Freedom of Speech is Overrated

Was planning to write a post about personal realities. Somehow whenever I try it I always end up finding another post that required immediate attention. Is someone trying to tell me something?

Anyhow, i recently read that former Miami Heat guard, Tim Hardaway, had publicly stated in a radio interview that he hates gay people.

To be on the record, I don't share his sentiment. I have friends who are gay and I respect their choices and the choices of any one in that order. However, I cannot find it within myself to condemn Hardaway.

As Thomas Jefferson once said, "I do not agree with what you say, but I'll defend to death your right to say it."

The same thing here. Here is a man who is being completely honest. Yet, we come out and bash him for that honesty. Is it better to be so direct, or just keep silent although you share the same homophobia with him? Or worse, lie about your views just to avoid persecution?

We have such a big reaction only because it is a view that is widely accepted by majority that it is negative? Is Tim Hardaway at fault for having his own views and having the guts to say it out loud?

I say that he is at fault. He is a celebrity with a large reach. He should be more responsible with what he says. We would punish him more so than any other smart mouth. It is due to his reach as a respected celebrity. It is more damaging from him than any other sam-joe-harriett. And thus we match the punishment to the crime.

In a world where everyone try so hard to categorise each other into broad views. It isn't fair but if life was fair I wouldn't be sleeping on straw mat.

Tim Hardaway, like other celebrities before him, are being punished not for their irrational hate talk but for their honesty. It isn't a crime to have irrational and silly thoughts in their heads. If you say you never had them, I will smile at you in a condescending manner and have completely rational thoughts in my head that you are a liar.

I don't like hate talk. I think that it should be kept away from gullible little children, those above and below the age of 30. It is dangerous.

But we gotta think. There is no way we can track or remove irrational thoughts from people (the NSA would sure love that though).

We can't get people to not air those thoughts either.

1. censorship can only go so far
2. interesting concept of thought crimes (if you think about murder, is that a crime?)
3. where's the fun in that?

So what can we do to people like Mel Gibson and Tim Hardaway?

I neither agree with the message nor do i share that sentiment. But what else can we do here?