"This is America. I have a right to offend you. You have a right to be offended."

[The Cleaner]

I once saw this while looking at a disgusting right wing board years ago. Anyway it struck me how offensive it was. Basically, the poster's attitude was, "F*#K you, I'm going to offend whoever I want to offend because I can, and I love it, and you can't stop me. If I offend you, and I plan to because I just can't help myself (it's only the spineless whiney liberals I'm offending anyway so who cares), well hey - this is America buddy, get over it and stop whining. Love, Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh and your adoring Freeper friends."

Is America the compassionate land of the free, home of the brave, "give me your poor" - or is it the land of offensiveness, rudeness, hostility, and callousness? I prefer the former.

These people need a SERIOUS reality check.

[emulatorloo]

1. I remember the words somewhere "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" eom

[no_hypocrisy]

2. Just because you are permitted to do so, doesn't mean you should.

A modicum of standards of civility, discretion, and integrity never hurt anyone.

[rocktivity]

3. They should keep in mind, then that EVERYONE has that right.

:headbang:
rocknation

[ThomCat]

4. You hear the same thing here.

Whenever people complain about sexism or homophobia someone invariably posts that nobody has a right to not be offended.

It's an invitation to social darwinism. If you can be harassed or offended then it's your problem. If I can harass or offend you then I have a right to do so. There is no assumption of civility, except the civility of the offended people keeping their mouthes shut and putting up with the abuse.

It's not very progressive, and it makes some people here sound mighty republican.
x(

[crispini]

5. "This is America. You have a right to be a dick. I have a right to call you a dick."

That's the only response I can think of for that. Honestly. MANNERS. It's AMAZING how much more polite people in other countries are. And sad, too, that one has to develop a hide akin to that of an elephant in order to participate in public discourse.

[kestrel91316]

20. Hey, dummy, manners are for cheese-eating surrender monkeys and

those latte-sipping Volvo-driving faggots!!!!1!!!1111111

:sarcasm:

[VelmaD]

6. People do have the right to be offensive but...

they too often don't want you to have the right to call them on the carpet for it. That's the part I think that makes people so angry. So many "defenders" or "free speech" don't really believe in it when it comes to other people's right to call them on their words/behavior.

[jwirr]

7. And yet the law is supposed to protect them when someone gets

angry enough to impeach them. I really do not feel sorry for them.

[bryant69]

8. It's an accurate statement

However what the author assumes is that as a liberal our only response is to throw our hands up and walk away while they laugh at us. Where it fails is that we Liberals have the right to offend right back.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[VelmaD]

9. I have to add something to what you said...

while we may have the right to offend right back...as decent human beings I think we have more of a responsibility to point out to other sides errors and their meanness without stopping to being offensive. There are plenty of ways to make the other side look bad without resorting to name-calling and other offensive behavior.

[bryant69]

12. I agree

But of course even a calm pointing out of, say, the influence right wing religious extremists have over this white house, will be seen as hate speech by them. I think we can offend them pretty easily without resorting to name calling and the like.

On the other hand Republicans really are cementheads.

Bryant

[VelmaD]

14. excellent point

They do have a stange combination of hyper-sensitivity to insult when it's directed at them...but a stunning level of obtuseness when it comes to the feelings of others. I offend them just by breathing I think. But they can call me the most vile names and if I take offense then I'm just "hysterical" or too sensitive or being "PC" and denying them their rights. Stunning isn't it.

[BOSSHOG]

15. I bet you are a

valiant soldier in the war on Christmas. You spend your waking hours persecuting christians and thinking that those with liberal views should have constitutional liberties. "Cementhead." I like that.

[EstimatedProphet]

21. I'm sure you do offend them just by breathing

It shows them that it's not all about them.

[TlalocW]

10. I agree with that

Ann Coulter has every right to stand up there and make faggot jokes, and we have every right to call her on that (offend and be offended). She invariably whines that people are trying to shut her up and makes references to communist Russia, but all we're doing is analyzing what she says and drawing conclusions - such as she is the true face of the republican party, and we're putting that out for people to chew on. Invariably, some people will agree with what she said and join the republican party because it's the "anti-faggot" party, but she also loses advertisers, newspapers, etc., and donations to Edwards and the democratic party go up.

Popular speech doesn't need to be defended - that's why we have the First Amendment.

TlalocW

[gatorboy]

11. They can offend me all they want with verbal bigotry.

It's their push to make their bigotry LAW that I have trouble with. Don't you?

[ck4829]

13. Yeah, but if you offend RW'ers, you are a "Christian Hating, America Hating Left Wing Socialist."

What's up with that?

[GeorgeGist]

16. I have no obligation to be offended ...

by fools.

[The2ndWheel]

17. I'm offended by the grudge you're holding about

something you read once on the internet years ago.

I know what you're saying, but if someone wants to be an ass, they're going to be an ass. There are 6.5(and still growing) billion people on this planet, some portion will be asses.

"Is America the compassionate land of the free, home of the brave, "give me your poor" - or is it the land of offensiveness, rudeness, hostility, and callousness? I prefer the former."

America wouldn't exist without genocide and slavery. It was never the compassionate land of jack squat.

[Nikki Stone1]

18. The never-ending selfishness and irresponsibility of freepers never fail to amaze me.

Bleh.

[treestar]

19. No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

Eleanor Roosevelt.

We need to remember that. Ann C. can say whatever she wants. But no one has to let it get to them. Ignoring her type is the answer. Laugh at her, make fun of her (and Rushbo and all the rest of it) but don't let them actually hurt you. If they think they have, it only emboldens them. Don't give them that power. That's exactly what those sickos want.

It's not the bullied person who has the problem. It's the bully who does. This culture needs to get that.