 |
It’s a holiday week with early deadlines, which can only mean it’s time for another lightning-round column of “Ask the Publisher.” So grab a dictionary and hold on to your adverbs.
Q: After hearing college presidents have such a hard time answering the question, what do you think about students and others calling for the genocide of entire groups of people?
A: Freedom of speech is protected under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and one of Americans’ most cherished rights. However, it’s only encouraging liars to call yourself a “free speech absolutist,” as Elon Musk put it, as using your speech to hurt others can come with consequences. Here are three examples:
- For years, Alex Jones of Infowars infamy used his freedom of speech to call the massacre of 26 children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut a hoax. In October 2022, a judge ordered him to pay the shooting victims’ families $965 million for his pack of traumatic lies.
- Fox News was forced to admit to telling lies about the 2020 presidential election as part of a $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems in April 2023. A similar lawsuit filed by Smartmatic against Fox, Newsmax, Rudy Giuliani and others has yet to be heard.
- On a local level, a political activist known for inflammatory posts on social media is being sued for saying things that have been characterized as libelous and slanderous. This case could set a national precedent on just how far keyboard warriors can stretch the truth online.
Back to the question, which should have been easy to answer. Of course, it shouldn’t be protected speech to call for the genocide of Jews, Palestinians, Gentiles, immigrants nor any other group of people. That intelligent people tried to dodge the question shows that when you try to make everyone happy, you often end up doing the exact opposite.
Q: When do protests, especially on college campuses, go too far?
A: Protesting, especially the political kind, is another beloved protection under the First Amendment. I salute those who in years’ past have fought the good fights for civil rights and more.
However, the right to protest does not supersede the law. You still need permits from the proper authorities for any large event. And as soon as someone breaks a law – stopping traffic, trespassing, vandalism, public urination, whatever – that person should be taken into custody.
There is simply no excuse for allowing protests to get so far out of hand that entire buildings on college campuses have essentially been taken hostage. What are we teaching our students if we allow lawlessness to run rampant?
Q: “Why the excessive coverage of Murphy Music & Brews? This glorified drinking event under the guide of helping vets with a music venue is not needed in Cherokee County.”
A: The above was sent in as a letter to the editor, which we would have published if the writers had included contact information. So I’ll answer it here.
It’s not the Cherokee Scout’s job to moralize on whether someone should drink alcohol, as we live in a free country where it’s perfectly legal to have an adult beverage at proper locations. It is our job to inform readers when an all-day event is coming to our community that will shut down almost half of town. It’s also our job to inform people who’s playing at the event and what it’s benefitting.
In one day, Murphy Music & Brews raised a staggering $200,000 – 100 percent of which will go to help post-9/11 U.S. military veterans who are struggling with physical and/or mental trauma. The event also brought in musical acts that otherwise never would have played here.
The primary sponsor, Buck Bald Brewing, gave an incredible amount of time and money to the cause and should at least be respected for what it has done, not judged. No one was forced to attend the event, much less drink at it, and if you didn’t the ticket was less expensive.
It shouldn’t be liberal or conservative to do the right thing – and helping our vets is always the right thing to do.
David Brown is publisher of the Cherokee Scout. You can reach him by phone, 828-837-5122; email, dbrown@cherokeescout.com; or on X @daviddBstroh.