Well, the War on the America has claimed another victim. No, I'm not talking about soldiers in Iraq. That's the so-called War on Terror. I'm talking about a much more serious threat, an attack on the very foundations of this country that have made it the great place that it is. Or was. Or could be, again.
Wha the hell am I talking about? I'm talking about the death of Treestory's blog. Dont bother following the link, because there's no blog at the end of it. Care to know why. Because Treestory has made a comment or two about their boss. And as remote as the possibility may be, somebody may connect the relatively anonymous blogger comment to the real human being making it. Never mind that we supposedly enjoy the right to free speech. Never mind that no names were actually used (unless The Satanic Barbie is really what the Boss goes by). Treestory was worried, and rightly so. Ask the Phantom Professor. She lost her job at SMU because somebody didnt like seeing their behavior described (not themselves named, mind you, just their behavior described).
I'd like to blame the Republicans for this, because they obviously hate America (except the money, duh), but as much damage as Republicans have done to the rights of free speech, I would have to lay the blame for the beginning of this trend upon the liberals and the PC movement.
Oh, who am I kidding. As obnoxious as PC-ism may be, it doesnt hold a candle to the Might-Makes-Right culture being fostered into full fascistic adulthood by the Right (Huh, "the Right". Ironic, huh?) .
Who do the courts almost always uphold anymore? Authority.
51%? Hey, it's a mandate for the Decider!
And if you're not in favor of the War, well, then, you're a traitor!
And, above all, what does Money and Power hate to see most of all? Someone else crossing them. Especially someone without money or power. So Money calls up Power, and Power lifts one of it's big, shiny jackboots up high, and proceeds to grind the Little Voice of Opposition in the wilderness down into a greasy spot. This is pretty much how things have worked in your average third-world country, or your average totalitarian dictatorship, or even many neatly ordered asian societies. Social order, or just plain Orders.
Sorry folks. I'm afraid free speech is messy. People get pissed off, secrets get told, gossip is spread. It's not tidy, but it is Free.
Can it be painful? You bet.
Can it be dangerous? Absolutely.
Would American even exist in the first place without it? Nope. Read your history.
Will America continue to exist without it? Sure, I mean Rome still exists, right? But dont expect it to amount to much, except for our glorious Oligarch Class. I'm sure they wont be inconvenienced. And all you'll need to join them will be a few hundred million dollars.
How hard can that be?
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8 comments:
Bloggin is hazardous to your job if you blog about your co-workers, what you do, or who you work for. It has been upheld in various courts too.Lots of people have been canned for this..including well known writers and reporters.
Isn't that creepy? That's why I remain anonymous. I don't want to lose any clients or biz connections due to my (not so very) controversial opinions.
I live in fear that one of my students will find my blog. I had a myspace account that several of my students found, with no inappropriate content, mind you, and nearly got sued over it. t's part of the reason why I had to leave my last job so quickly, among other things. People should be able to talk about anything they want as long as they're not slandering others (just don't use names, or make up nicknames), but I think we've all been aware for quite some time that our civil liberties here are slipping away and no one is doing a damn thing about it. If we don't stand up, it'll all come crashing down, and sooner than we think - just take a good look at the flag burning thing.
A teacher in Richardson, Texas just won a 5K judgment against a parent for slander. In this case, it was an actual lie told about the teacher. My concern is that my opinions could be used against me even though I was very, very careful to not disclose private info or to write about gossip. My opinions don't count with my current administration and she has called people into her office for having funny expressions on their faces during meetings. It is difficult to be professional around such a person but teaching is too important to me to let her ruin my career.
Sadly, this is a familiar story. I don't think it's new though. This kind of crap was happening when we were all still scribbling with charcoal on the cave wall.
There have always been asshats. There always be asshats. Asshat is what asshat does.
My condolences Tree and thanks to Dave for pointing it out.
Bravo Davey!
Jesus, that's scary. Maybe I should tone down some of my bitching.
It shouldnt be scary, it should be infuriating.
If we want to get our freedoms back, we're all going to have to become soldiers of sorts, and perhaps sacrifice ourselves.
I say that easily, but you notice I also maintain my anonymity, which gives a bit of a lie to my words. Sorry.
Chance,
Say what you want, just be careful about posting on your profile or using your regular email address. Kids are smart, but it's difficult to prove who we are if we don't refer to schools and students by name.
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