Deep thoughts

[torquill]

My god, it's content.

I was watching Bullshit! last night, and it's had me thinking. Penn went on a big long rant about how easily offended people are, and how it's started limiting free speech. While I agree with him that people are awfully thin-skinned, I'm not sure I'm totally with him.

Society has started to assume that we have a right not to be offended, not to be uncomfortable. Unfortunately, that's in direct opposition to the First Amendment -- the more free speech is, the less we can protect ourselves from offense. You can't have it both ways; you can't have both as full rights.

There's also the problem of what the line is between offense and abuse. Where does harassment shade from simple irritation or discomfort to actual injury? Workplaces make for such hairy problems, but schools do too. Where do you go from saying "get over it" and start punishing the one doing harm? Who determines whether harm is being done?

I'm still mulling all this over. Comments welcome.

Comments

[tiggerypum.livejournal.com]

okay, yes I can see that, and yes, it clearly is not so easy to define - especially since people's expectations and tolerance levels are sometimes so radically different.

I think I need to check out some of these shows...