Much
has been written and spoken of the recent elderly white woman’s verbal
tirade at a J.C. Penny store. Correctly written and spoken in my view.
There is no place in society for such offensive speech, though such is
protected under our Constitution. However, there is no substantive
difference between her actions and the racist words of some college and
university professors, such as at Boston University.
In our country proud of its First Amendment protected free speech, the pride comes at the cost of being offended by the speech of some. And make no mistake; offensive speech is not limited to one racial, ethnic, gender, political, age, economic, religious, or any other grouping. Even a moderate amount of research provides countless examples of people from all groups offending others.
Though offending words can be aggravating and infuriating, let’s not lose sight of the fact that it is byproduct of free speech. And free speech, whether from a college professor, political candidate, white female shopper, radio host, TV commentator, or your neighbor, is worth protecting.
In our country proud of its First Amendment protected free speech, the pride comes at the cost of being offended by the speech of some. And make no mistake; offensive speech is not limited to one racial, ethnic, gender, political, age, economic, religious, or any other grouping. Even a moderate amount of research provides countless examples of people from all groups offending others.
Though offending words can be aggravating and infuriating, let’s not lose sight of the fact that it is byproduct of free speech. And free speech, whether from a college professor, political candidate, white female shopper, radio host, TV commentator, or your neighbor, is worth protecting.
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