It seems people really have a lot of trouble grasping what the First Amendment actually is. The Confederate Flag has not been banned. If you are a private citizen you cannot be arrested for displaying the Confederate flag. You cannot be denied equal protection under the law simply because of your racist views. That's what the Constitution guarantees and nothing more.
The flag in South Carolina will be taken down off State property. The State of Mississippi might take the stars and bars off their flag. This is the result of people petitioning their government for change, something that is actually guaranteed in the constitution. Additionally, I can exercise my First Amendment right to call you a racist and my right as a consumer if I desire not to buy stuff from retailers. Freedom of speech is not the freedom from social consequences. Lenny Bruce's rights were violated because he was arrested, not because people were criticizing him.
I fully support the rights of anyone who wants to fly the Confederate flag, the Nazi flag, or the Islamic State flag if you want to. The rest of us are then free to call you a bigot.
No comments:
Post a Comment