You Nappy Headed Hoe's

[ChrisCantSkate]

figure i'd throw this up

Amendment I

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.

and a footnote on the freedom of expression clause

The most basic component of freedom of expression is the right of freedom of speech. The right to freedom of speech allows individuals to express themselves without interference or constraint by the government. The Supreme Court requires the government to provide substantial justification for the interference with the right of free speech where it attempts to regulate the content of the speech. A less stringent test is applied for content-neutral legislation. The Supreme Court has also recognized that the government may prohibit some speech that may cause a breach of the peace or cause violence. The right to free speech includes other mediums of expression that communicates a message.

i'll explane more if its not clear

[GT40FIED]

I see what you're saying Chris. I'm not talking about freedom of speech in terms of Imus being hauled off to jail by the goverment. I'm talking about the fact that people are increasingly more likely to impose their will on companies in stark contrast to freedom of speech. They may call it flexing their muscle as consumers in a society governed by capitalism, but really it flies directly in the face of the principles this country was founded on. If they really had a problem with it, why not exercise THEIR freedom of speech to denounce him? People, especially in this day and age, talk about the need to defend their freedoms but only until someone says something they don't agree with and then it's like those freedoms don't even matter...if they ever did. I hear people say things that boggle my mind in terms of offensiveness and insensitivity on an almost daily basis (usually on Fox News), but you have never heard me calling for their firing. Why? Because I'm confident that I'm a better person than them and because I believe firmly in their right to speak their piece...wrong as I may find it.

I would've been a lot less surprised if Imus had done something blatantly racist like drop "the N word" (man, I hate that term) but I suppose what's done is done. I just fear for everyone else who might express an unpopular opinion. Every douche bag who needs a life will think they can silence them because now there's precident. "Remember how they bowed to pressure and shut down Imus? We can do that too!". Disgusting.