There Are Limits To Free Speech

Who was the guy who said, "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it?"  Voltaire?  Yeah, he's a douche.

I believe in free speech.  But I think there should be a lot more restrictions than what I believe most people would like.  That's because words hurt and lead to violence.  To be safe from harm, both physical and mental, is a basic human right, and there is too much latitude given to "freedom of speech" that violates the safety of a citizen, and many times leads to corporeal harm.  That should never happen -- for the sake of human decency, it can't happen.

Which leads me to the Westboro Baptist Church.  This was founded by some idiot; his idiot offspring form the vast majority of the membership, which is based in Topeka, Kans.  They spend their time going around to the funerals of dead American soldiers and holding up signs celebrating the soldier's death.  In what is the dumbest, most nonsensical, most fucked-up logic I've ever heard about anything, these human specimens, who are fervently homophobic, believe God is killing these soldiers because of America's acceptance of homosexuality.  I don't fucking get that at all.

Besides, who the fuck are these people, and why the fuck do they spend their lives going around, invading the privacy of grieving families and inflicting unspeakable pain by letting them know that they want to tapdance on their lost loved one's grave?  This should be illegal.  This is outrageous, wrong, sick, and cruel.  And I don't give a damn about public property, time and place, or protection of disagreeable speech.  So good for Albert Snyder, the father of one KIA soldier, Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who dared to fuck with these Westboro bullies when they ruined his final goodbye to his son.  He sued these asses for inflicting emotional distress, among other charges.  And he won.

But then he lost.  On Friday, the 4th Circuit Court Of Appeals overturned a guilty verdict and compensatory and punitive damages awarded by a jury.  What did they cite: The First Amendment, everybody's favorite law, the only guarantee in the Bill of Rights that most people know by heart.  Moreover, the court is punishing Snyder by ordering him to pay $16,000 for the church's legal fees and costs. 

Mr. Snyder calls it a "slap in the face" and that his son and other soldiers "have died to protect our rights and freedoms to have them degraded and spit upon like this church does."  He's right.  He's set up a website to pay for the costs of (I think) his legal fees.  I hope I'll be able to give him some money.  And in the interest of human justice and morality, I implore you to do the same if you can.