Way to go, Mississippi!

The First Amendment guarantees you freedom of speech from government action. It does not guarantee you won't get your ass kicked for saying the wrong thing to the right person.

WBC, Klan, any of these nutjobs shouldn't get police protection. If you want to talk the talk, be man enough to walk the walk. You don't get to incite people then run for cover.

 

I hope I'm on the jury for the trial of the guy who kills Phelps.

 

This site begs to differ, on a frequent basis.

 

This site is full of people who have most likely been victims a whole lot in their lives.

 

Or cyberspace tough guys.

 

You think you're tough? I can deal with coaches who yell at me. That's tough.

 

I fail to see how anything I've said has come across with some tough guy act. I never referenced myself. I only stated the obvious. You try to take a bone away from a dog, you get bit. You walk through the wrong neighborhood after dark, you get robbed. You mouth off to the wrong person, they don't take it well.

 

I wasn't talking about you. I was talking about the 50 gazillion threads where people say they would punch someone out, or tell a publisher to "fuck off," or any of the other boasts. None of them would ever dare to do any of it.

 

Nope. They are all wrong.

 

But it's OK for journalists to be against free speech. It's not a surprise, since the vast majority of Americans are only for freedom of speech they approve of.

 

That is an example of government action. The government is acting to create special rules whereby the person making unpopular speech doesn't get protected from violence in the same way others would.

 

Without delving into the usual WBC debate, which seems to be rekindled on here remarkably often, it's worth noting that I tried and failed to find a news account of this alleged Mississippi citizens' action. That means we're relying on a second-hand account from an Ole Miss message board written in such a way that makes it seem very apocryphal/urban legend-ish.