As I noted in post to Tom above, I don't necessarily agree with organized boycotts or canceling performances. I just think those actions are not a constitutional violation of the freedom of speech. Ethically, I think private individuals should be tolerant of most forms of speech and differences of opinion. I don't see a problem with avoiding supporting people whose opinions you dislike or supporting them despite disliking them. I don't, however, think we should be tolerant of hate speech and the Hollywood Bush bashing borders on that in many cases. Ethically I think private institutions should be more tolerant than individuals especially when they perform a public function such as a library because their actions have more impact than an individuals and single individuals can wield inordinate power through institutions.
I do think a private library has the right however to select which books it offers. They should just be clear on their purpose. Private libraries should be free to focus on any field they want, but shouldn't claim to be a general purpose library while pursuing a conservative or liberal agenda.
Regards,
Mark
Current Events » in reply to Re: That Depends
Difference Between Legal & Ethical
The whole thread (47 posts)
- Stupid Hollywood Tricks
- Second Aspect Of Backlash
- Re: Stupid Hollywood Tricks
- For Robbins and Sarandon,
- Re: Freedom of speech
- I had fogotten about Dr Laura and the way her show was killed.