Tuesday, July 6, 2010

David Wood Calls for Free Speech

But bans informed criticism from his own blog. And on what basis? He really doesn't say. I can only surmise. I imagine he doesn't want to do the work required to refute informed criticism. I imagine my comments aren't something his readers like to read. They might more say it's annoying. Maybe that's true.

And I have my own blog. I can say whatever I want. Nobody is stopping me. But the fact is I do not have the legal right to impose myself on people that don't want to be subjected to my statements.

So in Dearborn there was an Arab festival. I suppose a group of Arabs got permission from the city to have a festival where they would meet and enjoy themselves. David Wood decided that he would impose himself on these people and subject them to information that they aren't interested in seeing. The cops decided that he didn't have the legal right to do that. He's outraged as are many Christians.

Suppose David's "Answering Muslims" blog was really a group gathering. Let's suppose a bunch of neocons like to get together and talk about Islamic terrorism while ignoring the far greater terrorism of their own government which they support. Should I have the right to impose myself at the entry point of his house, maybe on the sidewalk, so that all of his guests can be subjected to my thoughts? Should I have the right to take advantage of the fact that he's bringing together people with a neocon mindset since I like driving such people nuts? They want to get together and have some fun. They want to get outraged that a Pakistani born guy tried to put firecrackers and gasoline together, which naturally caused no damage. They're outraged and want to revel in it while ignoring the however many hundred died today in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. They're having fun. Do I have the right to rain on that parade?

I'm not a lawyer, but I don't think I do. I think I can express my thoughts about politics generally, but I can't crash a party and make people uncomfortable. And I don't have a legal right to post comments at a blog. By sectioning off part of a city so that people of a certain culture can gather and enjoy themselves Arabs in Dearborn are temporarily creating a private environment. They should have a right to do that without being subjected to proselytizing, especially from a person like David Wood that runs a website that contains apologetics for extensive terrorism against Muslims.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

As someone who has commented on that blog, I can say that almost no one gets banned. I shudder at the thought of what you said to get banned.