Howard Dean: “Free speech is good. Respecting others is better”

[rangerrebew]

Howard Dean: “Free speech is good. Respecting others is better”

December 7, 2015 10:09 am By Robert Spencer 20 Comments

Dean free speech

Fewer and fewer people seem to understand the significance and importance of the freedom of speech these days: the avalanche of criticism that was heaped upon my colleague Pamela Geller for our event in defense of the freedom of speech in Garland, Texas last May demonstrated that. People who should have known better, including Donald Trump, Bill O’Reilly, and Laura Ingraham, among many others, rushed to denounce Pamela Geller for offending Muslims by holding a Muhammad cartoon contest. The importance of standing up against violent intimidation and refusing to be bullied was lost on them.

And now this from Howard Dean. It sounds high-minded, but it is actually nothing less than totalitarian. Who will be entrusted with the responsibility of deciding what speech is respectful of others, and what speech is disrespectful? That individual or group will have dictatorial power over the rest of us. And that dictatorship is coming, courtesy of people like Howard Dean.

http://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/12/howard-dean-free-speech-is-good-respecting-others-is-better

[rangerrebew]

Funny.  I don't remember the mouth that roared being overly respectful when he was running for POTUS.

[andy58-in-nh]

I don't respect wealthy socialists and I am glad to be free to say so. 

[Sanguine]

[Oceander]

Actually, free speech - and with it the implied right to disrespect others - is more important.  The fact of the matter is, the only real justification for, the only really need for, the First Amendment is to protect speech that others find disrespectful.  Speech that everyone finds respectful simply does not need any sort of protection because it already has the solid safety of popular acceptance.

[GourmetDan]

It sounds high-minded, but it is actually nothing less than totalitarian. Who will be entrusted with the responsibility of deciding what speech is respectful of others, and what speech is disrespectful? That individual or group will have dictatorial power over the rest of us. And that dictatorship is coming, courtesy of people like Howard Dean.

Liberals will never see it coming until it is too late... too little thought... too much emotion...