Hate Speech/Free Speech

What would you suggest is hate speech? In my small, narrow minded world, I tend to think of hate speech as, well, words that you use to say that you hate something or someone. A fine example; I hate the Yankees, I am a die hard Boston fan, so of course I would be expected to hate the Yankees and say so loudly, but is that actually “ hate speech” or am I just expressing my opinion. What if a Yankee fan said the same about Boston? Would that be hate speech or, again, just stating their own opinion? I am going to say that in both cases, it's preference and opinion, not hate speech.

But what happens if that opinion of mine goes from , I despise the Yankees, to I want to see the whole team drive over a cliff, does that qualify as hate speech? What if the Yankee fan says that about the Red Sox? Does that now become “hate speech” No it does not. Nothing other than words are spoken, opinion expressed, while we may not care for each other, it's been nothing more than words, in fact it's what we used to call “free speech.”

Free speech used to be the idea that you could express your views and opinions with out the fear of being censored, even when it would be seen as inappropriate or disgusting, and in return, hear someone's opposing view and then debate or even have a heated argument on the issues.

Essentially I can say I hate the Yankees and a Yankee fan could say he hates the Red Sox and we could argue about it and all is fine with the world. It would be different if we actually came to blows, but just to insult or offend, that is far from hate, that's “free speech”

Apparently not any more.

I realize that many of you find the concept of free speech offensive,especially those of you in the millennial generation, who need to have safe spaces and to never be challenged in your collective thinking by anything that might be remotely different, but free speech is the bedrock of our society and to try and censor it, simply because it offends someone is silly and it's very dangerous.

From what I understand, Google and Facebook, among other social media outlets, are going to start censoring what they consider to be hate speech. Who is going to decide what hate speech is? How are they even going to know something is hate speech are they going to be reading our minds as well?? And, once you have started down that slippery slope, where does it end? Who is it that's going to decide whats offensive?

I, not liking the Yankees, would likely offend a Yankee fan, so am I to be censored and edited because I express my own opinion and some how offend? What if the Yankee fan insults the Red Sox? Should I have the right to censor them and shut them down for expressing an opinion? Is this going to fall into the ranks of hate speech?

I know some of you are thinking that it will never happen; Are you sure? If I say I like the name “Washington Redskins” many of you will interpret that as being offensive to Native Americans and therefore hate speech. All I have done is express my opinion on the name of the team but you might have interpreted it as offensive and hateful, and according to today's PC police that would constitute hate speech and I would be cut off or censored.

When I expressed my opinion that the Chick fillet guy had the right to express his opinion on traditional marriage, you would have thought the world just ended. I expressed an opinion validating his right, based on the first amendment, to have his opinion, yet I was accused of being homophobic.

If I do any of that now, at least according to FB or Google, is that going to be considered hate speech?

Sadly, unless something amazing happens, I see free speech as being totally eliminated by a generation that fears it. I read statistics that suggested that 60% of college students already believe that speech should be regulated by the government, not terribly surprising, considering safe zones and all, but it's sad. Is this what we have come to?

I realize that this really isn't the fault of the millennials. They have been taught by the last couple of generations, that they are entitled to everything and have the right to not be offended. They have been taught by those with an extremely “ bigger government is better” movement and, because they don't know history, haven't a clue as to why we have these freedoms, such as speech, in this country.

Also the fact that our Constitution is being systematically destroyed by both parties and the judicial system is not their fault either, they, the millennials, are just the end results of our corrupt government corporation and very poor educational system..

So go ahead censor away. I'm going to continue to write un PC stuff until I get arrested for it. Because after being censored, at least in the Soviet Union,where they didn't like free speech either, the next step was imprisonment.

I think that day is not far away.