"We probably could have saved ourselves, but we were too damned lazy to try very hard ... and too damn cheap."
Proposed racial epitaph to be inscribed into the walls of the Grand Canyon.
Kurt Vonnegut
1922-2007
“So it goes.”
“The ether now has a memory.”
DAVID CARR, The Media Equation, NYTimes re Imus no longer in the morning
In the gray land of unintended consequences, in the newest circle of hell he now finds himself shuffling around in, muttering, I wonder if the Great Imus will watch Jon Corzine hobbling on his shattered leg for the next several months and contemplate his unintended but undeniable role in yet one more fellow human's pain? How do people get that stupid? Still, we have reason for pride.
The "hate speech social engineering emergency response system" worked almost almost flawlessly this time. Almost.
Step 1: A big mouthed self-important well-paid blowhard spews venom in a commercial/public venue
Step 2: Big-mouth's sponsors look at the numbers, do the business calculations and consider the ramifications of doing the right thing.
Step 3: Big mouth's celebrity pay and celebrity soap box are promptly removed. He or she is free to continue to speak or think as they do. Just as an ordinary plebe. You and I don't get to use the "public airwaves" as a toilet. Why should anybody?
Perhaps more important, the proud, scrappy young ladies of Rutgers have a teachable moment to pass on for all posterity, to their daughters and grand-daughters--showing future generations how "full-court ass-whup the misogynist cracker" is played. There's an equal opportunity lesson America, bright as a diamond, right out there for the next bigot, of any race or persuasion, to take pause before imploding so messily.
Still, if we could just lose Step 2 altogether, we'd be in even better shape. Nobody needed to pause half a week and run the numbers before canning that mullet-headed turkey. Good grief. Next time, just do it immediately. Do it 'cause it's right.
The best lesson I ever learned regarding the balance between free speech, tolerance and hate speech was drilled by my eighth-grade history teacher, Audrey (the Dragon Lady) Bourgeois who stood before class and often intoned, "I may not agree with what you say but I'll defend with my life, your right to say so." Hers was a more muscular and more constitutionally accurate read of free speech than today's shock jockeying. Imagine, Rush, stoked on on phosphodiesterase inhibitors or Anne on whatever synthetics make her apple bob, defending, not just tolerating opposing views.
Defense of the right to speak disagreeably makes a grinding halt at tolerating public hate speech. Just as speech defines and precipitates action, hate speech is always the root of hateful action. Every genocide we've ignored in the last century began with a small number of people talking hate in hushed tones, watching beady eyed to see if they could get away with it and when they do, bold talk quickly becomes unspeakable action. All because they believe they can get away with it.
The best lesson I ever learned regarding the balance between free speech, tolerance and hate speech was drilled by my eighth-grade history teacher, Audrey (the Dragon Lady) Bourgeois who stood before class and often intoned, "I may not agree with what you say but I'll defend with my life, your right to say so." Hers was a more muscular and more constitutionally accurate read of free speech than today's shock jockeying. Imagine, Rush, stoked on on phosphodiesterase inhibitors or Anne on whatever synthetics make her apple bob, defending, not just tolerating opposing views.
Defense of the right to speak disagreeably makes a grinding halt at tolerating public hate speech. Just as speech defines and precipitates action, hate speech is always the root of hateful action. Every genocide we've ignored in the last century began with a small number of people talking hate in hushed tones, watching beady eyed to see if they could get away with it and when they do, bold talk quickly becomes unspeakable action. All because they believe they can get away with it.
And when they get away with less hateful speech, a little less hateful action will happen. The world turns just a little smoother. So it goes. This week we learned hate speech isn't free. All in all, a good week. From your comfortable love nest on Tralfamadore, don't abandon us yet, Mr. Pilgrim. There's some small hope.
May I have the night canopy please?
May I have the night canopy please?
