether or not we hide behind the human construct of free speech or not.
And while that bit of bumper-sticker philosophy stating "I may not agree with what you say, but I'll defend your right to say it" may be philosophically unassailable to many, it does NOT imply that "I'll also defend you from the consequences of your dumb-ass lack of common-sense and irresponsible behavior..."
Especially when common sense dictates that the consequences of that speech will not be targeted merely at the one who's idiotic enough to utter them, but will also include those who have absolutely no correlation at all to the ignorant person saying it in the first place.
I learned a long time ago that if I were to drive to the south side of the town I live in and begin yelling "wetbacks go home! Go back to Mexico!", that I would most likely be protected by the First Amendment in doing so, but I also know that there would be consequences-- and I wouldn't expect anyone else to defend me from those consequences-- we often cite Darwin's Law, yes?. I'd hazard that I would be little more than an example of that if the above were indeed my course of action.