What if?For sake of discussion, imagine the following hypothetical situation: An extremely radical "religious" group has decided that what goes on in Catholic churches is blasphemy blasphemy, in religion, words or actions that display irreverence toward or contempt for God or that which is held sacred. Blasphemy is regarded as an offense against the community to varying degrees, depending on the extent of the identification of a religion with and must, in the name of God, be stopped. Demonstrations, limited-usually-to hurling insults at parishoners attending Mass, have been common. Seven priests have been assassinated as·sas·si·nate tr.v. as·sas·si·nat·ed, as·sas·si·nat·ing, as·sas·si·nates 1. To murder (a prominent person) by surprise attack, as for political reasons. 2. and an additional fourteen such murders have been attempted. Websites have displayed addresses of Catholic churches and featured "wanted" posters displaying photos of pastors (including "marking off" of those who have been murdered). Cash rewards have been offered for the prevention of blasphemies but two hundred churches have been bombmed or torched. I presume that Edward Gaffney [Correspondence, March 26] would be equally sensitive about the free-speech rights of these scary demonstrators and website operators as he was about those of the American Coalition of Life Activists The American Coalition of Life Activists (ACLA) was a pro-life activist group that was the subject of controversy for its series of Wanted-style posters. During a 1995 meeting, the group unveiled a "wanted" poster that listed the names and addresses of a "Deadly Dozen" , but I see such a defense in either case as unconscionable Unusually harsh and shocking to the conscience; that which is so grossly unfair that a court will proscribe it. When a court uses the word unconscionable to describe conduct, it means that the conduct does not conform to the dictates of conscience. . I revere Revere, city (1990 pop. 42,786), Suffolk co., E Mass., a residential suburb of Boston, on Massachusetts Bay; settled c.1630, set off from Chelsea and named for Paul Revere 1871, inc. as a city 1914. the principle of free speech but see its basis in the desire to provide for the free play of ideas; a threat, implicit or explicit, is not an idea in this sense. The website displays of the ACLA ACLA American Comparative Literature Association (Austin, TX) ACLA All China Lawyers Association (China) ACLA American Coalition of Life Activists (anti-abortion group) have exceeded, in my judgment, the limitation implicit in the principle of free speech. If the Supreme Court decisions cited by Gaffney justify such tactics as the ACLA has employed, then I would contend that the Court has erred (it does, you know, as its own reversals demonstrate). Indeed, I am beginning to perceive in some protest demonstrations the emergence of a latent tendency to degrade the human dignity of those protested against. The ideal exercise of free speech lies in the exposition of rational arguments. John Spradley Pagosa Springs, Colo. |
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