Leftist double standards
by David Storobin, Esq
Leftist lawyer Gloria Allred likes to say that there’s a difference between “free speech” and “hate speech” – the former being protected by the U.S. Constitution, while the latter must be criminalized. Such slogans are easy to make, but where must the line be drawn? Is free speech a radical version of what we like, while hate speech is anything we oppose?
I. Free Speech – Burning the American Flag; Hate Speech – Insulting the Koran
The Left has been near-uniformly opposed to a law or Constitutional Amendment banning flag burning. It has repeatedly been held by Courts that flag-burning is legitimate speech because it expresses one’s opposition to American policies, government, people and/or culture.
Burning American flags, spitting on them, walking on them has been a normal part of “welcoming” U.S. Presidents and high-ranking diplomats in the Middle East, Latin America and other parts of the world. It is treated as normal, and American officials claim that such “speech” is welcome because it shows that the “welcoming people” have a mind of their own, and the lack of response from Washington is a sign democracy.Several months ago, however, someone stuffed the Koran into a toilet at Pace University in New York. The University and mainstream media went on full-alert. PU promised to leave no stone unturned to catch and punish the offender. The Left was in uniform agreement that such acts cannot be allowed.
As such, a distinction was drawn – burning, spitting at and walking on the American flag, the symbol of the United States, is “free speech” to be praised, but placing a Koran, the symbol of Islam, in a disreputable place is “hate speech” that must be criminalized
II. Painting Jesus in urine and Mary in feces – free speech; Cartoon where Muhammad complains that of being followed by extremists – hate speech
Several years ago, New York’s Museum of Modern Arts (MOMA) put up a painting of Virgin Mary in horse dung. Rudy Giuliani and social conservatives protested government funding of this project, as well as a previous painting of Jesus in urine.
Rudy was immediately condemned as a bad lawyer who does not understand the basics of U.S. Constitutional law, while social conservatives were described as “religious nuts” that are destroying the very nature of America by infringing on the Constitutional right to a freedom of speech, free of of religious expression, and separation of Church and State.
Mind you that these so-called “religious nuts” were not opposed to anti-Christian paintings, but rather the government funding of such. Yet, this was too much for the Left – apparently, there’s something in the American Constitution which makes it mandatory for the government to sponsor anti-Christian art.
And yet, when anti-Muhammad cartoons were published – first in Denmark, then elsewhere in Europe – it was debated whether such was a hate crime. Several Europeans were dragged into court to face criminal charges and civil suits for insulting Islam. Charlie Hebdo was sued in France for “public insults against a group of people on the basis of religion” after publishing two of these cartoons. This was described by the Great Mosque of Paris as “an act of deliberate aggression” against Muslims.
To its credit, the Time Magazine started its article at the time of these trials, “Voltaire must be spinning in his grave.” Others, however, discussed how far Europe should go to be culturally more sensitive and closer to those who believe that they are entitled in burn cars and kill innocents in response to any negative speech about them. Here, freedom of speech did not apply. Muhammad cartoons are hate speech, while paintings of Virgin Mary in feces in free speech.
3. Kill the honkie – free speech; race and gender are not social constructs, but actual biological facts – hate speech
Prof. Steven Pinker of Harvard University, a superstar experiment psychologist and cognitive scientist, wrote a book in 2002 entitled “The Blank Slate” where he describes the interference from the Left in scientific research. College Professors from Departments of Sociology, Politics and Education, who are usually completely ignorant when it comes to science, insist that science Professors repeat the politically-correct mantras that not only are gender and race differences non-existent, but even the concept of gender and race is nothing more than a “social construct” invented by White Male Racists/Sexists.
http://globalpolitician.com/articledes.asp?ID=2802&cid=1&sid=104