A World of Crybabies

NPR had a great segment tonight with a journalist, I think he was from Lebanon, who said the shooting at the French satire magazine office this morning is just symptomatic of what's wrong with people today. Paraphrasing:

We more-or-less EXPECT Muslims to be offended by cartoons of the profit/prophet Mohammed naked, so we're not surprised to hear the gunmen were of Islamic faith. Ever since The Satanic Verses in 1989, intolerance of satire and mocking of Islam are a part of everyday life.

But it's not just Muslims. Women get up in arms over people joking about them "getting back into the kitchen." African-Americans get militant over depictions of Blacks in stereotyped or demeaning situations. Gays picket over homophobia. Jews rails against anti-Semitism, Irishmen strike over unflattering jokes, Native Americans petition to get sports teams renamed, fat people write letters if they're mocked, skinny people complain if they're made fun of.

We've become a world of victims, where "political correctness" means everybody has a thin skin and nobody can be teased.

Everyone's on eggshells, afraid to offend.

That's not the purpose of Freedom of Speech. Freedom of Speech means sticks and stones, but words can never hurt me. FoS means everybody is fair game, nobody is above anyone else. If you get offended - so what. Grow a pair and get over it. We're not here to coddle you.

NoCoPilot wrote:

FoS means everybody is fair game, nobody is above anyone else.  If you get offended - so what.  Grow a pair and get over it.  We're not here to coddle you.

So it's okay to engage in speech or practices that offend some person or group of people, but it's not okay for that person or group to speak out in opposition? If they do, then they are just playing victim and should grow a pair? Seems a bit one-sided.

Satire versus hate speech

NoCoPilot wrote:

Women get up in arms over people joking about them "getting back into the kitchen."  African-Americans get militant over depictions of Blacks in stereotyped or demeaning situations.  Gays picket over homophobia.  Jews rails against anti-Semitism, Irishmen strike over unflattering jokes, Native Americans petition to get sports teams renamed, fat people write letters if they're mocked, skinny people complain if they're made fun of.

I don't believe all of these examples can be considered satire.

You're right. I hadn't thought it through when I posted.

And the guy probably didn't think it through when he said it. It's easy to demean someone when you haven't experienced what he has.