Nappy Headed?
Predictably the liberal e-zine Spiked, of which Dogtooth is much enamoured, has taken a strong editorial line in the Don Imus affair, and initially I sided with them, being fairly keen on free speech myself (other startling facts about me: I don't like being hit on the head and I don't endorse murder) but I'm starting to have my doubts. If some form of government legislation had forced CBS to fire Imus then I would have been dead against it, but no coercion was involved. CBS fired Imus because they judged him to be, despite his large audience, to be more of a problem than an asset. Do we think that a private company should be forced to suffer financially just to defend an elderly racist's right to free speech? Just because we are glad to live in countries which allow freedom of media does not mean our media should gratuitously offend. Do I think that I should be allowed to draw Mohammad? Yes. Do I plan to do so? No. I feel no compulsion to risk my safety to exercise a theoretical right.
2 comments:
Your itinerant instincts, I am glad to say, followed the right trail. One would naturally be irritated at first by any injunction against free-speech, but this should ultimately be superceded by the even more positive notion that private enterprises should, within reason, brook no interference from either government or hoi hand-wringing poloi...had CBS arrived at the decision to give him a second chance in spite of his blooper, this, equally, should have been commended.
I'm glad you approve...
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