Bones wrote:There is a difference between free speech and harassment. When you are purposely offensive to a person who is attempting to avoid being offended, you are harassing that person and that person has the right to feel offended. However, when people are sharing ideas with one another, whether they are scientific, poetic, comedic, etc., and someone observes this communication and feels it is offensive, that person has the duty to avoid this communication. To try to interrupt or end this sharing of ideas is being offensive. If you find South Park offensive, don't watch it. If you find Everybody Draw Mohammed Day offensive, do not participate. If you find it offensive and you do participate, then don't whine when you feel offended. If you don't want to get hit by a train, then get off the tracks--it's your fault not the passengers.
I forgot to say, I think that's pretty accurate, Bones. Just a slight correction: I don't think the person has a duty to avoid the communication that he finds offensive... More like, he ought to do that, if he wants to avoid being offended, because it's the easiest way to solve the issue. Trying to convince them to stop talking by either influence or violence is yet another strategy, which is quite uneffective and requires too much resources. Also, the offended guy might be a masochist. He might enjoy putting himself in situations where he would be offended, so that later he could bitch to his friends about it.
