respond to discussion

Boy, the internet can be an ugly place, huh? I want you to think about defamation, invasion of privacy, and cyber harassment. On one side of the coin … people say, “I have free speech!” Really? Do you really have free speech to defame someone? To purposely say something false on the internet that you know will invade their privacy … hurt their business … cause them pain and embarrassment. I seem to recall from law school you don’t have free speech to run into a movie theater and yell “Fire” and cause 10 people to die in the stampede. Side story … did you ever know why John Hancock signed his name so big on the Declaration of Independence? All of the signers were essentially signing their death warrant … their signature on that document was an act of treason that would surely lead to their death. Point being … Hancock signed his name that big as a “screw you” to the King. That, my friends, is free speech … being willing to stand behind your words. In my humble opinion, free speech means you can say what you want about someone, but you should also be held accountable for your words.