City leader’s view: When you witness racism, speak up
December 8, 2012 at 6:00 pm in Duluth News Tribune
There aren’t a lot of cities as beautiful as ours. I feel lucky to call Duluth home. I’m drawn to the energy of Lake Superior, and I’m deeply rooted here by my many friendships. There are so many good things happening in Duluth right now, and we have so many things going for us as a city.
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And then there’s that pesky First Amendment again. Nobody has a right to not be offended by someone else’s speech. Someone else’s words only have as much power as you choose to give them. If a person wants to make a complete arse of themselves, they certainly have that right. And if provocative speech offends you, I suggest you don’t listen to any rap music. Or is that different?
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defend someones right to be racist all you want Dan but thats not the point of the article buddy….its that everyone who hears idiots be racist should step up and tell them its wrong.
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The point of the editorial was that a city councilor saw an opportunity for some cheap self-promotion and a bit of grandstanding. Do you actually support what she’s advocating? How dare she presume to tell anybody else they’re not allowed to exercise their consistutional right to free speech? Her words and actions were more offensive to me than the person she got hysterical with.
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While I agree that racist commenys are stupid…. it’s not my place to tell people how to talk. Now if physical danger was possible then intervention would be necessary. Words are just that words. Consider the source and leave it at that.
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How long had the woman been tying up the phone and how urgent was this man’s need to use the phone? It was a hospital.
That aside,,,, what he said was unkind but I would hate for American society to ever reach the point where it is in England where anything and everything is off limits or deemed to be racist – even when there’s no racial component to it.
“Hate crimes” seem to have more legal potency than non-hate crimes but I felt revulsion at the President Obama effigy on the billboard on Miller Hill when I saw the photo and the first thing that came to my mind was “hate crime”. I reconsidered my legal position but still despised whoever it was that did that.
The right to offend. Hmmm.. That’s an interesting point. Needs to be a public debate on that one.
Dan H has a very valid argument about rap music. Some of it is vulgar, sexist, demeaning to women, racist with multiple references to the “N” word. It can be sexually exploitative, violence advocating and celebrating and intolerant. It was borne of urban Black American culture. What does that say?
I try to handle my encounters with people as individually as possible – to be mindful of preconceived judgements, stereotypes, prejudices but I will never be perfect and nor will any of you.
We need to be more considerate of each other and open to polite criticism sometimes. That includes me but it’s all in the delivery folks – and you can’t please everyone all the time.
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