WizardMarks wrote: > WM: Well, now, that's the point isn't it? I daresay those > Mpls. police officers would not choose to associate with > Channing, but, since he reports for the daily newspaper of > this city, they have no choice but to contend with his writing > when it is directed at them. They cannot vote him out.
... > WM: What's done in academia is not at issue. We're discussing > what terms are used in the daily newspaper. If using the term > 'people of color' restricts your freedom of expression or enforces > conformity to particular sets of social norms, that seems like a > personal problem to me. I'm glad that we're getting down to basic issue here. Please allow me to summarize. The question is whether individuals or newspaper reporters should be penalized for using offensive language. The answer is clear and unequivocal: American citizens and residents have a First Amendment right to be offensive. If this right offends you, sorry, but the alternative is to create censorship boards and congressional committees to insure that "correct" and "acceptable" behavior is adhered to. I've always been disturbed that people don't understand why the First Amendment is, for the most part, unconditional. I think that this issue comes back to my observation that much of liberal politics in Minneapolis seems to be about forcing your values on others, without any understanding or respect for the rights of others. And here we're not discussing an "implied" right to smoke (or whatever). Freedom of the press and freedom of expression are fundamental and explicit protections. You are free to believe and express your opposition to the First Amendment, however it's ironic given that it is the foundation of the "Civil Rights" movement. I'm not sure why, but we don't seem to hear the phrase, "I may not agree with what you say, but I'll fight for your right to say it," anymore. Michael Atherton Prospect Park REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
