First Amendment in the News
Does this ad go to far?
Here's the story behind the ad.
Follow up article on the story about some Texas cheerleaders and their use of Bible verses at football games.
As always, your comments would be greatly appreciated.
posted by Mr. Carlisle at 9:54 AM
14 Comments:
I agree with the last paragraph of the article. Yes, there are freedom of speech laws, but these political and religious advertisements do absolutely nothing to promote peace, which is what the creators of them were supposedly intending. The ad posted on the article is offensive to many people, and should not be plastered upon TriMet buses for the very diverse public of riders to see each day. I hope that TriMet finds a way to restrict their advertisement requirements to goods and services again in order to prevent these types of situations from escalating.
3:44 PM
I think that everyone has their right to speech, and if they want to say something harsh like the pro Israels banner, but I don't think its okay for it to be in a public transport because many different people ride in those buses. We should strive to be a safe society, and putting ads that can offend and hurt people like that, shouldn't be allowed for obvious reasons. Putting up signs like that is just as hurtful as putting up an rude eating disorder sign. Both can negatively affect US citizens.
3:54 PM
I don't think that people should be able to post banners like the pro israel thing on buses because it could be discriminating towards a certain group. In regard to the cheerleaders, i think he is right, yes, he may have agreed with the message but the law says they cannot do that. In addition it could be offensive to anyone who does not support that religion.
4:07 PM
The banners on Tri-Met are not appropriate. People have the right to freedom of speech, but it's wrong that Tri-Met HAS to post it on the side of their vehicles. The company appears to promote the advertisement and gives a bad message to people about Tri-Met. It's not fair that they should become boycotted and lose money over something that they are required to post . Tri-Met should have the right to approve or deny ads on public transportation if it reflects poorly on the company.
As for the cheerleaders, they should never have sued. It is against the law for a school to promote religion. Even a small town where MOST people are of the same religion, the school is required to abide by the law. It doesn't matter that they didn't make the signs at school, it matters that they are at a game, holding the Bible verses on the field while in their uniforms representing their school. Their actions are the school's actions and they need to respect the law.
4:46 PM
I think that TriMet has the right to freedom of speech to put up those banners. The problem for TriMet is that if the anti-Islamic blogger has already posted for a boycott of public transportation, and the people agree to join the boycott then TriMet will lose a lot of customers. TriMet will then lose a lot of money because some Islamic customers choose to not take public transportation though not a lot of them may not choose that they could still lose money. Other people besides Islamic people could also join the boycott because they think it is wrong.
5:09 PM
I firmly believe that everyone is entitled to say what they want to, even if it might offend some people. I don't think it's healthy for people to go out and spread hate but we can't limit someone’s right to the first amendment just because we find their beliefs hurtful. They have the right to put the signs up in public, but I do feel bad for TriMet because they are being forced by law to parade around with this message that they don't support. Although I believe these signs are presented in poor taste and in an unsuitable location, it wouldn’t be fair to tell the person who made them that they have no right to voice their opinion.
5:38 PM
I agree with the trimet director of marketing, it is really sad the buses are obligated to post any thing. I seems to me that if the company finds it offense they have the right to ban it from the side off there buses. Which some people see as representing them. Although I do agree with having the right to share these opinions but triment shouldn't have to enforce them.
8:14 PM
I thought that the superintendent of the Kountze school district handled the situation very well in saying that even if he and most of the town agreed with the cheerleaders' banners, it was his duty to uphold the law. The cheerleaders shouldn't have sued because the school was a public, government run organization with no religious affiliation. It's too bad that the rest of the community spole out harshly against the superintendent when he was just trying to enforce the law.
8:42 PM
The Israelis are only doing what they believe is right, but they are going too far. This kind of stuff does not belong in Trimet. It will most likely be insulting to a number of people riding Trimet. People may choose not to take the bus because of this, and Trimet will lose more money than they will get for putting up the signs.
8:59 PM
I think it's wrong that this kind of think is allowed. I feel that there should be a limit on free speech attacking a whole race, religion, sexual orientation, etc. I know it's in the Bill of Rights but I feel that it's morally wrong and hurtful.
9:35 PM
*too, Mr. Carlisle. I think that it is unfair of the people who bought the ad to refer to any religion as savages, however indirectly. On the other hand, though, the general public should pay no more attention to this ad than they do to spam emails. It's up to the public to give impact to hurtful speech, and if we ignore it and lend the anti-Islamic cause neither support nor publicity, it will go away.
10:42 PM
To quote the article: "No war is civilized". If they wanted a pro-Israel political message, why didn't they attack the Palestinians or the Iranians? The use of the word "Jihad" might have been simply against terrorism and Muslim extremism, but knowing the background of the makers of the ad, it is likely anti-Muslim. Those atheism ads on London double-deckers are one thing, but calling Muslims savages... As much as I abhor this ad, I don't know who should draw the line between free speech and hate speech. Words hurt, but you can ignore the ads. Do they incite violence against Muslims? I don't think they do. TriMet is trapped as a public service that has to abide by Oregon's liberal free speech laws, but must also cater to the interest of the general public, who does not want hateful ads on their daily commute. If TriMet were a private company instead, this wouldn't be an issue. If they put such an ad people boycott and the company goes out of business. But would public transportation be as well-developed? Perhaps the TriMet ad service could become a private entity through some complex legal system that allows TriMet to take all the ad service's revenues.
10:43 PM
The superintendent of that school in my point of view handled it very well. Although he was Christian just like all the rest of the town he had to assume his role of the school and make sure that no laws were being broken. Mr. Weldon understood the whole situation but had to act upon it in the proper manner and I believe he reacted the best way. That last line of the article shows he isn’t trying to ruin it cause he disapproves he just wants to keep everything right in the view of the law.
10:57 PM
I believe everyone has the right to freedom of speech, however if we post things like the pro Israel banner on public transportation is just taking it too far. Because many different people form different ethnic groups ride these buses everyday, and could be considered offensive to many people.
11:12 PM
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