Readers,
Mr. O'Connor's recent blog post (which you can find at anamericanstudies.com) about the Westboro Baptist Church deserved a full response.
The topic of free speech is a touchy one in a case like this. This represents free speech being used in the worst way, being twisted from its goal to share information, and used only to hurt. What they did is obviously despicable, but not indefensible. As much as I hate to say it, Westboro falls under the protection of the law. They are allowed to say whatever they wish, even if what they say is evil and hurtful. Our laws on free speech are the crowning jewels of America, and the fact that they protect hateful speech is exactly the reason they shine so brightly. If we ever lost the ability to protect the ideas we hate, we lose everything we worked for. If we kept silencing the people who opposed us, it would be a dictatorship of sorts. We need the thoughts we hate, because it lets us know what we still have.
I agree with you 100 % Andrew. No matter how disturbing the acts were, they fell within legal boundaries. If the funeral protesters were to be found guilty, then their rights would have been violated. I feel that the law comes before all else, and as long as the acts that are being committed are legal, then they cannot be punishable.
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