Editorial: Standing up for free speech

The Boston Herald ^ | 04-24-2018 | Herald Staff

[calvincaspian]

In recent days the hordes of social media activists and agitators have been busier than ever intimidating, excoriating and stomping out diversity of thought wherever it appears.

This weekend, the Guardian newspaper published an interview with country music star Shania Twain. She discussed her career, troubled childhood, marriage and other typical areas of conversation and then ventured into politics and, of course, Donald Trump.

“I would have voted for him because, even though he was offensive, he seemed honest. Do you want straight or polite? Not that you shouldn’t be able to have both. If I were voting, I just don’t want (expletive). I would have voted for a feeling that it was transparent. And politics has a reputation of not being that, right?”

[calvincaspian]

The difference in this case, though, is that neither Candace Owens or Kanye West are apologizing. In fact, West appears to be reveling in some of the attention and positively posting online about other conservative voices.

Yesterday he tweeted, “new ideas will no longer be condemned by the masses. We are on the frontier of massive change. Starting from breaking out of our mental prisons.”

Whatever the political ideology, it is refreshing to see Americans stand up to those forces who wish to extinguish divergent speech. The level of ferocity often correlates with the level of threat perceived. All in all, we should feel optimistic that we are seeing more and more examples of strong resolve. Let’s hope we are seeing a positive cultural change on the horizon.

[\/\/ayne]

When Shania Twain apologized it was like spreading chum in hate-infested left-wing waters.

[circlecity]

Shania has had her Dixie Chicks moment. I hope the results are the same.