Shut Up And Listen 180

A Short Column On Freedom Of Speech

Nothing too big this week, as I've got nothing, really. That, and next week is the Republican National Convention, and I'll give you a nice big column for that. Anyways, I just wanted to talk about a little thing called freedom of speech.

Today, it was announced that a concert the rapper known as Beenie Man was planning on having here in London in September has been cancelled, along with a show in Toronto. Why? Because his lyrics are offensive to gay people. Now, I'm not going to defend his lyrics as I find them rather offensive myself, especially as they advocate the killing of gay people, but that doesn't mean his concert should be shut down. It's not like we're talking about a free show that's open to children, we're talking about a concert where you have to pay to get in (and may be a licensed show, which means no one under 19). Anyone who would be attending, odds are, already knows these lyrics, having bought the CD already. All the people who were complaining weren't going to go and were expressing their opinions that way. I just find shit like this annoying because I think this guy has the right to write and sing songs about whatever the fuck he wants and if people don't like it, they should just not buy the music or go see his show. There are times and places to protest and write letters and all of that shit, and I don't think this is the right time or place. If I wrote and complained over every concert that took place in this city that I found offensive, I'd be writing letters all the fucking time. There are tons of people out there doing shit I find offensive, but Christ, let them do it if they want and they can find people stupid enough to pay them to. Call me when he actually does something more than say a few words in a rap song.

And then there's the case of a government official here saying Americans are idiots and all the people who want her to resign. Come on! Was she stupid to say it in public like that? Yes. Is she alone in thinking that? Fuck no! Find me a Canadian who hasn't said that at one time or another. Seriously, go and find me one. I say it all the fucking time and even the Americans I say it to don't give a fuck. I bet when most people in Canada heard about this, they thought, "Your point?" It's not exactly a new thought here. Dock her pay or suspend her for a few days, but to lose her job for saying something that, let's be honest, the majority of Canadians probably think? Why, I do believe that's just called representing the popular opinion. Again, it's just some words, and in this case, words that most people don't even care about. Americans don't care what some Canadian government person says and Canadians don't care, because we agree. It's just a bunch of people with nothing better to do than complain that are making noise.

That's the problem with this shit: it's always just a minority that feels like causing shit. In neither case is the voice of the majority of people being heard, because the majority of people don't give a flying fuck. Really. Let free speech reign, especially when we don't care. Would that Beenie Man concert have affected my life in any way had these people not caused shit? Nope. Would some government person thinking Americans are idiots really have altered the ways of the universe? Fuck no. Beenie Man is an idiot, Americans are idiots, these complainers are idiots, and next week, I'll tell you why the Republicans are idiots.