Students block N.C. State's Free Expression Tunnel over slurs :: WRAL.com
I love that the students are using their rights to protest. I just wish I could agree with what they are protesting. You can't have "Free" speech and have it regulated. You can't have "Free" expression and have it limited. You can't have "Free" anything with rules or guidelines on it. If you want the "Don't offend me or us or them or anyone" Expression wall...not too many people will use it and no one would want to read what's on it. Welcome to the hardest to take freedom a diverse population can have!
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11 comments:
very true Kevin... People want freedom of speech for the things they believe in but they don't want other's to have the same right especially when it goes against their belief... It's a tough one....
At first I was thinking a camera to monitor the hate speech from idiots..people do have a right not to be harrassed and insulted. Of course some will say it's not free speech if they are being monitored. I think the best way to handle it from now on would be to have a running feed in the tunnel..that can be rewound online ..so that way..anyone tough enough to insult an entire race of people could box them one by one when they got to the cafe..lol.
Jon, I disagree with you. People do not have a right not to be harrassed or insulted in a country that values "free speech". They have a right to not be assaulted or terrorized, but insults are fair game. We just finished watching politi...cians and politician wanna-bes commit insult and harrass each other for the election season. We watch comedians, social commentary, news reporters/anchors, Op/Ed pieces and The View insult and harrass people on a daily basis. Freedom of Speech doesn't provide for Freedom of Not Getting Your Feelings Hurt. Remember sticks and stones? That is freedom of speech.
I see your point..just still wanna bust a head open when it all gets racially motivated. Not nice but just how i feel. Respect ur view.
Jon, when you get to busting heads open, give me a call. I wouldn't mind some free speech with my fists on those assholes.
I just think things should be equal. If i defamed a president during war time I know I would get charged. If they are tough enough to paint something so mean spirited, they should be big and bad enough to stand up and say I did it.
Does anyone actually KNOW what was written??? @ Jon, I can think of a WHOLE bunch of people who defamed a former president and not only were they not charged but the media justified it and encouraged it... Kevin, you and I have been friend...s for a long time and we have shared some good times together... I certainly don't condone any racial deformation but is intimidation and strong arm tactics really the way to go??? If I were to go down there and walk through the tunnel am I going to get assaulted or beat up??? What if they had said something about fat people??? While it might not take as many to block the tunnel shouldn't I have a right to pass without reprecussion??? And what of the hate speach that comes from the mouths of some black religious leaders??? Do I have a "right" to go "bust a head open" because they said something about my race??? Hypocricy is a horrible trait... God help us all if we can ever read people's minds...
JT, the protest is a stand-in just like the sit-ins that were done during the Civil Rights and Women's Suffrage movements. No one is being beaten up and people are being allowed to pass. It's a peaceful protest. As for the "busting heads...", it is what we would like to do (emotional response) not what we will do. As I said, Free Speech is the toughest to deal with freedom we have. It is everyone's responsibility to act civil, as these protesters have, but it doesn't change the fact that what some people says makes others mad. Still, being mad is no excuse for violence.
I couldn't agree more Kevin and you know I'd have your back if we were ever out and something got started... Part of my comment was in response to the article which stated... "The protesters also stood locked arm-in-arm, sang and prevented anyone from passing through the tunnel"... That to me says intimidation... And, the difference between civilized and uncivilized is how one reacts through a non physical attack... Just my opinion
Jim..the black students are being intimidated by the racist graffiti. If some one doesn't take action and these incidents continue..what's next? Some idiot will think it's ok to lynch a student..or drag them behind a truck. It's done to i...ntimidate and harass black people.
We are in the south and it hasn't been that long since black people had to fear these types of things.
I'm proud of those kids for standing up and saying "I won't be disrespected..it's my tunnel too".
The intimidation and strong arm tactics started when the knuckleheads put that crap on the tunnel wall.
I'd be more upset if someone didn't speak up. This is racial harrasment and it was meant to intimidate and discourage black students...plain and simple. To instill fear. To embarass. It's sad that college students have to deal with this sort of foolishness in 2010. When people start teaching their kids that it's a big world sand you have to try and get along with everyone no matter where they came from or how they look, we'll all be in a better place.
With regard to the "we will not be disrespected" piece, this is one of the biggest issues we face as a people. YES, you will be disrespected. In your life you will be disrespected, as an American, as a voter, as a man, as an African-American, as a comedian, as something. Disrespect is what this country was built on. Just like the trash talking on a sports field, racial slurs are meant to provoke and incite. Would it be nice if people didn't use them anymore, sure it would. But that means taking the words out of your mouths too. I have yet to meet a single person who hasn't used an ignorant term toward some group of people. If it can be used for any, it can be used for all. If it makes you mad, so be it, but "let he who is without sin..."
As for trucks and lynching, that was (and still is) everywhere. There will always be violent people and always be ignorant people, we just all have to deal with it.
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