Free speech?

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Pax, excellent response. Content is what is important.

Keith Wheeler, many, many Americans know more than one language. You are accepting the European view of the ugly American. I have a good friend who is a Brit. He explained to me that Brits are often not multi-lingual, and that makes other Europeans mad. He says "hey, if most business was conducted in Chinese or Spanish, then I'd learn it. They're just jealous." Way back, most people learned French because it was the langauge of international business. It no longer is, it's been replaced by English. In the future it could very well be Chinese (and then I'll be in good shape, although my Cantonese will have to move over for Mandarin).

Please don't insult multi-lingual Americans with cliches.
 
You are accepting the European view of the ugly American
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It's a joke. A bad, politically incorrect and stereotyping one, but a joke, kind of like the one in Pax's "excellent response":

A European says, "I can't understand this, what's wrong with me?"
An American says, "I can't understand this, what's wrong with him?"
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Just amazing how one person includes a cliche joke and it's excellent, another does it and it's insulting. Oh well, that's the high road. It's not what you say, but who you are...or more importantly, on which side of the political fence you're standing.
 
So seeing something written in Arabic upsets you? When did we start running backwards in race relations?
 
Bluecowdog,

No need to apologize.

The default position on THR is liberal.

The principal dogma of liberalism is that all people are equal.

Thus when someone dares to touch on the obvious: that The Other is different from us and makes us uneasy; he must be shouted down.
You see, "free speech" only works here if you articulate the right thoughts. Thought crime will be punished by censure and ridicule.

That is not to say that the folks here are bad people, they mostly aren't. I am sure most don't even realize that they are liberals. But, except for a few free-thinkers, they will mercilessly enforce the unwritten liberal guidelines.

They could have said: "Oh no, we understand your concerns; heavens, 3,000 innocent people were murdered by Arabic speakers, but the language you are concerned about is Hebrew, not some Jihadi call-to-arms."

Instead they represent you as a knuckle-dragging ignoramus and a prime example of Everything That is Bad With America™. Sad but predictable.

Note that apologizing only encourages them.

The gun info and advice here is excellent though!

Cheers
G
 
GT, I think you are confusing TheHighRoad.Org with DemocraticUnderground.com. I've yet to see anybody get their voice squelched for stating things that the majority dissagree with, so long as they do so in a civil fashion.
Instead they represent you as a knuckle-dragging ignoramus and a prime example of Everything That is Bad With America™. Sad but predictable.
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Hmmm musta missed that one. Please do enlighten this "liberal". :neener:
 
Not a free speech issue at all

This is a privately sponsored forum, not the US government. The First Amendment does not apply.

The administrators who make and enforce the rules to the forum decide what degree of freedom of speech and expression is allowed on the board. If they wanted to ban any unflattering descriptions of Sarah or Hillary, they could. Might be a lonely place here, but we would have to abide by that if we wanted to stay.

As to the original question, no, non-English characters or posts don't bother me beyond making me wonder what they say.

K
 
GT, I think you are confusing TheHighRoad.Org with DemocraticUnderground.com. I've yet to see anybody get their voice squelched for stating things that the majority dissagree with, so long as they do so in a civil fashion.
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See, you don't even realize you are a liberal!

I give you some select quotes concerning our friend's discomfiture, with comments:

"This is America ... this is The High Road ... the U.S. Constitution, including free speech, is still recognized and allowed here. Get over it."
Angry liberal... how dare you... I will incongruously invoke the Constitution... but you may only say the things we permit.

"Wow...
Do the numbers that we use in this country make you feel uncomfortable too?"
Sarcastic and superior.

"Xenophobes are rarely comfortable on THR for long, and if that concerns you, I suggest you find another online home more to your liking."
Thinly veiled insult - if you ARE a xenophobe then please leave.

'A European says, "I can't understand this, what's wrong with me?"
An American says, "I can't understand this, what's wrong with him?"'
You don't want to be like him do you? Gosh no. So shape up or leave buddy.

"To the uninformed (I figure that's nicer than "uneducated") Hebrew might look Arabic."
How nice not to call him uneducated; then call him uneducated while pointing out how nice you were NOT to call him uneducated! Could we have a politician in our midst?

"So seeing something written in Arabic upsets you? When did we start running backwards in race relations?"
Race Relations; oh dear, yet another of those liberal shibboleths.. oops is that Hebrew?

Bottom line, no BS? His voice was squelched.

And bluecowdude; you are welcome sir!

G
 
GT ~

Yes, THR is run by such liberals that we are regularly accused of being right-wing paranoid tools of the Bush Administration. That doesn't mean as much as it might, given that depending upon to whom you listen, we are are also liberals, libertarians, anarchists, LEO-lovers, LEO-haters, and goodness knows what else -- often on the same day, and for the exact same actions.

Depends on whose ox is gored, I guess.

Xenophobe is not an insult. It is an accurate word which describes someone who experiences some level of fear or revulsion merely from hearing another language spoken, regardless of context and regardless of what is actually said in that language.

Xenophobes are not often comfortable on THR. Nor are they welcome here, frankly. Neither are KKK members, Stormfronters, or anyone else who thinks the color of one's skin (rather than the content of the person's character) is what defines a person's value.

This thread is closed; I should have listened to my instincts and closed it on sight, rather than getting sucked into it.

Apologies to all who were offended by the Terry Pratchett quote! (FWIW, he was speaking specifically of how hard it was to publish a particular book on this side of the Atlantic.)

pax

History doesn't always repeat itself... sometimes it just screams 'Why don't you listen when I'm talking to you?' and lets fly with a club. -- John W. Campbell, Jr.
 
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