[kj] ot: good news!

[B. Oliver Sheppard]

I have no idea how free speech even enters into this. As far as I know, 
no one said the guy should be banned or gagged. If he didn't give a shit 
about what anyone thought about him, he shouldn't have a problem with me 
or anyone else thinking he's a vile racist fuck. You said we're entitled 
to an opinion -- that's mine. The free speech thing is an entirely 
separate issue; have no idea where it came from here. If speech is free, 
I'm free to rant and rave and harp about how the guy was backwards, 
reactionary bigot, right?

"Live and let live," "free speech," -- lots of nice liberal, hippy-ish 
values are suddenly conjured up to defend a guy who earned his coin 
denigrating immigrants, blacks, gays, etc. with all his usual 
Archie-Bunker-meets-Jabba-the-Hut subtlety. Free speech means the guy 
can be as hateful as he wants, but it also means we can trash talk him 
any time we like, including right when he's on his death bed. When 
Reagan died I wasn't cowed into suddenly getting all warm and fuzzy over 
him. Not gonna happen here, either.

-Oliver




Mik Raven wrote:

>

> IMHO he was a very funny comedian who didn’t give a shit about what 

> anyone thought about him. He was entitled to his own opinion whether 

> you agree with it or not and entitled to say it. If you take away that 

> right just to be politically correct I’m not sure where we would be. 

> Probably with us smokers outside without any fair debate. I would have 

> thought that Jokers would not condemn so quickly. Hey, but I’m wrong 

> again about jokers. Not willing to live and let live, so go on flame 

> me, but it’s not what I thought the joke was about. I liked the guy. I 

> may not have agreed with his opinions but he had the right to have 

> opinions that were different to mine. But finally, so say it’s good 

> news that anyone is dead is just sick!

>

>