In the passage "Protecting Freedom of Expression at Harvard," written by Derek Bok he describes an instance at Harvard University where a few students hung a confederate flag and in protest another student hung a swastika. Derek challenges the the rights of freedom of speech in this act.
In our country freedom of speech is a right that many Americans are grateful to have, in some countries many of the things we say and or do would result in instant death to the perpetrator. As a U.S. citizen freedom of speech is one of our greatest luxuries. I ,myself, am very opinionated and I value the ability to say what is on my mind when I feel necessary. For some people however freedom of speech is displayed in such a brash manner that it should not be condoned, such as the acts of the students at Harvard. Bok states," It is important to distinguish between the appropriateness of such communications and their status under the First Amendment. The fact that the speech is protected by the First Amendment does not necessarily mean that it is right, proper, or civil." He also continues to say that many students at this University may see these flags and swastika as insensitive. There is a fine line between what is appropriate and what is not and just because it is legal does not mean it is morally just. Now I am not bashing on anyone who displays certain flags or symbols that for some are offensive. I am just saying that there is a right place and time to do so and more likely than not the right place and time is not in public.
Agreeing with what you said but taking it a little further,
ReplyDeleteI think it is shameful that someone would put up a confederate flag in public view when they know it is offensive. The person doing it knows it will offend a lot of people, but does it anyway. Thats called being a jackass.
The confederate flag represents the south from over 100 years ago and a time of civil unrest. People went to war and died to make America the UNITED States of America. The U.S. is not the North and the South, it is one nation. Overall, putting a confederate flag in public view only encourages a division in our country and thats why it should not be on display at all.
I personally agree with you on the appropriateness of what we say and when we say. It is offensive to display certain things, and the people who decide to display such actions are completely aware of what they are doing. As much as it offends many people, it is still a right that those who decide to offend have. If you want to disrespect a multitude of people and abide by the law, this is a sure way to do so. The students who decided to display the confederate flag were able to do so because they had the right to do so. As offensive as the gestures may be, those students have the right to do so just like we have the right to express our distaste for it on this blog.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you also. Displaying this flag is just ignorant. There is no point to do it other then to gain attention from everyone and offend people. The First Amendment does protect it though, so they can keep it up if they want to. If I was a leader of the University I would ask them to remove it off school property. Or maybe the people who are offended could ask them nicely to take it down and maybe they will grow up and realize that they can have it put up in private and not out in public to hurt people's feelings.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this statement having free speech is very important and it gives constructive criticism to certain things. We do take advantage of free speech sometimes and we forget how lucky we are to have the ability to talk without being persecuted. There are people who have no respect for other people when they display offensive things as they did in Bok's work. People know that the confederate flag represents slavery and it represents unfairness to african americans and the people who display such a flag should be punished.
ReplyDeleteI agree 100% that the hanging of the flags at Harvard was wrong. But, coming from a small town and working in a big country town where a lot of hicks are, I see confederate flags all the time. It is not uncommon to see one flying on the back of a truck or up in someones room in highland, IL. It makes me wonder what it would take for a reaction to happen to make this change. if the kids at harvard could get a rise out of one flag on one campus, how many flags will it take in highland to get them taken down?
ReplyDeletePersonally I see the problem or issue that people have with certain flags. But, to me a flag is just a symbol or representation something. A flag can represent anything from a state and country to a club or group that people have invented. And they all represent something meaningful to those involved with it or have some historical background to it. Symbols are everywhere in the world and all people in this world do take offense to them. We have flags hanging in our student success center and I'm sure that certain one offend a lot of people at this school. But, the problem is that people are immature and feel that they just can't live with symbols around them and need to make a big deal about it to prove a point maybe completely unnecessary to the people around them.
ReplyDeleteI think that freedom of speech is important in our society. Hanging flags is a form of freedom of speech so I think they can be hung anywhere. Protesters walk around with signs stating words that offend people so if this is legal why can’t flags be? Like Ann said in a comment “I see confederate flags all the time. It is not uncommon to see one flying on the back of a truck or up in someone’s room” this is also true with me. I see them in my own house. One is on my dad’s license plate and another hung in my dad’s shed. I don’t see this as inappropriate or offensive. I just think it as the way you were raised on how you interpret certain symbols.
ReplyDeleteI feel like in the same sense, since we as Americans do have freedom of speech, that those students can hang those flags. Yeah some may not exactly approve of the behavior but for those that it bothers, ignore it. Don't take offense to something like that. Putting up a flag isn't pointing out any one person, it is nearly expressing yourself. Don't take such offense to it.
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