it doesn’t say “kinda freedom of some speech as long as we like it”, ya know

it’s amazing how the english language is so rapidly changing these days…

…seriously.

the last time my dad bitched at me before he died was about me saying “fuck” once too often in conversation over dinner. i politely informed him that, to my surprise, the current up and coming generation barely had this in their top five words that offend, easily now being beat out by (brace yourself) nigger, faggot, cunt, and retard.

he didn’t care and still asked me to reign it back a bit. i did, out of respect.

but no we’ve got “don’t say ‘gay’ florida” and “don’t say ‘abortion’ oklahoma” laws on the books. fucking seriously? have republicans devolved to the point of bringing back literally (or, more accurately, legally) “cursed words”?

and here i thought that whole “witch hunt” bullshit was them taking it back to puritan times!

while they always like to swear allegiance to the second amendment, modern conservatives seem to forget it truly IS second, and there is one before it, and it guarantees the right to free speech. not just free speech you like. not just free speech you agree with. but truly, actually, FREE SPEECH.

and it’s attacked from both sides.

i recently watched a show that was a couple years old whereby they went to berkley university in california (very liberal institution) to talk with conservative students (while a real minority there they do actually exist) that were trying to get alt-right speakers to come speak on campus. they argued it was a free speech issue. the liberal majority on campus argued they shouldn’t be allowed to speak because it was hate speech.

i agree with both, but more with the conservatives. it IS a free speech issue, and even hate speech is covered by the first amendment. a lot of people don’t recognize that. even if it’s poisonous. even if it’s hateful and hurtful. it’s still just verbal communication, and is therefore protected by the constitution.

but, as january 6th shows you, the actions said speech can provoke are NOT protected, so wipe that silly smirk off your cheeto-colored face…

hey look – just like his wife, it won’t hug him back, either…

but the most telling statement i’ve heard in recent memory was from a vice story on the death of public newspapers, where they interview a lady about the death of the local paper in (if memory serves me correctly) youngstown, ohio. when asked if it’s demise was a bad thing, she states quite the opposite, because they were “leftists” who always made her feel bad for her politcal leanings, and she closed with the mic dropping:

“why would i pay for a newspaper that doesn’t reflect my beliefs?”

and that, to me, sums it all up right there. people know longer want news, in print or any other format, to inform them. to educate them. to enlighten them. they want it for validation. they want it to say all the quiet parts out loud. and, more imporantly,they want it to tell them they’re RIGHT (as in correct, regardless of leaning right or left) and that their feelings are justified, and that they need to stay the course and jesus and trump and all their buddies will make it all better (swap out obama, biden, peloci, and AOC if it fits you) and the other side are pure fucking evil.

and until we can get past that little hurdle of the purpose of news sources this will never, ever get better. period.