Pushing the Limits
I think one of the main themes in this Free Speech class is going to be pushing the limits. There are some forms of pushing the limits that make me grown and roll my eyes, like the women how got her coffee at McDonalds. The McDonalds coffee case was not an issue of free speech, though certainly a case of pushing the limits. For those of you who have been living on the moon, the women bought a cup of coffee at McDonalds then put it between her legs while she drove away from the drive thru. As she drove away, the cup opened up and hot coffee spilled on her leg and she got burned. After the women got burned, she sued the McDonalds Corporation for a large sum of money. The women made a point and pushed the limits, though I don’t agree with what she did and feel McDonalds does not owe her a thing.
Though there are times when I feel the limits need to be pushed. I feel that in the area of free speech, there needs to be pushing. There are things I hear every day that offend me, though as much of a loud mouth lager lout I am, I still try to see the bigger picture. I saw a video last semester about a town in New York that has a large amount of migrant workers from Mexico in recent years. This large amount of migration has caused a lot of racial tension among some locals. There were reported hate crimes and protests and actions by an anti-immigration group. This anti-immigration group stood on corner yelling and waving banners that said, “If you don’t report illegal aliens, you are a Benedict Arnold and a criminal”. The banner is protected under free speech, though it is controveral. I admit that if I saw some one waving that banner on the street, I would feel provoked and would probably act violently. This is an example of why we need to examine the limits and look at free speech.