I agree with you that speech shouldn't be silenced, but when people go on public (i.e. free) airwaves then it might be different. What I mean is that while speech is free it isn't completely free in every single venue with impunity. If I stand up in a restaurant and start yelling racist things at the next table then management will throw me out, and that is their prerogative. Imus' firing was the result of a free market at work: advertisers didn't like what he said so they pulled their money away and that killed his show. Had the government censored him, I would be upset, but they didn't, the market did.

Plus, the people who protested Imus were also exercising their free speech.
Leonardo | 04.15.07 - 12:09 am | #

Leonardo,
That's absolutely true. Although, I think that this has been a very embarrassing episode for the left (and I say that as someone who considers himself on the left). Just because a person was offended by something doesn't mean that that person was trying to offend people. After reading Radley's post on it, I want to challenge others on the left to explain why this isn't any different than when a relatively small amount of offended Christians had a giant freakout over Janet Jackson's boob and turned it into a media frenzy because it reminded them of larger issues of morality.
thehim | Homepage | 04.15.07 - 2:00 pm | #