Disclaimer: The views expressed below are the sole opinion of the student writer and do not reflect the views of the Southern DIGEST, Student Media or the Staff/Administration of Southern University & &M College.
Amendment number 1. 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.
Freedom of speech is a very finicky thing. I mean, yes, we were taught all about the freedom of speech and the bill of rights in U.S History and U.S Government but is freedom of speech really freedom of speech? We as people have free will and can say anything that comes to mind but are we free from the consequences that would arise from it? Take for instance this whole Charlie Kirk situation. People have been put on leave, doxxed, and/or fired, for simply saying “That man could literally die tomorrow and I would shed no tears” or “He is the epitome of evil” but turn it on the flip side and it’s “send prayers” or “if war is what they want then war is what they’ll get.”
Kirk was a man who spread hateful rhetoric and “debated” (and I use the term debated very lightly) about women’s, children’s, and People of Color (POCs) rights. A few quotes from Kirk include “Black women have the kind of brain processing power that is inadequate to be taken seriously” Yet his bestie Candace Owens is one of the only ones crying on the internet calling for justice.
Another quote: “I think it’s worth it to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the second amendment to protect our God-given rights. That’s a prudent deal. It is rational.” This was said in reference to his thoughts on the mass school shootings going on in our country. Yet now that it’s him, it’s a different tune. “You shouldn’t say that about him”, “Pray for his wife and children”, “He had a family! Have some compassion!”. George Floyd had a family. Trayvon Martin had a family. Breonna Taylor had a family. The kids that die in school shootings every school year have families. “He was so young he had so much life ahead of him!” Trayvon Martin was 17. Breonna Taylor was 26. Jacklyn Cazarez who died in the Uvalde school shooting was 9 years old. But now that it’s Charlie Kirk who got shot, now it’s understood that guns need regulation and gun violence is a growing problem in America. Now people are “too young” and “shouldn’t be losing their lives to gun violence”. Now the jokes are “too much” and “uncalled for”.
The point I’m trying to drive home here is we can be the butt of the joke, ratted on, slandered all day and nobody bats an eye but heaven forbid you say that you don’t mourn Charlie Kirk or don’t feel bad about what happened to him. Freedom of Speech is Freedom of Speech until you anger the wrong people
Disclaimer: The views expressed below are the sole opinion of the student writer and do not reflect the views of the Southern DIGEST, Student Media or the Staff/Administration of Southern University & &M College.
