Friday, May 23, 2014

POLITICAL CORRECTNESS: The Thin Line - Opinions and Libel



Okay. We've recently had a “Google” chief fired for sending a thousand dollars in support of California's Prop 8 several years ago. The Brenan Brothers are being condemned in the press for their support of traditional marriage. Football players are being sent to “Sensitivity Training” for reacting to a homosexual kiss; staged by Ophra Winfrey's OWN Network.

President Obama gets kudos for calling gay folks to congratulate their “Coming Out” while failing to defend Former President Clinton's “Defense of Marriage Act” (actual law that was voted by Congress and signed by a president... or what is better known as “The Law of the Land”)

Today I read that two more jobs have been created by the Obama Administration; as two radio hosts in New York State have lost their jobs by making light of “Transgendered” individuals.

Now, I did not hear the broadcast remarks of the radio hosts, but the AP article mentioned that more than 4000 people took exception to the way the hosts opined (or joked) about the city of Rochester's decision to pay for gender reassignment surgery. The assumption is that the hosts took exception to the taxpayers having to foot the bill for people not wanting to be the sex they were born into.

This is much like the Pentagon giving in to the “Bradly Manning” boy-wanting-boobs at the expense of taxpayers deal that was recently agreed to by the Commander in Chief.

So people are not permitted to express opinions that Transsexuals should pay for their own operations and Lord help anyone who would suggest Transsexuals might be suffering some mental incapacity that keep them from being satisfied with the genitalia they were born with.

Now, speaking of opinions: there was a recent report out of Oregon of a lawsuit, where a business (hotel) is suing someone who dared to post an adverse opinion on the“Tripadvisor” website. The article is by Aimee Green at the “Oregonian”, so you can “Google” and read her report.

Anyway, you must be very careful with your opinions on any of the websites designed to “Advise” or otherwise express yourself about the businesses you patronize. Apparently, you cannot have an adverse opinion or, if you do, you must express your opinion in such a way that it is not misunderstood as “mean-spirited”.

To be fair. The opinion in question was written poorly and may very well have been completely fabricated, but let this story be a warning to “Be Nice” when trashing anything iconic.

Which brings me to the student who expressed his opinions about his University of Wisconsin professor, who is now suing the student for defamation because he apparently thinks very highly of himself.

In these days of social media one must be very careful not to hurt someone's feelings. All of those opinions are posted to public domain for anyone to search. In my personal opinion, narcissists like President Obama do not like it when people opine ill of him. This is why he is always on television; defending himself as a boob who knows nothing about anything until he reads it in the New York Times. He has his “Blame Game” down to a science: always hiding behind some “Bush”.

The typical man on the net does not have a battery of lawyers protecting his/her opinions. Lawsuits can go either way; depending on whether the judges have been appointed the the Politically Correct or the conservatives who serve truth above innuendo.

Be careful out there.




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