SWOPblogger: Can we limit free speech and still call it free speech?

Friday, June 15, 2007

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Can we limit free speech and still call it free speech?

Probably not, but yet we still do. How many times have we been muzzled, shhh-ed, asked to leave, called disruptive, told we're on private property....better yet...threatened.

The ideology in this country about free speech is that: "It's only free if I agree with you, or if you own the means of the media."

Sometimes I would love some people to be shut up, especially when it comes to CNN anchors. The most hateful and ignorant speech comes out of there. The ONLY reason they get to say the most ridiculous crap is because they own the media. So technically it's not free speech, they paid for it.

Let's visit our 1st amendment:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances, unless they pay for it, or pay for someone else's rights to be infringed upon.

Yes that's pretty accurate.

In saying that, we have to fight for freedom of speech. It's fundamental to change and in this political climate it's our dissent.

On to the article below....
The City of Atlanta would be in a tight corner if they passed this "Free Speech Zone," legislation, right before the US Social Forum.

I can picture it now.....10,000 protesting the mayor's office as we pass by Coke headquaters......kill 2 birds with one stone. It would be nice wouldn't it. But no....good thing this crazy law didn't get passed and they came to their senses.
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ATL scraps effort to create ‘free speech zones’
Proposal stems from street preachers protesting at Pride

By RYAN LEE

JUN. 15, 2007

Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin was forced Tuesday to back down from a proposal to create “free speech zones” that would actually limit where protesters can demonstrate during large city festivals. The mayor’s proposal stems from incidents at Gay Pride in recent years, but the measure was widely rebuked by gay activists and others as anti-democratic, Orwellian doublespeak.

“In Atlanta we try to make sure there’s a balance of the various First Amendment rights,” said Greg Pridgeon, Franklin’s chief of staff. “We think that people who want to protest ought to be able to have access [to festivals and large events], to be in a spot where they can be heard, be seen, and have their presence felt.

Some gay activists warned that while protecting Pride attendees from unwanted religious protesters, the proposed ordinance could be used to curb everything from anti-war protests to the upcoming U.S. Social Forum in Atlanta.

“It was clear that is was just about zoning free speech across the board, and that it really didn’t matter what the audience was,” said Will Cordery, a queer organizer with the Social Forum. “I think if this had passed, Pride might’ve looked great as far as anti-gay protesters, but who knows what it would’ve been used for next year. We could be the ones silenced.”

Read the entire article here: Southern Voice

Labels: Free Speech, right to protest, United States Social Forum, US Social Forum, USSF