A rant; sorry
I will never, ever understand why a significant number of people feel free to say all sorts of hateful things, but when you call them out on it or tell them off, they scream "You're so intolerant! Look at how intolerant liberals are!"
No. When someone says something like "gays are going to Hell" or "all Muslims are terrorists" and you tell them it's bullshit or it's not okay, that's not intolerance, for Momos' sake. Is it so fucking hard to treat people with respect and not be a douchebag?
Anyway, Kirk Cameron just made some lameass comments on CNN and he's welcome to 'em, but there's a growing chorus on Twitter shrieking that people are being intolerant and stifling his free speech by saying he's a jerk. Time and time again I see Americans not understanding their own rights and freedoms. 'Free speech' does not mean "I get to say whatever I want and you all have to nod respectfully". It means people can tell you off and say their own piece if they don't like what you said. (I also see a lot of people not understanding that they don't necessarily have free speech on a private website; if it's my site, I'm not obliged to let you yell whatever you want). Sometimes I really wonder what's being taught in American schools.
No. When someone says something like "gays are going to Hell" or "all Muslims are terrorists" and you tell them it's bullshit or it's not okay, that's not intolerance, for Momos' sake. Is it so fucking hard to treat people with respect and not be a douchebag?
Anyway, Kirk Cameron just made some lameass comments on CNN and he's welcome to 'em, but there's a growing chorus on Twitter shrieking that people are being intolerant and stifling his free speech by saying he's a jerk. Time and time again I see Americans not understanding their own rights and freedoms. 'Free speech' does not mean "I get to say whatever I want and you all have to nod respectfully". It means people can tell you off and say their own piece if they don't like what you said. (I also see a lot of people not understanding that they don't necessarily have free speech on a private website; if it's my site, I'm not obliged to let you yell whatever you want). Sometimes I really wonder what's being taught in American schools.