Right there on the heels of my article last week, Harrison Butker of the Kansas City Chiefs experienced a masters course in what free speech really means. In all fairness, he was asked to speak at a Catholic university and he offered his opinions on women’s role in the home, their community, and the business world. So, it wasn’t unsolicited per se, but we can say that it was an unforced error.

You can feel free to watch the speech on its own. It is available on the YouTubes and is slightly over 20 minutes. I’ll pass. He did come out and clarify those remarks after the fact, but his clarified comments were probably worse than the original comments themselves.

Right on cue, those that defend Butker are forgetting my lesson from the last time we talked about free speech. Free speech means that the government cannot throw you in jail for your speech. Even then, there are some caveats there like hate speech, slander, and libel. Butker isn’t inciting a riot, so he should be fine.

Whether he will continue to be employed or not is a different question. Colin Kaepernick would have a lot to say about that. The NFL is an entertainment business. They have made a ton of progress in attracting female fans and they had a huge assist from Taylor Swift. Allowing this kicker to remain an issue might halt the progress they have made there.

Yet, a ton of the NFL fanbase is conservative. These are the same clowns that threatened to boycott the NFL over Kaepernick. They seemingly have no concept of hypocrisy as they stand up to defend Butker while they openly campaigned for Kaepernick to be blackballed. What it comes down to is that free speech only matters when it is something they agree with. Then it is free speech. When they disagree then it is offensive and needs to be suppressed. This is the party that says they are for freedom folks.

I have no problem with Butker saying or thinking what he thinks. I vehemently disagree with it, but he has every right to say it. He also has to put on his big boy panties and accept the blowback. He’s a kicker. There are probably 100 guys that could do what he does at a reasonable level. Would they hit every field goal he hits or be 100 percent on extra points? Probably not. Would they do what he does without all of the headaches? Absolutely.

For the NFL this is not a free speech issue. This is an economic issue. Do they make more money by standing behind someone that openly has these views because a majority of their male fans might have these views or do they make more money by jettisoning this guy and standing behind a growing number of female fans?

The NFL has already made statements saying they disagree with his comments. Hell, the nuns at the university in question made a similar statement. His words may have been inartfully uttered, but the clarifications were worse. As Twain also said, better to be thought an idiot than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt. Butker has every right to be an idiot. We all also have the right to call him one. Free speech runs both ways and it also doesn’t prevent private businesses from making a business decision. Let’s not conflate the two.

There is no amendment in our constitution more integral to the concept of freedom than the freedom of speech. Yet, there is no freedom in our constitution more misunderstood than the freedom of speech.  This comes up for obvious reasons. People on both sides of the Gaza debate are feeling the crunch. College campuses grapple with protestors and how much is too much. More importantly though, we are seeing an increasing heavy hand of government on both sides of the aisle on this issue as government officials circle the wagons in support of Israel.

That immediately pushes us towards the responsibilities portion of free speech, but I need to take a few giant steps back. Free speech has never meant freedom from responsibility. I would not be able to (hypothetically speaking) run into the superintendant’s office and call them a jackass without some repercussions.

Yet, millions of Americans would say they have an absolute right to do that without any negative impacts on their own professional or personal life. This is not a liberal or conservative problem necessarily. The Dixie Chicks famously badmouthed George W. Bush on stage during his presidency and lost fans possibly in the millions. It went down exactly as it should. They expressed their views and their fans expressed theirs. That’s how these things work.

The Chicks (as they are now called) were effectively canceled. I throw that term in here intentionally. The whole cancel culture craze is nothing more than people being upset over the fact that they are receiving negative consequences for their speech. That’s a large part of the marketplace of ideas. Some people won’t like them.

When we start arresting people for protesting the Israeli government then we have gone way too far. Employers certainly can take note of someone’s political activities and make a decision for themselves as to whether they want a particular individual to represent their company. That is fair. To make demonstrating illegal as Florida has done in certain circumstances is antithetical to the whole idea of what free speech is all about.

We do have one responsibility as it pertains to speech. We need to be accurate. Our responses need to be accurate. That means actually stopping for a second and listening to what the protesters are saying. I would say that most are not anti-Semitic. Some certainly are. However, the majority are just outraged over what Israel is doing in response to Hamas’ attack. Criticizing Israel doesn’t have to mean that you are supporting Hamas, but that is how this issue is being framed.

You can think that what Hamas did is awful. You can think Hamas needs to be eliminated. You can also think that what Israel is doing in Gaza and to Palestinians in general is abhorrent. These things can all be true at the same time. That viewpoint can also be wrong. People are free to disagree with it and poke holes in it all day long. That’s how these things should be debated. However, simply calling anyone that criticizes Israel as Anti-Semitic doesn’t promote free debate. It shuts it down.

Mind you, there are plenty of Anti-Semitic people out there. I would dare say that many are the same folks levying the charge against those that would criticize Israel. There is no defense like a good offense. All of this is to say that free speech has never truly been free. It costs plenty when it is levied irresponsibly and without respect for others. It also hurts overall when we don’t take the time to truly listen to what the other side is saying and why they are saying it. Sometimes it is racism and bigotry but often times it isn’t.

Don Lemon of prior CNN fame, did a deal with Elon Musk in January to stream “The Don Lemon Show” on Twitter X doing basically what he did on cable Teevee before getting canned last year.  Well, it’s the shortest run ever, as Lemon reports that he’s already been fired for asking questions of Musk during an interview on his first episode.  No explanation was given and Musk hasn’t said anything so far about what happened.

Musk describes himself as a “free speech absolutist”, but anyone paying attention knows that’s complete bullshit.  After taking over Twitter and working 24/7 to wreck it, he started allowing back thousands of new-Nazis, white supremacists, propagandists, and insurrectionists back on the platform turning it into one gigantic open sewer of lies, hate, threats, and all-around insanity.  He even allowed the Insurrectionist in Chief back on, but he’s too busy vomiting his own bile on Truth Social.

I’ve always found Don Lemon to be mildly annoying myself and never found him interesting so it’s not surprising to me that he’s having trouble finding a new broadcast home.  Having said that, though, a total series run of only a few hours has to be a new world record for rapid failure.  He announced on X that Musk, apparently pissed about the interview, abruptly fired Lemon today with no explanation.  Lemon announced it on X:

https://x.com/donlemon/status/1767948372999299549?s=20

Despite what he says, Musk is not actually a “free speech absolutist”.  Far from it.  Musk is all about free speech as long as he agrees with it.  He’s well known for banning reporters, social media posters who are negative about him, and others.  He even falsely labeled NPR as “state affiliated media” like it’s Pravda or something.

One can only hope that Twitter X continues to drain Musk’s wallet and relegated to the dustbin of digital history with past stars like Betamax and 8 track tapes.

We have a group of dedicated readers here in the salon. So, before we begin this exercise I’m going to reiterate that what is said in this piece is really not for them. If you are a regular you already know this. This piece is for anyone else that might stumble along and see this.

The point is pretty simple. Cancel culture really isn’t a thing. It is what we call freedom of speech or freedom of expression. I suppose shows get canceled and there are always backlashes against certain people and certain things. It has always been that way. The point can be illustrated through one very straighforward tweet.

Other artists who are deleting Anheuser-Busch products from their hospitality rider might not say so in public for fear of being ridiculed and cancelled. I have no such fear. https://t.co/YgjO9P03tR

— Travis Tritt (@Travistritt) April 6, 2023

Here is the ultimate irony. Travis Tritt is attempting to cancel Anheuser-Busch. Basically, this is a direct plea to his fans that Budweiser isn’t cool with him anymore and shouldn’t be cool with them either. So, in one sentence he manages to attempt canceling Budweiser and then accuses them of doing the same. Some people are just blessed without self-awareness.

So, let me repeat this for those blessed without self-awareness, Freedom of speech means you have the right to say what you want as long as your speech doesn’t incite a riot or is demonstrably false and damaging to a particular individual or business. Yet, that means that people can also react to your speech. They can speak against it or even shun you or your products. That’s always been a thing. It will always be a thing. This new-fangled notion of cancel culture is really a buzzword that means nothing.

I don’t buy Anheuser-Busch products. I don’t buy Coors products. It has nothing to do with wokeness (whatever that is). I don’t buy those beers because they aren’t good. Occasionally, we go to the Spec’s in downtown Houston and it always flabbergasts me when people buy crappy and cheap beer at a store that sells virtually every beer marketed in town. You can buy beer flavored water anywhere.

I don’t own any Travis Tritt albums. I don’t like country music. I know a lot of people do and if they enjoy his music they should avail themselves of it. I know a lot of people like Bud Light and Coors. Great. You buy what you want to buy and listen to the music you want to listen to. This is how freedom works.

The fact is that too many people misunderstand freedom of speech. It protects you from being arrested or silenced by Congress. It doesn’t protect you from the negative impacts of a bad take. It doesn’t protect anyone from their employer reacting badly to their speech.  It doesn’t guarantee you a microphone or platform. You have a right to speak. With that right to speak comes consequences. Some of them may be good or bad. It has always been this way and it will always be that way.

“And when you stop and think about it
You won’t believe it’s true
That all the love you’ve been giving
Has all been meant for you” — Justin Hayward

For some reason, I have been thinking about scumbags lately and when I think of scumbags my mind somehow wanders to Kirk Cameron. For those unfamiliar with Cameron and his work, he gained some fame and notoriety as the child star of “Growing Pains” back in the 1980s. Like most child stars, he didn’t successfully make the transition to adult actor. Once he stopped being cute he left the public eye for the most part.

What also happened is that Cameron went through a pretty dramatic conversion to Christianity. This conversion to Christianity may or may not have resulted in an actress getting fired from the show. For those that don’t want to go down the rabbit hole, Julie McCullough played his girlfriend on the show, but it was discovered that she had posed for Playboy. The rumor was that Cameron had her fired, because that kind of image didn’t jive with his new found Christian beliefs. Of course, he denies this version of the story. Needless to say, her career went the way of the doodoo bird and he went on to make more sanctimonious films and creative works.

Well, all that is old is new once again. Cameron is embarking on a library tour to read his children’s books. A Hendersonville Library director made the call to cancel an event involving Cameron as a way to keep the library from becoming a venue that would take part in a culture war. The director in question stated that he wanted to keep all potentially controversial events away from the library. This would include drag queens reading to children as well. Fair is fair after all. Well, the Sumner County Library board voted 4-3 to terminate the director of the library after Cameron and his group complained.

In a growing trend, some threatened violence if they didn’t get their way. To be perfectly fair, his supporters were not the only ones to threaten violence. Some on the left responded with threats as well. We aim to be fair here as much as possible and being fair means calling out bad behavior all the way around. All that being said, this is a pattern with Cameron. I’m legitimately thrilled when anyone finds a religion that works for them. If his Christian beliefs keep him on the straight and narrow then that is fantastic. Those Christian beliefs are also supposed to be tolerant and forgiving of those that may not subscribe to the same mode of thinking.

That goes for a young actress that may have made a decision she regrets and it goes for a librarian that decides that he doesn’t want his library to be used in a game of political ping pong. Free speech is a right that protects people from government oppression or government censorship. I suppose a library is in some way an extension of that, but the first amendment states, “Congress shall make no law…” It certainly doesn’t guarantee you the right to a platform and it certainly doesn’t make you look more Christian if you use coercion and threats to get your way. I’m sure Cameron’s books have a nice message, but that message is at least somewhat sullied by his tactics to get the story heard in the first place.

TFG spent billions of OPM (Other People’s Money) to start Wannabe Twitter; he calls the new platform Truth Social, a name just dripping with irony.  The platform was built for TFG and his supporters when he was permanently banned for habitually violating Twitter’s moderating policies for everything from personal attacks to incitement to sedition.  When announcing the launch of Truth Social, he touted it’s “free speech” environment and alternative to “Big Tech”.  Except it’s not really a free speech platform…it’s a pro TFG platform.  Its terms of service specifically said that users may not, “disparage, tarnish, or otherwise harm, in our opinion, us and/or the Site.”  So, you have free speech unless you criticize the boss or his cronies.

That little provision is coming into play now, as apparently the platform is suspending the accounts of those posting about the January 6th Committee hearings.  Multiple users are reporting that they’ve been permanently banned from Truth Social for simply discussing the hearings.

Apparently, in TFGland, free speech is what they say it is.