It all started when Paul Reviere took a midnight ride in 1775.
Thirteen colonies severed their political connections with Great Britain in 1776 declaring independence. They were unhappy with laws that collected taxes but did not give them a say in government. It was expensive to not be heard.
Later, George Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River and it was on.
But, it was later, much later on September 25, 1789, the First Congress of the United States proposed 12 amendments to the Constitution. The first one protected freedom of speech and expression.
The fight for the right to speak freely allowed the winners to do just that. And, it seems that we have been fighting amongst ourselves to determine what is free to be spoken about or expressed and what is not ever since.
What we have decided so far is that you cannot scream “fire” in a crowded theater when there is no fire. But you can burn the very flag that Betsy Ross either did or did not sew to celebrate our freedom. We also revise history daily, but we digress.
Fast forward nearly two hundred and fifty years and now we have what is known as “hate speech.”
Most define “hate speech” as offensive discourse targeting a group or an individual based on inherent characteristics (such as race, religion, or gender) that may threaten social peace.
It’s a delicate balance. Absolutists would say all speech is free speech. The flower children of today find almost everything offensive.
Now Harvard, that great bastion of education, finds itself front and center on the latest free speech debate stage. Ingrates on campus decided to shout out what amounts to “death to all Jews.”
Congress called Harvard School President Claudine Gay to testify about this vulgar behavior. Repeatedly she refused to condemn the protesters while testifying. The outrage and backlash from alumni, donors, and federal government school policymakers was immediate and rightfully intense.
In a nutshell, she refused to speak out freely against people speaking freely. But, isn’t it her right to do so? We suppose that it depends on when you think free speech ends and hate speech begins if it even technically exists.
It’s also Harvard’s right to terminate her for cause. Didn’t she fail to provide for the safety of Jewish students and faculty members? You bet.
The Harvard Board met Tuesday and issued the following statement. “Our extensive deliberations affirm our confidence that President Gay is the right leader to help our community heal and to address the very serious societal issues we are facing.”
Penn’s President Liz Magill had enough sense to resign after a similarly dreadful same-day appearance before Congress. It’s a simple way to avoid being fired.
You should know, if you don’t, that Gay is black. Would Harvard’s Board feel the same if, say, Gay was white and refused to agree that, oh, black lives matter? It’s a fair question, and the First Amendment provides the opportunity to ask it, doesn’t it?
Former Georgia state Rep. Vernon Jones also blasted the school for allegedly valuing its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts over its support of Jewish students. “@Harvard decided not to fire Claudine Gray for the same reason they decided to hire Claudine Gay because she’s Black,” Jones wrote. “Had they hired her for the right reason, they could have fired her for the right reason.”
Strong words.
In case you care, Jones is also black.
Maybe the founding fathers could have added an addendum to old Amendment number 1.
Speech is free, but dumb can cost lives.
Comment section
Engage. Enrage. Enjoy.
Harvard can do whatever they want. They can also face the backlash however bad it will be. These academic cowards are best kept in Boston and will face the music of an isolated mindset fueled by imperialistic tone.
Let’s be very frank here. Money will eventually decide their fate. And when nobody from Harvard can get a job that pays their student loans, it will all come full circle. This isn’t about color, it’s about character or lack thereof.
Say it with me Boom Boom, a fish stinks from the head.
Regrettably this comment got caught in the SPAM folder.
It’s freed now as it should be per the First Amendment.
The cost of education(if you want to call it that) is more expensive by the poison injested than the debt accumulated. And, that’s saying something.
Holy schmoly, I smell a rotten fish.
Affirmative action hire Gay not only skates free with support of Jew hate on her campus, but plagiarism as well in first gaining her credentials. Apparently incapable of an original thought, she may have plagiarized her Jew hate from affirmative action President Obama, who helped unleash ISIS after his Arab Spring community organizing efforts a few years back. Let’s hope Gay’s and other lefties efforts do not spawn similar radical groups stateside.
Hope is good. Action would be better, but we’re not too hopeful.
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