Department of Public Works employee Eric Batman claims that having to see a Progress Pride flag flying outside the department’s Alhambra, California, headquarters during the month of June effectively forces him to “celebrate, recognize, and solemnize conduct and actions that he views as sin” in conflict with his sincerely held Christian religious beliefs, according to a lawsuit filed in March by anti-LGBTQ+ evangelical nonprofit the Liberty Counsel.
https://youtu.be/h5f3v_o5F2M
What the fuck is wrong with people? Everyone gets offended at the drop of a hat these days. Why do they have to make it everyone’s problem?
I think that’s the wrong and dangerous argument. It’s a typical liberal talking point… for example, allowing people to constantly spew lies and inciting people to racial hatred works in creating and recruiting more racists. Or misogynists. We’ve seen it over and over again. If you tolerate intolerance you soon find your tolerance vanishing.
THAT should be what the argument should be about. Their religion of hate is intolerance, and shouldn’t be tolerated, or in this case, not have any standing to sue for offending and injuring your “human dignity”. There is no conflict there.
But we need to go even further than that to prevent those with the most amount of money and power to deform the reality we are able to perceive. All humans should have a fundamental “right to reality”. Not being locked up in a simulation, and not presented by news or social media that shows an objectively wrong reality, or where you can’t perceive what is science and what is woo. Politicians shouldn’t be allowed to outright lie and face severe consequences for such behavior.
The principle behind freedom of speech is that democracy needs people to be able to understand the world they live in without the state or state-like entities like plutocrats being able to prevent important information and truth to be published. This has been completely perverted and speech has become a commodity, easily controlled. “They” control the agenda and call it free speech. Liberals need to understand that no principle can be pushed to the extreme. You have to look at the consequences and history. We know hate speech causes more fascists, we know lies cause subversion and destruction of democracy.
So are you agreeing with the lawsuit? You think that the lawsuit has merit? The person is offended because of their religious views and therefore the flag must be removed? What about the person who is lgbtq+ and sees the flag as a sign of support for their existence?
Remember, this country was found on the idea of freedom FROM religious persecution. Where people should not live their lives oppressed and told that their world view is wrong because the government (or in the case of historical context the kings or established church views).
https://youtu.be/oYq5a37-ZFE
No the lawsuit should have no standing at all. There should be no basis on being allowed to sue for being “religiously offended”. But one should be allowed to sue because hate speech like someone is inciting hatred against an ethnic group or gender or other identity.
My point is that saying “sticks and stones bla bla but words can never hurt me lalala” like the lady in the video - that’s wrong because words do turn into stones. And her argument would shut both hypothetical lawsuits down.
Liberal AntiFa successfully sued the KKK out of existence, but it took a lot of effort because the US has no hate speech laws.
I agree on your points on hate speech, however, nothing in this case has anything to do with hate speech.
So the argument against the lawsuit in the video was that speech should be completely free and everyone just has to bear with the insults. That logically means that hate speech also has to be accepted, which is incorrect because that leads to intolerance and fascism. That is why the video is incorrect, because hate speech cannot be tolerated.
The video was just a good illustrative example that people are truly offended very easily and trying to curtail other peoples freedom of speech because they’re offended.
Play my opinion there’s nothing wrong with being offended it just means that you’re conscious on some level and something bothers you. I also find it ridiculous that we are trying to bubble wrap everything in society and stamping out any form of free speech that is a mild inconvenience to someone.
That said, I am not a supporter of hate speech, I just think that people have lost any sense of decency and common sense in part to their leaders displaying that it is ok to behave this way.
Well I agree that we’re seeing some kneejerk reactions to things, and unwillingness to engage or argue with perceived enemies. Like I’m so done talking politely with fascists but it swings both ways. Like that same trained behavior (because it is exhausting and painful) and good vs evil thinking has been redirected e.g. against anyone defending Russia or China or Iran. But strangely the same thing failed in trying to curtail criticism against Palestine.
But I think part of it is BECAUSE there is no legal recourse against inciting hatred against ethnicity or genders. The US and the US owned social media are very extreme and have totally changed how people talk. Before we didn’t have people just constantly dogwhistling about race etc. So because there is no defense the only thing left is being offended. There is no moderation. We are left with impotent rage.
And of course the lawsuit in OP weaponizes that “freedom of speech” extremism. Tolerance is being sold as intolerance against the intolerant.
Yeah this is the whole idea of why their culture wars, Distract people from the true issues so they can fight with each other and leave the wealthy elite to do whatever the fuck they want.