Why do liberals consistently equate freedom of speech with sacrilege, all the while condemning any and all valid forms of Christian religious expression as a violation of their rights.
Apart from the obvious hypocrisy and intolerance of this stance, the question which springs immediately to mind is, "Which right?" Could they be referring to their perceived right not to be offended?
As you may recall, the so-called "free speech movement" had its inception on the Berkley campus of the University of California back in the 60s. According to the university's history of that era (http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/calhistory/60s.html), the original goal of the movement was freedom of political expression, which soon morphed into freedom to offend.
Somehow, the quest for freedom of speech, like so many other causes in which the left becomes involved, became perverted. Rather than championing freedom of speech and expression, political or otherwise, the left now uses the notion as a cudgel to suppress any speech or expression they find personally objectionable — and they find anything remotely evocative of Christianity objectionable.
For people who decry the very idea of God, these folks seem to feel unduly threatened by the sight of an empty cross — and they see empty crosses everywhere. They're worse than those nut cases who see the image of the Virgin Mary on a slice of burnt toast or in the hoarfrost on a window pane!
The most recent example of this regrettable tendency is their objection to a Penn State T-shirt that's for sale to the student body.
The shirt is white, with a blue stripe down the front and back, representing the single blue stripe on Penn State's football helmets, and the words "Penn State" in blue letters across the stripe. In the lower right corner of the intersection of the stripe and school name are the words, "White Out!" On the back are the words, "Don't be intimidated… It's just me and 110,000 of my friends."
Anyone who's a Penn State fan is familiar with the student "white out" at home games, and knows that 110,000 is the capacity of Beaver Stadium. The shirt, which was designed by a Penn State student, combines the simplicity of the Penn State football uniform with the enthusiasm of the student body.
But the left has managed to find objectionable this shirt which epitomizes Penn State football. Despite the Nike swoosh at the top of the stripe, liberals claim the single blue stripe and the words "Penn State" form a cross — and they are offended by the cross.
Not to be outdone, the Philadelphia branch of the Anti-Defamation League also filed a complaint. I’d love to know what they find anti-Semitic about the shirt.
Michal Berns, a member of Penn State Hillel, a Jewish organization, is quoted as saying, “At first glance, you don’t necessarily think that’s what it looks like, but when you look at it more, it does look like a cross.”
In other words, you have to TRY REALLY HARD to find anything offensive in the design.
Is it possible to be any more dim-witted than these so-called proponents of "free speech" who find a student T-shirt objectionable? I doubt it.
The solution is simple: If you don't like the shirt, DON'T BUY THE SHIRT!
Apart from the obvious hypocrisy and intolerance of this stance, the question which springs immediately to mind is, "Which right?" Could they be referring to their perceived right not to be offended?
As you may recall, the so-called "free speech movement" had its inception on the Berkley campus of the University of California back in the 60s. According to the university's history of that era (http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/calhistory/60s.html), the original goal of the movement was freedom of political expression, which soon morphed into freedom to offend.
Somehow, the quest for freedom of speech, like so many other causes in which the left becomes involved, became perverted. Rather than championing freedom of speech and expression, political or otherwise, the left now uses the notion as a cudgel to suppress any speech or expression they find personally objectionable — and they find anything remotely evocative of Christianity objectionable.
For people who decry the very idea of God, these folks seem to feel unduly threatened by the sight of an empty cross — and they see empty crosses everywhere. They're worse than those nut cases who see the image of the Virgin Mary on a slice of burnt toast or in the hoarfrost on a window pane!
The most recent example of this regrettable tendency is their objection to a Penn State T-shirt that's for sale to the student body.
The shirt is white, with a blue stripe down the front and back, representing the single blue stripe on Penn State's football helmets, and the words "Penn State" in blue letters across the stripe. In the lower right corner of the intersection of the stripe and school name are the words, "White Out!" On the back are the words, "Don't be intimidated… It's just me and 110,000 of my friends."
Anyone who's a Penn State fan is familiar with the student "white out" at home games, and knows that 110,000 is the capacity of Beaver Stadium. The shirt, which was designed by a Penn State student, combines the simplicity of the Penn State football uniform with the enthusiasm of the student body.But the left has managed to find objectionable this shirt which epitomizes Penn State football. Despite the Nike swoosh at the top of the stripe, liberals claim the single blue stripe and the words "Penn State" form a cross — and they are offended by the cross.
Not to be outdone, the Philadelphia branch of the Anti-Defamation League also filed a complaint. I’d love to know what they find anti-Semitic about the shirt.
Michal Berns, a member of Penn State Hillel, a Jewish organization, is quoted as saying, “At first glance, you don’t necessarily think that’s what it looks like, but when you look at it more, it does look like a cross.”
In other words, you have to TRY REALLY HARD to find anything offensive in the design.
Is it possible to be any more dim-witted than these so-called proponents of "free speech" who find a student T-shirt objectionable? I doubt it.
The solution is simple: If you don't like the shirt, DON'T BUY THE SHIRT!
© 2009 by Libbi Adams. All rights reserved.
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