By Hipolito Navarrete, Managing Editor/Publisher
The 1st Amendment of the US Constitution states that; “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.”
There are many legal interpretations, many from the perspective of the ideology of the legal minds that decided to decipher it according to their personal ideology. How is it that folks are able to really understand what it means when there is so much at stake on how it is interpreted?
The importance of having everyone speak their mind and their stance is that there can be a conversation, even a rough one, to find common ground. The more extreme the language, the more important it is to make sure it is heard. How are people going to be aware of dangerous, violent speech if it has to hide or if it is stifled?
What is happening now is much more telling of the dismemberment of the foolishness of those who support misogyny, sexism and to a smaller extent, racism. Fox news and other outlets and governmental entities are still able to survive practices that dehumanize others because of their ethnicity, religion and color, but they are not surviving the trivialization and humiliation of white females. With time, this will be a bridge to compassion that will embrace all of humanity.
The racist alt-right is claiming that the first amendment has been appropriated by liberals who have turned it into a fascist rule; however, the Richard Spencers of these hate groups will learn that freedom of speech and transparency comes with a price. The willingness of racists, Alt-Right, and other hate groups to spew their violence in public, will help them understand that they are a very small minority, who have a hidden following among those that benefit from their propaganda, and they are now coming out of the woodwork claiming that the world is unfair to them or that they deserve the world because they conquered it, as Coulter said, her family were not immigrants or colonists, they were settlers. It is important that those that we do not appreciate or hate, have a forum for their speech, it means that we must be clear and articulate on why liberals stand in contrast to them. Again, “The 1st Amendment of the US Constitution states that; “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.” Let’s never ignore this. The only way the world finds out these folks exist and the damage they do to other people, is by them coming out of their dark corners and being able to stand at a pulpit facing and educated, prepared and compassionate opposition.
