posted August 13, 2009 12:08 PM by
Neko150Is there a line that free speech can't cross? I know yelling "Fire!" in a theater is grounds for arrest, but honestly, when religious extremists come to college campuses to scream at passers-by for being "sluts" or "homos" is there a line a university campus should enforce, to halt hate speech? I ask because it's that time of year again - when "Brother Jed" goes around to various large university campuses to spread his hate speech against anything and anyone non-conservative, including signs that read "Homos Go To HELL" and "Masturbators are Sinners!" As if that last one didn't encompass every single person on campus.
Huge crowds surround this man, this self-proclaimed "Foremost campus evangelist in the USA" who carries a bible in one hand and a clenched fist in the other, spouting lunatic ravings about how masturbating will send you to hell, of how dating without intent to marry will send you to hell, about how homosexuals - and those who tolerate them - are most assuredly going to hell. It's a sad, destructive show of our first amendment rights in action. Some students gather to be funny or throw childish insults at him (or blind him with the sun using CDs, or other shows of immaturity), some gather to be entertained, and a few gather to listen and offer educated, insightful responses to this man's hate mongering. I've seen the man several times and never once have I heard a student (or anyone) back him up, or offer a sympathetic opinion towards his ravings, not that I can blame any of them. As for me, I haven't had the guts to waste my breath on him (yet), though I think in this situation, ignoring is bliss.
People like "Brother Jed" beg the question of what constitutes the line of acceptance between free speech and potentially-violence-inducing hate speech? Is there a line at all? Perhaps as an educated, progressive society it is our responsibility (as believers in acceptance and shunners of hate mongers) to simply ignore him: if the crowds stopped gathering both at my university and at any other place of higher learning "Brother Jed" frequents, he would probably stop his nationwide campus tour. Maybe he wouldn't, but I have a feeling he would, as he is essentially marketing himself with every appearance he makes. Every student paper in the area of his appearances runs big ads with his name and website, googling "Brother Jed" comes up with tons of information and news stories. Is this man a devout follower or a marketing genius? Probably both.
I think it is every person's right to hold whatever beliefs they wish to hold towards others, and they should have a right to voice those opinions freely - except when such opinions are violent or hateful in nature. Drawing that distinction is tricky though - does a prejudiced comment someone makes to a friend or in private count as hate speech which should be censored? Maybe it is a matter of public space (whether said comment is printed, aired on television or the radio, or voiced in public, as with "Brother Jed"). Should some random preacher from the Midwest touring the country's biggest college campuses - purely to rile up student bodies and incite negative emotion in people - be tolerated? What do you think? I don't necessarily believe such radicalists should be hauled off campus, rather the ideal solution would be that society's members would pay him no attention or acknowledgment, and his "hateful kind" would fade into the realm of obsolescence (my solution to the Phelps Family). This won't be happening any time soon however, so maybe it would be a good idea for university campuses to begin screening public speakers' content before they are allowed to speak on campus. Free speech is a great thing. When it puts others at risk of being seriously degraded, mentally abused or marginalized however, controlled censorship may be an option worth considering.
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