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If you haven't read about it:
http://thehayride.com/2011/04/westboro-baptist-church-goes-to-mississippi-and-loses/
The more I've seen people post about this story on FB, the more uncomfortable I get with what the folks in MS did. It is easy to praise their actions because of a shared dislike of the opinions and actions of the Westboro Bapt Church. But let's substitute that group with the Freedom Riders or Tea Party activists or Christian missionaries or (insert group you endorse here). The actions done seem less legal and worth praise once looked at that way - especially the taking into custody and questioning under false pretenses.
Freedom of Speech should never be restricted just because we don't like what others have to say. Certainly no one endorses a group of people at a gas station beating a man just because he's gay and was headed to lobby for gay marriage. Are those people who "forgot" any identifying information about the people who assaulted him worthy of praise? Do "good old boys" deserve praise for blocking in members of the NAACP's cars at their hotel to keep them from monitoring voting stations to ensure equal access to the polls? Does falsely taking you into custody and questioning you on bogus crimes justify the fact that you have an opinion that others around you despise? Those of you with the "I'm a blue dot in a really red state" stickers and t-shirts really should watch out if you endorse this sort of suppression of minority speech.
http://thehayride.com/2011/04/westboro-baptist-church-goes-to-mississippi-and-loses/
The more I've seen people post about this story on FB, the more uncomfortable I get with what the folks in MS did. It is easy to praise their actions because of a shared dislike of the opinions and actions of the Westboro Bapt Church. But let's substitute that group with the Freedom Riders or Tea Party activists or Christian missionaries or (insert group you endorse here). The actions done seem less legal and worth praise once looked at that way - especially the taking into custody and questioning under false pretenses.
Freedom of Speech should never be restricted just because we don't like what others have to say. Certainly no one endorses a group of people at a gas station beating a man just because he's gay and was headed to lobby for gay marriage. Are those people who "forgot" any identifying information about the people who assaulted him worthy of praise? Do "good old boys" deserve praise for blocking in members of the NAACP's cars at their hotel to keep them from monitoring voting stations to ensure equal access to the polls? Does falsely taking you into custody and questioning you on bogus crimes justify the fact that you have an opinion that others around you despise? Those of you with the "I'm a blue dot in a really red state" stickers and t-shirts really should watch out if you endorse this sort of suppression of minority speech.
