The Perfect Response to the Thought Police

Today, as I read a Huffington Post article about Kim Kardashian’s Paper Magazine cover and the hilarious responses to it, I was excited by the ease at which people can express themselves today.  But just as that thought crossed my mind, I was linked to another Huffington Post article that left me deeply disturbed, and compelled me to write this article.

Apparently, a former contestant from the British version of The Apprentice, named Katie Hopkins, wrote something offensive on Twitter about Palestinians.  Now droves of people in the United Kingdom are calling for her prosecution under the Public Order Act 1986, specifically for “stirr[ing] up racial hatred.”

Advertisements

Federal “Hate Speech” Ban on Horizon

The US government is inching closer to banning so-called hate speech.  The Washington Free Beacon reports, the National Science Foundation (NSF), a federal agency, will spend nearly $1 million in taxpayer money to create an internet database targeting “false and misleading ideas,” “suspicious memes,” and “hate speech” on Twitter.  Though the database will have no authority immediately, it reflects the federal government’s priority and foreshadows passage of a hate speech ban similar to the UK’s Public Order Act 1986.

NFL Stands for Free Speech & Tradition

On May 21, 49 members of the United States Senate signed on to a letter urging National Football League (NFL) commissioner Roger Goodell to force the Washington Redskins to change their nickname.  The letter attempted to circumvent Redskins majority owner Daniel Snyder, who has repeatedly affirmed he would “never” change the name.  According to the Senators, “Redskins” is a racial slur for Native Americans.  They argued the NFL should send the message that “racism and bigotry have no place in professional sports.”  This, they say, is the message reflected in the NBA’s recent decision to ban Clippers’ owner Donald Sterling over the content of an illegally taped personal discussion with his girlfriend about racial association.  All 49 Senators who signed on to the letter belong to the Democratic Party.

Overreaction Posits Bad News for Free Speech

Sometime in the past, Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling made a private comment to his now-ex-girlfriend.  He asked that she refrain from bringing Black people to Clippers basketball games.  Sterling did not intend to publicly broadcast the comment.  Nevertheless, a recording of it appeared on the celebrity gossip website TMZ earlier this week.  Now, amid public outrage at Sterling’s thoughtcrime, the NBA has opened an “investigation” of the matter;