President Obama, long forgetting about Janet Reno, praised the looks of the Attorney General and was met with a chorus of "sexism" and "insensitivity." Critics said he needed "sensitivity training" for pointing out the obvious. It would be okay for him to carry the swimsuit issue of Sports Illustrated, but not okay for an innocuous remark according to said unwritten new rules.
We are a country that needs to learn its own history in order to have a reference point for the loss of freedoms today, as Mayor Bloomberg will decide for you the sexual morals to teach your children, or the salt you put on your fries, or the size of your pepsi. A company affirms that marriage is between a man and a woman and finds itself being pummeled in the press impacting sales.
What is most scary about this is this:
You may now enjoy being on the "right" side of the opinion police, but rest assured, as fickle as it is, one day you will find your belief targeted and you will have long wished that we, as a nation, held more respect for freedom of speech.
Where is history?
Speaking against the king of England was something that could cause one to lose his freedom, or ability to provide for his family, in pre-Independence America.
With this in mind, our founding fathers felt that freedom to speak one's mind, regardless of the number of working brain cells, was central to our overall freedom.
We've often heard, "I don't agree with what he said, but I'll always defend his right to say it" regarding what we once held so precious.
No more.
We actually have words that, if uttered, can result in loss of employment. It can be argued that some words may result in arrest.
With everyone's self esteem deemed paramount, everyone must finish first, while everyone is offended at everything.
The lucky ones get to apologize in order to save their jobs. The following is an example of how extreme this loss of freedom of speech has become. Here, what was the announcer talking about?
Houston Astros announcer Alan Ashby said he’s sorry for the controversial on-air comments he made about Yu Darvish after the Texas Rangers pitcher blew a perfect game in the ninth inning on April 2.
The comments under fire were about Darvish learning the English language. Darvish grew up in Japan before coming over to the Texas Rangers last season. The Rangers ended up winning the game 7-0 , but Darvish would’ve become only the 24th pitcher in MLB history to throw a perfect game.
Chris Chase of USA Today Sports transcribed the on-air dialogue between Ashby and play-by-play commentator Geoff Blum:
Blum: “Gosh, that has got to be a tough pill to swallow.”Ashby: “That’ll force a guy to learn some of the language here in America.”Blum: “[Laughter] Some of the more inappropriate language. I like it. They probably learn that instantly coming over here. But that was a fantastic performance.”
USA Today Sports also included the subsequent apology that Ashby issued the next day:
“I’d like to apologize if my comments last night were misinterpreted or construed as insensitive. I have the highest respect for Yu Darvish; he’s a great player and his performance last night was outstanding. He showed a great deal of poise in the face of a difficult moment last night, which speaks to the strength of his character.”
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