Free speech at odds with ending racism: Opinionline

USATODAY 8:41 a.m. EDT March 13, 2015

Video of SAE members singing racist chant.(Photo: Unheard Movement via YouTube)

David French,National Review: "This week, several University of Oklahoma frat boys were caught on tape singing a vile, racist song. ... And private citizens countered with expression of their own doing what the marketplace of ideas does best, countering bad speech with better speech. Then, the government got involved. OU President David Boren has expelled two students allegedly responsible for the chant. I hope these students find the courage to sue ... because the First Amendment needs a defense. They said terrible things, but they did not violate the law."

Jim Mitchell,The Dallas Morning News: "These students deserved hefty punishment and they received it, unlike previous generations of Sigma Alpha Epsilon students who apparently learned the same vile song in an age without social media. ... The average black person's friend network is 8% white, but the average white person's network is only 1% black. ... It is time to ... admit America still has a problem."

Ingrid Vasquez,Fox News Latino: "You can't punish someone for committing a crime of bigotry. But you can certainly try to show them why that mentality is questionable. By the time most head off to college, they are 18-years-old and are capable of forming their own ideas about the world. It is not a situation where parents are to blame. ... It doesn't matter if you wear Greek letters, or if your skin is black or white. We all have the power to make our voice heard."

USA TODAY

Oklahoma-style hate is everywhere: Column

Like this column?Get more in your e-mail inbox

Eugene Volokh, The Washington Post: "(There is) no First Amendment exception for supposed 'hate speech.' But if there is such an exception, there certainly is no First Amendment foundation for distinguishing speech that is ... anti-black from speech that is anti-white, anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim, anti-Catholic, anti-women, or anti-men. If the University of Oklahoma president's position is accepted as legally sound, then there'd be no legal basis for protecting the other kinds of speech while expelling students for (anti-black) sort of speech."

The Oklahoma (OU) Daily,editorial: " 'Real Sooners' aren't racists or bigots. However, taking a peek at (social media) shows racist thoughts and comments are much more prevalent among OU students than we'd like. ... The veil of 'tradition' the fraternity members on that bus hid behind made them think their hate speech was acceptable. (The conversation) isn't over because SAE got kicked off campus."

Continued here:

Free speech at odds with ending racism: Opinionline

Related Posts

Comments are closed.