Shannon Stacey


A brief hot button moment

I’m going to hate myself in the morning. (Or maybe even later today.) I don’t do politics here. But here’s the thing…

Freedom of Speech. I am sick to death of people saying “You’re trying to squash my freedom of speech!” or “Remember a little thing called freedom of speech?”

So, let’s hypothetically say you throw one of those lines at me. Maybe I told you to shut the hell up. Maybe I even deleted your comment here (which I don’t do, btw). “OMG, you’re infringing on my freedom of speech!”

No. I’m not. Because I don’t have the power to. If I delete your comment, you can post it a billion other places and there’s nothing I can do about it.

I can’t torture you. I can’t seize your lands and all your worldly goods. I can’t throw you and your entire family in a prison camp. I can’t hold a public execution and shoot you in the town square. I can’t even call up my buddy in law enforcement and have you do some time in County.

People negatively reacting to an RWA member’s letter is not infringing on her freedom of speech. Cops showing up at her house, dragging her off to jail for writing that letter infringes on her freedom of speech.

If you run your mouth, either back it up or back down.

There is no constitutional right to be agreed with.

11 comments to “A brief hot button moment”

  1. SandyO
    Comment
    1
      · August 5th, 2006 at 10:59 am · Link

    Amen, Shannon. The First Amendment gives a person the right to say it. It doesn’t give them the right to be free from disagreement or reprecussion from other private citizens.

    Say a singer criticizes the President or an actor makes anti-Jewish statements, each have the right to say them. But it isn’t an infringment of their rights if people don’t buy their CDs (I’m so old, I nearly typed records) or go to their movies.



  2. Charlene
    Comment
    2
      · August 5th, 2006 at 11:00 am · Link

    So nicely said. Between you, Kate, and Nora Roberts, what is there left to say to this woman?



  3. Sharon
    Comment
    3
      · August 5th, 2006 at 11:30 am · Link

    Hehehe I love Shannon, I do. We’d so get along.

    People forget that Freedom of Speech, while it guarantees you safe harbor to say what you want, it does NOT protect your from the CONSEQUENCES of having that say.

    Jan Butler is a perfect example. She had her say and now she’s crying foul because others are exercising THEIR first ammendment right to rip her a new one.



  4. Jordan
    Comment
    4
      · August 5th, 2006 at 3:29 pm · Link

    :noevil::noevil::noevil: :lmao:



  5. Alyssa
    Comment
    5
      · August 5th, 2006 at 9:02 pm · Link

    That’s about as clear a statement of the issue as I’ve seen. It baffles me that she can’t see the difference between the two. Perhaps if the police pulled up to her door she might get it . . .



  6. Stacy ~
    Comment
    6
      · August 6th, 2006 at 8:03 am · Link

    Amen Shannon. I saw the letter and thought it was rather ridiculous to scream that her rights were being violated when she was doing that same exact thing to those who disagreed with her. It works both ways. If she’s going to say something, she has to be prepared for opposing viewpoints – THAT’s free speech.



  7. Erin the Innocent
    Comment
    7
      · August 6th, 2006 at 12:39 pm · Link

    THANK YOU for this blog Shannon! I’m just sick of the whole melodrama that is going around about this letter. I hate when people think their rights are being violated whenever someone disagrees with them. *mutters* dumbass

    (see all I could come up with for a response to her was ‘dumbass’. *g* So creative hmmm?)



  8. Shannon
    Comment
    8
      · August 6th, 2006 at 2:53 pm · Link

    Well, I’m an unabashed Founding Fathers fangirl, and the whole thing just annoyed the crap out of me.

    In case you couldn’t tell. :roll:



  9. Gabriele
    Comment
    9
      · August 8th, 2006 at 12:47 pm · Link

    I can’t torture you. I can’t seize your lands and all your worldly goods. I can’t throw you and your entire family in a prison camp. I can’t hold a public execution and shoot you in the town square. I can’t even call up my buddy in law enforcement and have you do some time in County.

    Though don’t you sometimes wish you could? I certainly do. :whip: Especially if the scenery involves politicians. :crazy:

    BTW I keep coming across hints at some online catfigtht but still haven’t figured out what it’s about.

    Me want linkses. :lmao:



  10. Gabriele
    Comment
    10
      · August 8th, 2006 at 1:39 pm · Link

    I found them linkses, the Smart Bitches have them.

    But I still want to torture and execute our Ministess for Health. Among others. :devil:



  11. Mr. Smartass
    Comment
    11
      · August 9th, 2006 at 5:03 pm · Link

    Free speech means you can say what’s on your mind but need to be prepared to suffer the consequences. Some will not agree with you, it’s their right to say so. Some will agree, it’s their right to say so. Somebody might want to poke you in the nose, that you can sue for. But in this country they pretty much let you have your say without putting you in jail. They might make you have your say a few blocks away from where they are, but they let you say it.

    So when you feel like saying something…be prepared to listen to the dissenters as well as those who agree with you. Hell, you might even learn something.







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