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This is America, I can say whatever I want, right?
16 years ago
General
Okay, here it is day three into the Chewfox drama, and I’m seeing the usual levels of butthurt, in the usual annoying flavors: Chewfox gets banned (the way she effing DESERVES to in my opinion) from FA, and right on cue a horde of furries come howling to her defense, most of them screaming about her rights to ‘free speech.’ Most of them invoking the second most misinterpreted piece of law in America, the first Amendment.
But wait! Everyone knows what the first amendment says right? It says you can say whatever you want! If I’m writing about it, you should be smart enough to know that that’s not the case. Need proof? Let’s take a look at the first amendment, in its entirety:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Like all of the Bill of Rights, the First Amendment exists for exactly one reason: to protect the individual citizen from his own government. It DOES NOT SAY that you can say anything that you want, any place you want, any way you want. It merely says that the government cannot pass laws to limit your speech in any way.
You fellow citizen is another matter.
Legal proceedings have determined that private organizations such as churches, non-government funded schools, clubs, private business, publications, and private residences may limit speech in any manner that they deem to be appropriate. For example, if I was publishing a car magazine it would entirely be within my legal rights to refuse to publish anything about Ferraris, if for no other reason than that I simply don’t like them.
Again, courts have also determined that online forums classify as ‘publications’ and as such can be limited in content by their ‘publisher’ i.e. the person who ponies up the scratch to keep them running. Our presence on online forums, art archives, etc. is not a ‘right’, it’s a privilege, a privilege granted to us by those who decide to open the door and lets us in. It’s a door that can be slammed shut should we do something stupid.
In short Dragoneer made the right call in giving Chewfox the boot, and it was entirely within his rights to do so. The fact that he wimped out and rescinded the booting (not to mention taking steps to protect her from the abuse she deserves) is another matter entirely…and you just KNOW I’m gonna be talking about that in the near future.
But wait! Everyone knows what the first amendment says right? It says you can say whatever you want! If I’m writing about it, you should be smart enough to know that that’s not the case. Need proof? Let’s take a look at the first amendment, in its entirety:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Like all of the Bill of Rights, the First Amendment exists for exactly one reason: to protect the individual citizen from his own government. It DOES NOT SAY that you can say anything that you want, any place you want, any way you want. It merely says that the government cannot pass laws to limit your speech in any way.
You fellow citizen is another matter.
Legal proceedings have determined that private organizations such as churches, non-government funded schools, clubs, private business, publications, and private residences may limit speech in any manner that they deem to be appropriate. For example, if I was publishing a car magazine it would entirely be within my legal rights to refuse to publish anything about Ferraris, if for no other reason than that I simply don’t like them.
Again, courts have also determined that online forums classify as ‘publications’ and as such can be limited in content by their ‘publisher’ i.e. the person who ponies up the scratch to keep them running. Our presence on online forums, art archives, etc. is not a ‘right’, it’s a privilege, a privilege granted to us by those who decide to open the door and lets us in. It’s a door that can be slammed shut should we do something stupid.
In short Dragoneer made the right call in giving Chewfox the boot, and it was entirely within his rights to do so. The fact that he wimped out and rescinded the booting (not to mention taking steps to protect her from the abuse she deserves) is another matter entirely…and you just KNOW I’m gonna be talking about that in the near future.
