Current Event#2: Freedom of Speech
Palestinian
men in Gaza City burn the U.S. flag Wednesday to protest an
anti-Islam video.
Due: Friday, September, 21st
CNN
Special Contributing Author, Zeynep Tufekci, is assistant professor at the School of
Information at the University of North Carolina.
The
recent murder of U.S. ambassador Christopher Stevens and members of
his staff in Benghazi are the direct actions over
a crude and offensive anti-Islam video appearing
on YouTube. Zeynep Tufekci states, “The
recent protests serve as a lesson about cultural clash in
the Internet era — not necessarily between extremists on both
sides, but rather between cultural understandings of free speech and
the public sphere”.
Long
gone are the days when a person needed to travel someplace new to
experience a culture clash. In today’s time, one can create an
immediate connection between people by way of the Internet, which can
evoke a massive clash of culture. As the reporter states, America’s
free-speech culture and its legal framework are unique in the world
and baffling to many outside of its borders. In order to move
forward, we must understand the differences between peoples and
not assume that everyone else lives in the same cultural, legal
and political framework.
What
You Will Do:
1)
Read the CNN article posted at the following web link:
http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/14/why-free-speech-is-baffling-to-many/?hpt=wo_r1
2)
You may refer to other articles or video pertaining to the recent
American attacks to further your understanding.
3)
Answer the following questions in well-organized paragraph form using complete sentences:
1)
When should freedom of speech be limited when another
culture/religion is at the center of discussion?
2)
Should we enforce stricter regulations when it comes to posting video
footage of controversial subjects on media sites such as YouTube,
etc.? If so, explain the specific criteria one must follow for
uploads.
3)
How does this recent activity change the way we view our country’s
stance on freedom of speech and how will this event shape other
countries perception of the U.S.?
Sam Bauers
ReplyDeleteWaters 2
1)I believe that the amendment of freedom of speech should only go so far. Ridicule of religions and cultures especially. I think that the reason this was such a big deal was the fact that people in other countries don't have the rights to react or respond to this video. Now an ambassador and his workers have been killed for a video they didn't even post.
2)I do think there should stricter restrictions on youtube. They do have options on youtube so you can flag it as inappropriate, but I don't think that's enough. They need to stop worrying about whats to inappropriate for kids to watch and start reviewing new videos to make sure they are not offensive to others.
3)I think this is showing that we need to adjust the first amendment, because now we have protests and a ambassador dead. It stinks how some people take such an advantage of a great right we as Americans have. There is now a great chance the rule will be affected for free speech due to this one video. This is also another reason that other countries are going to look down on the U.S. We now are going to get a bad reputation about how we cant control our citizens.
Blake Johnson
Delete2nd
9/21/2012
1)Freedom of speech limitations involving religion/culture can be tricky. I think that everyone has a right to state their opinion on a subject, even religion/culture. We are privileged to have freedom of speech in the U.S. There is a fine line though. I don’t think there is a need though to make it public on the internet, especially if it involves hate. People should be more respectful. I think if you really have a strong dislike for a religion/culture keep it to yourself. There is no need to make tensions worse.
2)I believe that there should be stricter regulations on internet video footage like YouTube. This incident of a killing of innocent people shouldn’t have happened over a video. The ambassador had nothing to do with the video. Therefore why should he, his family, and friends suffer for it? One way stricter regulations can be enforced is by the people uploading videos. They should ask themselves is this going to offend anyone. Does this show any disrespect? If the answers are yes then it would be most likely wise to not post it. YouTube can also enforce stricter regulations by monitoring influential topics.
3)This recent activity showed the country how many people abuse the right to freedom of speech. Now the country is most likely thinking about of stance on the first amendment. Some people may think to modify it and some may think to leave it the same way. My stance is to find a way (I’m not sure how) to make sure the killing of innocent people in foreign countries doesn’t happen again. This event defiantly shaped people’s perception of the U.S.A. Now many foreigners may see our amendment of freedom of speech abused. They may start to think of freedom of speech as bad or troublesome or not needed. This isn’t true. American citizens need freedom of speech. I believe that it is important to the country and should be important to the citizens of other countries. This event did shape this freedom from a good thing into a bad thing in the eyes of other countries.
DAVID COLLAZO WORLD HISTORY HONORS 7 PERIOD
Deletehttp://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/14/why-free-speech-is-baffling-to-many/?hpt=wo_r1
WHY FREE SPEECH IS BAFFLING TO MANY PEOPLE
This current event is talking about how free speech baffling to many people. This was when a group of
protesters protested over a crude and offensive anti video. Many of these protesters acted with
violence because of this video and the person who created this video. This video was watched by
middle east and north Africa . Today there is something called free speech in Untied States and that can
create a lot of violence. Not only that but everybody has a different cultural in this world and have
different political frame work and should not be judged.
Freedom of speech should be limited when it is judging other religions. I think that they should
make a rule that they should not put documentaries on youtube because Youtube is world wide and
many people will see this. We can see that freedom of speech can create violence world wide
Veronica Kim
ReplyDelete1st period Honors World History
9/18/2012
1) I strongly believe in freedom of speech, but only up to a certain point. Sure, you should definitely be allowed the right to state your opinion; however, you should know where to draw the line. If you are going to be so outspoken that you're not sure how bad the consequences are going to be (not just if they're going to be bad, but how bad), you should think twice before opening your mouth.
2) When uploading things onto sites such as YouTube, you have to remember one thing: once you put it out there, it's out. Anyone with the resources and the time will be able to find what you recorded or what you wrote, and that person will draw whatever conclusions they want from it. I don't necessarily think that the sites themselves should regulate postings (because restrictions can only go so far, and people always manage to find a loophole) but the ones posting things that may be offensive should consider for a moment - how would I feel if I saw this online?
3) As an American citizen, I've always liked the idea of free speech and opinion. It sounds good, doesn't it? But the ones that are plastered all over the news and the Internet, the ones that abuse that freedom and take it for granted; well, that's not the type of image we want to create for our country, and yet it's the one that we are. I think that we should be able to take responsibility for our own people's actions, but only to a certain extent; I also think that if I was living in Korea and saw this article, I would find myself thinking very differently of America. Not necessarily because the citizens here are out of control, but because the citizens find a reason to be out of control, and that would not raise my opinions of this country - if anything, my respect for the U.S. would drop. So I don't think we should give others the opportunity to think badly of us, and so I think that we should learn to control ourselves, instead of depending on our leaders to tell us what to do.
Jackson Cabell
ReplyDelete9/18/12
Honors World History Period 7
1) I think that freedom of speech should be limited when talking about another culture/religion. Somebody shouldn’t say mean things about another culture to ridicule it. Citizens should watch what they say and think before they speak about other cultures/religions to make sure that they don’t criticize or hurt other people.
2) I think that we should enforce stricter regulations when it comes to posting video footage of controversial subjects on media sites such as YouTube because some people post really harmful videos. A certain committee should check every video before it’s posted and make sure that there is nothing in the video that says bad things about other people/religions/customs so that way protests like this one doesn’t break out again.
3) This recent activity makes us wonder if we should change the Amendment concerning freedom of speech. The U.S.A is probably trying to modify it so that something like this can’t happen ever again. Other countries perception of the U.S. is probably poorly because they might think that the government doesn’t have the citizens under control anymore.
Francis Wemmenhove
ReplyDeletePeriod 2
Freedom of speech is something a lot of people have different opinions about. In my opinion, there shouldn’t be any restrictions when talking about religion or culture. You should be able to say whatever you want. However, I’m not saying that it would be smart to say insulting things about a certain religion or culture that aren’t even true. When there is something that is insulting about your religion or culture it’s your choice how to deal with it. You can get really upset and start planning revenge, or you can just let it go and ignore it. Overall, it’s your decision what you say but I would think about the reaction you might get before saying something. For uploading videos on to Youtube, I would say the same thing I said before; it’s your decision what you say. It’s also your decision what you decide to watch, if you started watching something and don’t like it, stop watching it. So my answer to the question if there should be stricter regulations would be no, there shouldn‘t be stricter regulations. The anti-Muslim video will probably change other countries perception of the US. I’m sure there will be people that believe that there aren’t enough restrictions on what Americans can say. The people in the US might try to get more restrictions for uploading videos to Youtube. All in all, I think that the video will change people’s thoughts on the freedom of speech in the US.
Takoda Ren
ReplyDeleteWaters 2
1) Usually it should be okay to display you’re opinions. But there should be another law that stops people from outright humiliating and enraging people. So the reason people burned the US flag is because they believe that the US shouldn’t have free speech, which is definitely not a good thing.
2) I do think that we should enforce some regulations when it comes to this. There should be some filter on the net that will block extremely obscene content. This isn’t too restricting, so I think there won’t be much protest.
3) I think that other countries might view us as abusing our privileges. And right now I realize that we are taking advantage of free speech as we write this. The amendment of freedom really is good sometimes.
Abby Kameny
ReplyDelete9/18/2012
5th period
I really enjoyed reading “Why free speech is baffling to many.” I realized that this type of conflict is very common, especially these days with electronics. I also learned that the United States is one of the few countries that has complete freedom of speech. I had no idea that other nations punish citizens with a fine or even death. This article was very well written and thorough, but wasn’t too long either. Now that we have YouTube, Facebook, and other websites, it’s a lot easier to share cruel messages or videos around the world. In this article, I learned that Americans made a cruel video towards Islam, which caused Islamic people to kill our ambassador Christopher Stevens.
I believe freedom of speech should have some boundaries. After learning how much damage just one video on the Internet caused, I came to a realization that our country should have restrictions to the freedom of speech rule. However, I don’t think the United States should have any horrible punishments, such as the death penalty. I think we should punish anyone who says cruel things about a country or person. Expressing your feelings towards something is okay, but hurting people’s feelings is not.
There have been so many hateful videos posted on the internet, and I couldn’t agree more with having stricter regulations on YouTube. I’m aware that YouTube already has a copyrighting policy and a time limit on videos that people upload, so it can’t be too difficult to regulate cyberbullying or any other type of cruelty. I think the videos should be examined before being posted on websites. There is also a report button on YouTube videos, so just in case a video does get through, it should be reported right away before it causes problems.
I think America will be viewed differently from other countries. The hateful videos and comments from us will only get worse from here. As technology advances, I can only imagine how many other ways people in America will be cruel different nations. Although I don’t agree with this, I have a feeling the United States will not change its freedom of speech. We have had freedom of speech for 225 years, and I doubt we will get rid of it any time soon.
1) I feel strongly that freedom of speech is (and should be) exactly what it sounds like. If you live under this law then you are able to speak your mind. As a citizen of America I am very grateful to be able to voice my opinions publicly. When the topic is other countries, I think it is a matter of being respectful of their culture or beliefs. It should defiantly not include punishment aside from shame. My advice to other countries is to take some peoples opinions or actions with a grain of salt.
ReplyDelete2) Freedom of speech would not be what it is if you had restrictions around what you post on the internet. I think America is all about freedom and it would go against everything this country was founded upon to say otherwise. Saying that, I think our government should not enforce stricter regulations. A loop hole in this would be if a site like Facebook or Twitter included the do's and don't's of posting in the rules and regulations.
3) Obviously you cannot (shouldn't) judge a nation by one act or a few people. The posting of this video was inappropriate and makes America look bad as a whole. Other countries will now view us as rude and/or inconsiderate. I don't think it should lead to any change within America. I still view freedom of speech the same way as before. This even made me think about how lucky I am to have this law in the first place.
Joy Stouffer
ReplyDeleteHonors World History
7th period
1) Freedom of speech is normally a wonderful thing. People can express their opinions strongly to all of America. However, the right to say whatever you want can also be bad. It is easy to insult others and be cruel when it takes absolutely no effort. When a religion or culture is what is being discussed, anything can be said. I think that people have a right to say what they want about it, but outright disrespect should definitely be avoided. For example, someone videotaping themselves burning a bible.
2) I think that stricter regulations should be made when it comes to posting video footage on YouTube. Controversial subjects should not be banned from the internet, but certain things should be screened. One video could easily cause an explosion of hate and fury. The anti-Islam video is a perfect example. It caused a chain reaction of events that could have been avoided.
3) If this video changes the way Americans look at freedom of speech, it won’t be solely responsible. So many other videos have been insulting, and this is just like any other. I think that anything changed the way we look at freedom of speech it would have to be much bigger than this. Other countries might start to look at America as a nation with disrespectful, out-of-control citizens. They might even be right, at least partially.
1. I think freedom of speech should be limited, but it should still be a right. I think people shouldn’t be able to speak their minds if it truly insults someone to the point where others lives are in danger. In other countries, it’s not legal to speak their minds about the video, and I think it’s unfair they couldn’t speak out if they were insulted.
ReplyDelete2. I agree that there should be stricter regulations enforced on online videos. I think it would be hard to enforce, and people would have to confirm the video before it was uploaded- which would take a long time and could never happen with as many videos on youtube. I know on youtube some videos are “flagged” or taken down by youtube because it contained illegal content. Also, some videos aren’t available through youtube for certain countries.
3. I think it gives us a bad reputation, and people will think badly of us because of it. I’m sure there are more videos similar to this online, and that makes it even worse. I hope people that know about this will think before they speak out- and think about who it will effect.
-Paige Jones, period 2
Nathan Guskiewicz
ReplyDeletePeriod 5
9/18/12
1) Although I think freedom of speech is important I think it should be limited when it comes to culture/religion. You always should be able to state your opinion but to a certain extent, you need to think about the consequences. People can get really offended when it comes to culture and religion so people should watch what they say towards these subjects.
2) I think there should be more restrictions when it comes to posting things on the internet/YouTube. People say whatever they want and sometimes it can be hurtful. There should be an organization that regulates what is posted on the internet to make sure none of it is inappropriate or could be hurtful to anybody.
3) I think the recent activity has changed the way many countries look at us because it makes it look like we have no control over our people. If the US were to modify the freedom of speech amendment then I think it would make a lot of people very mad. Therefore I don’t think we should modify it but everyone needs to be more aware of what they say and post on the internet.
Avery Acierno
ReplyDeleteHonors World History Period 5
9/18/12
1) I believe that everybody is entitled to their own opinion, and I do support freedom of speech. However, I believe that it should be limited on a moral basis. I think that if what you are saying, writing, or posting is hateful and could provoke violence form others, then you shouldn’t say it. This is especially important when you are discussing controversial matters, such as culture and religion, that people are greatly passionate about. Hateful words about those things can often lead to violence and tragedy, like what happened to the U.S. Ambassador in Benghazi. I think that people shouldn’t be able to say things so hateful about these heated subjects that it could provoke violence.
2) I do believe that we should put stricter regulations on posting hateful footage on YouTube and other websites. I say this because there should never be a YouTube video resulting in violence or death. If a video could offend others so badly that it provokes horrible actions, then it shouldn’t be able to be posted online. I think YouTube should flag materials that are on controversial and passionate matters, such as religion or culture, that attack or show hate to the opposing sides. They could then ban and restrict that footage, making YouTube and other sites free of hate that could cause violence.
3) Even after these events, I personally still view America’s freedom of speech as a mostly good thing, as I think many other Americans do as well. Overall, freedom of speech is important, because it allows us to express our opinions. Without it we wouldn’t be able to share some of our great ideas. The problem is that some people are starting to abuse that right and turn it into something evil. They are using it to spread hate and violence. That evil use of the right is what must be stopped, but the main use for new and good ideas and thoughts must remain. This event may cause other countries to view the U.S. as a hateful and violent nation, which isn’t true. It is a few people out of many that are spreading this hate and violence by abusing their first amendment. If we can stop the abuse, then the perception of America will improve to a more composed and peaceful shape.
Katherine Yang
ReplyDelete5th Period H World History
1) When it comes to discussing other cultures or religions, I think any and everyone’s speech should be regulated. Especially if they themselves are not part of that group, and if they, or their predecessors, had conflicts with that group. Voicing your opinion is important, but I think common sense should be exercised, as many statements can be mistakenly seen as a threat or a direct insult, which may lead to future disagreements between two groups.
2) If a person posts something on the internet, they should be well aware of the fact that anyone from anywhere, not just their own country, can see it. I don’t think media sites need to regulate footage or threads. The people that upload the media should take into consideration the audience, and either tone their voice down, or include a disclaimer or a note that these are their personal opinions, and not those of the website or their country. They should also refrain from blatantly making accusations, assumptions, stereotypes, and other forms of labeling based on appearance, nationality, or belief. If a person really wanted their words to be taken seriously, they should post evidence and valid arguments for their statements.
3) For the most part, I think Americans take their free speech for granted. They don’t entirely see how people from other places in the world can take a statement much more seriously because of how their own society functions. I would think that many people in other countries think that Americans are rude, stereotyping, or any other trait that some countries many not allow on the internet. Now that the world is more connected than ever, Americans should be more cautious of what they say and do, and exercise more self-regulation.
Elise Dixon
ReplyDeletePeriod 5
Honors World History
1. I think that when freedom of speech is connected with other’s culture and religion they should keep it to them selfs. If they do not agree with it then they should just not say anything so that no one will get aggravated or upset. Also, things like you tube is a very good way to express your beliefs but it can cause much trouble.
2. I think that when posting a video of controversial things there should be some type of restriction. One way to enforce not having controversial videos is that if there is a uploader that is known to have uploaded a controversial video then the cite should have a person from their company check the video before they would upload it. Another way more to enforce it is to warn people that if they do post a controversial video then they will face the consequences. For instance, if the video had stirred up much trouble then the uploader and the uploader’s ip would be banned from the cite.
3. I believe that many people are now thinking about how the right to free speech may also be a bad thing. In society when posting a controversial video, it should not be illegal but greatly looked down upon. I think that free speech is a very good thing because people can say many things that they want but people should not take it too far. Other countries of the US is probably not very good right now since because we have the right to free speech we can cause a great ruckus.
Iain Dixon
ReplyDeletePeriod 2
Honors World History
I just read the CNN article that talks about cultural censorship limits - and it brought up some very interesting points - so this is my opinions on the article.
1. From the evidence that was presented in the article, we cant censor everything. Some people in this world things its their inane right to sue other people who make fun of them, or say something derogatory about their culture/religion. Due to this, there isn’t much that we can do to stop people from expressing themselves, but there are several things that need to be addressed. Saying bad things about someones personal beliefs or ideas is something that idiotic people just need to get out (its part of what makes then idiots), but posting video of murder for people to see, or torture, is something totally different. International law should come into that context, as torture and murder are defiantly ILLEGAL.
2. Enforcing stricter laws onto media content is a VERY bad idea, it has its several up, like stoping people from uploading pictures and video clips of murder to their youtube channels, but it also gives larger corporation and governments the ability to screw with the way you upload your footage. Just employing people to watch randomly selected parts of youtube clips before they go live is something that should be employed. Youtube already has the ability to remove any footage that they deem against their terms of use, and the dislike and flag buttons are a way for people to alert them to distressing footage.
3. Other countries in the world can mess around with the filters that allow their people to watch only what they want, but luckily for us, the USA has several laws that work against that, such as the first amendment. Of course, we have no idea how good of decision makers the government is, if they were able to pass Amendment One, and even CONSIDER passing SOPA and PIPA, then we are shouldn’t be to sure about our governments decision making plans.
Sam Orenstein
ReplyDeleteSeptember 19, 2012
Honors World History, Fifth Period
I believe that freedom of speech is an important right, and it should not be restricted. The ironic thing about personal speech is, if someone disagrees or contemns your opinion, they can respond with their own opinion. Personally, I do not post anything with profanity or anything controversial. I do believe in the possibility of people being able to say or post anything they want online, but by doing this, they have proven that they are not afraid of the consequences they may receive. The person who posts controversial things about religion or culture does so at his/her own discretion. Regulations should not be enforced, but more protective measures should be taken to prevent children from being exposed to material that their parents disapprove of. This recent event does not change my views on freedom of speech. Other countries, especially more conservative or strict countries, probably disagree with the right. The countries believe that they benefit from controlling their citizens in as many ways as possible.
In my opinion, we shouldn't ever restrict freedom of speech. People have the right to say whatever they want, they're just words, if you don't want to hear them, don't listen, it isn't very complicated. People over react when people say things and it's dumb. In America, we have freedom of speech, but the issue is that they're freaking out about this in other countries, where they don't have freedom of speech.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think it's stupid that these people are killing random Americans because one dumb person decided to make a video about how they hate Muslims. They can't just assume all Americans hate Muslims, cause they don't. They're just being over dramatic because people say stupid crap, and they have a right too. They need to accept the fact that there are people out there who will say dumb things and ignore it.
We absolutely don't need to have better rules on what people can post. I think people should be able to post whatever they want. If someone doesn't want to watch it, and thinks it's offensive, then just don't watch it.
This definitely makes our country look like we're all a bunch of jerks probably. But honestly, you can't classify every American as a Muslim-hater, just like we can't assume every Muslim is a terrorist.
Freedom of speech is not the issue within this mans arrest, he wasn't suppose to be on the internet and posting on the internet because he had violated laws on the internet previously. So "Freedom of Speech" has nothing to do with the arrest so people need to lay off.
Shamim Zarei
ReplyDelete9-19-12
2nd period
1. I like the rule of freedom of speech, but it depends how deeply someone expresses it. In my opinion, I think that freedom of speech should be limited when it comes to religion or cultures because it can get you in big trouble with other people and it just isn’t nice. I wouldn’t recommend making fun of people’s customs on video, but if you do, you’re going to have a hard time.
2. I think YouTube should enforce stricter regulations when it comes to posting videos because some videos hurt people’s feelings and can cause them to do suicide or harm their bodies. YouTube should let viewers vote on deleting the video and when the vote gets really high, the makers of YouTube should look at the video and delete if they think it’s harmful.
3. I think this event harms America’s reputation to the world because people are going to get disgusted on the video and this might change Amendment Ones law. The government might change it so something like this video won’t ever happen again. This event might change other people’s perception to the U.S by them thinking that they don’t care about the other races of the world.
1) Honestly, everyone has his or her own opinion about everything. But, that doesn’t give you a right to express that opinion to the public (especially if it is a negative one.). Yes, in America we do have freedom of speech and I can appreciate that, but with that being said that allows the public to express their (sometimes) negative and rude opinions. I believe that everyone should have the right to have an opinion, but maybe the things they say on the Internet should be monitored.
ReplyDelete2) Yes, I do believe that social media sites should be monitored. The things that some people say to others is extremely uncalled for and can really hurt. Not only that, but social media bullying can result in suicide. I’m not saying that every thing we post should be looked over and edited to fit the criteria of the site, but there should be some regulations put in place, Such as: certain words are off limits, and you should be given the option to request this media to be deleted.
3) Personally, I think that the US won’t change laws or anything because of this, but maybe social media sites will put in some regulations because of this event. I think other countries will continue to have their freedom of speech laws though.
Carly LeMoine
ReplyDelete9/19/12
Period 5
I think that the freedom of speech is called the freedom of speech because you can say whatever you want to when ever you want to. If it was me talking about someone’s religion then how much I say about there religion depends on how well I know them. If you know the person really well then you can tell them your opinion about there religion, but you should try not to insult them. If you just meet someone then I don’t think you should say anything about their religion because you don’t really know them. I don’t think that there should be any regulations about what is out on YouTube because whatever you post then you have to take full responsibility for that and you cant get upset if someone comments something bad. Also, there are tons of bad YouTube video but if you don’t want to see them of they offend you then just don’t search them. I think that our freedom of speech should stay the same because everyone has an opinion and it’s not right to have to keep your opinions to yourself. Other countries probably look at us as people who don’t really care all that much but if they think about how we see them then they probably think that we see them as people who care too much.
Markale Cordova
ReplyDeletePeriod 5th
1. Everybody in the world has something to say in the world we know today. Violence and bullying happens almost every single day, but you wouldn’t guess where? Yes you guess right, it happens on the internet. I mean everybody has their opinion about stuff being posted on Facebook, twitter, YouTube, but it you don’t give a negative perspective about you think of the video, tweet, status. You wouldn’t want someone to say something to you, so why would you do it? Honestly, I’m fine having people giving there opinions about stuff on the internet or whatever, but if you have something to say that’s not nice then keep it to yourself and have people to monitor what they say . Life can be better if they can do it this way.
2. If I had to give my opinion about this question; then I would say yes they should monitor what people put online. People say things that really hurts people. It hurts them so much that they want to commit suicide which I believe is terrible. I don’t want people to start monitoring on everything we say on internet, but a change you can probably make is to cut off the bad language on the internet.
3. Freedom of speech is very important because it allows us to express our opinions about stuff that we agree or disagree, so American’s should still have that right to continue on having our opinions. Others may think differently in the world about freedom of speech and may change their laws about it, but that’s them we need to stop the hate. WHERE IS THE LOVE ?
My main belief on this topic is that no, freedom of speech should not be restricted. But, when the subject of a statement is to aggressively make fun of an established belief like Islam, there should be a limit to what is tolerable. This offensive video, for instance, should not have been allowed to be posted on the Internet because I think that it was an attack on Islam and its beliefs. The times that something somewhat like this should be allowed is when it is a parody or satire, like something you would see on John Stewart – those are not purposeful attacks, but the video in question is. So, when material is meant to be offensive instead of funny or amusing, then the line has been crossed and it should be restricted. In my opinion, regulations should be stricter about what can be posted on regulated sites (like Youtube and other social media sites). Maybe they could have moderators that check videos before they are released. Or, even simpler, they could develop algorithms that automatically check uploads to see if they are inappropriate. Wikipedia has algorithms just like this that regulate its posts. The criteria should be, as previously stated, to scan the material for offensive text, spoken words, and other items and then check if they are meant for humor or hate/offense. If the material is offensive, then it should be flagged and not posted. I don’t think that this event changes our stance on free speech, because freedom of speech is such a cornerstone of our country’s philosophy. But, now that this video has gotten such a large reaction, it has definitely rekindled the anti-Americanism that is prevalent in the Middle East. Many Middle Eastern people believe that all Americans hate Islam, but that is not the case. In fact, some of us have the same misconception about them – that they are all terrorists and hate America. I think that this event is changing the Middle East’s perception in the same direction it is going – increasing misunderstanding about the US and its people.
ReplyDeleteAlbert Yam
ReplyDeleteSeptember 19, 2012
Period 2
I think that free speech should not be limited whenever something sensitive comes up. People should be able to voice their opinions good or bad. If it insults or ridicules another culture or religion, then it could cause and international incident similar to the one that is going on right now, so you do have to be careful about what you say, but you should be able to say anything you want. Media sites should not have regulations on what people can post. All the videos that have inappropriate/controversial subjects can be posted but the person who posted them would need to take full responsibility and be completely liable if an incident occurs. The U.S. will probably have to look more carefully at free speech in the wake of the current protests. The recent activity has probably made the U.S. like an Islamaphobic country to many countries around the world.
Emily Chang
ReplyDelete9/19/12
Period 1
1. I think that it shouldn't be limited, because people will never learn the lesson on their own. I completely respect the right to free speech, but common sense should be applied when one is saying something hateful or sensitive in a public setting. If that freedom was limited by law, people would be punished and they might learn not to do so through that, but I think it's important that people understand why these limits are needed and apply them on their own.
2. Like I said before, I think that their shouldn't be certain regulations, but that people need to use common sense and think through what message they are putting out on the site. Ultimately, the blame will still fall on you for whatever consequences occur.
3. This doesn't change my view of free speech, only my view of how others use it. People who post things like this are abusing their rights. This type of posting might make other countries think that all we do with our freedom is express our hate of other countries and peoples, therefore discouraging them from allowing freedom in their own countries.
Sarah Taekman
ReplyDeletePeriod 5
9-19-12
My policy when discussing potentially insulting topics is: If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it all. Americans have had problems keeping their mouths shut in the past when it comes to discussing religion and culture. I’m surprised that people haven’t noticed that whenever something insulting a religion or culture shows up online, the end result is usually someone getting murdered. A few years ago, a Danish newspaper featured 12 drawings of the Muslim prophet Mohammed, and it resulted in riots and bombing of the Danish embassy in Pakistan. Those cartoons weren’t even offensive. Imagine the destruction and rage that would occur if you directly insulted a person’s religion. Making a negative point against someone else’s beliefs is not worth getting you or others killed, so keep your mouth shut if you don’t have anything good to say.
I think we should monitor which controversial videos show up online. If someone wanted to post a video to YouTube, voicing their opinions on a religious text or a cultural tradition, then they should have to fill in a few questions before they upload it, regarding what the topic is, what it says, who the target audience is. Before allowing it on to the site, a few YouTube staff members would watch it searching for highly negative and/or insulting material. If it is deemed fine, then they allow it on the site. This way, people can still voice their opinions, but those with only things that don’t contribute to a debate and are hateful stay away from the public.
I think a large number of Americans are wondering why we have such extensive free speech. Of course, free speech is a wonderful thing. The problem is that idiots have those rights too. Most of the time, they’re the ones causing any cultural clashes, and making the entire country look bad. Other countries must probably are gaining a bad view of Americans, due small number of unintelligent Americans voicing their biased views. Smart people may make good points, but idiots scream bad points even louder. I definitely believe that Americans should continue to have free speech, but they should be educated more as to the effect one hateful thing a person says can result in mass murder.
I agree with you that the actions of a few effect greatly on the whole. It is sad that some Americans contribute to this negative behavior!
Deletethink that the Egyptians overreacted. I know for certainty that there are plenty of other offensive videos towards Islam and other topics and I can see how one could offend someone. what I do not understand is murder on the basis of "someone from his country made a video that insulted my religion even though there were already videos made by people from his and other countries that insulted my religion...kill him now instead of the 2000's" however I think people should be more careful with what they post and what they say and overall he deserved to post that and if that should be banned from the internet so should anything else controversial.
ReplyDeleteforget about regulations if people have a problem with the video go troll,dislike,parody or refute it. the maker of the video should take it down or if the reaction is bad enough get hackers to take it down in the end let the poster put up with it
This did change my view on freedom of speech. i now see it as something more American. now i see that people can get very angry when exposed to the "negative" results of it when its not a life style, a life style that should probably be more embraced.
Anna Castellano
ReplyDeleteMr. Waters Period 5
9-21-12
I think that freedom of speech should not be limited legally. People posting things on the media should limit the information only to the facts when another country or religion is at the center of discussion. By limiting the speech to facts, misunderstandings would be less likely and there would be fewer grave implications. I think that we should not enforce stricter regulations when it comes to posting video footage of controversial subjects on media sites such as YouTube.
You shouldn’t have to restrict people’s freedom of speech and there is always a consequence for actions. The media has a responsibility not to sensationalize a specific group or event because not all people in the group always share the same opinion. As a result, it could have negative implications on others in the group. For example, just because some extremist Muslims caused harm to others doesn’t mean that all Muslims would do the same thing.
This recent activity in the media has shaped other countries perceptions of the US in a negative way because they are relating this video to be similar with all American views. Yet, the American view is that this is just another stupid video posted by idiots. “The vast majority of people in the Middle East and North Africa who watched the violence in Libya with horror and disgust and yet still find the existence of the video troubling and disturbing, and everyday Americans who see the story as just a few marginal, hateful people putting this video on YouTube.” The actions of a few are causing others to have negative opinions about the whole group. This problem just creates more violence and has led to further destruction.
Kunal Lodaya
ReplyDelete1st period
1) In my opinion, free speech should not be taken as a reason to make deliberately inflammatory comments about extremely personal subjects such as religion. While murdering the ambassador and his staff is an unforgivable act of violence, so too was the video posted. No one should feel persecuted or uncomfortable about their religion, despite the prevalence of such activities throughout history.
2) Videos posted on media sites such as YouTube are full of hatred and racism as seen here, even if much of it doesn’t reach the general public’s eye. When creating videos concerning very sensitive topics, such as race and religion, I believe there should be a screening process, or at the very least some kind of restriction against posting too many of these videos. We have seen firsthand the consequences that they can bring.
3) Based on the article, it seems like most countries around the world find the United States’ stance on free speech to be an unparalleled freedom. When our freedom begins to interact with other cultures, perhaps in a negative fashion as it did here, we should learn as a society that not all nations see free speech as we do. The publishing of this video will no doubt worsen the suspicion that is harbored against our laws, and might bring more restriction to the limits of our speech.
Isabelle Alzona
ReplyDeletePeriod 5
1) I think that freedom of speech is a very important part of today’s society. It’s good to speak your mind and let others know how you feel. But there are cases where you can take it too far. For instance the recent “Hate Islam” video is not okay under any circumstances. You may feel a certain way, but putting down another person’s way of life is not only mean but is the sign of a coward. Using freedom of speech to criticize others is not using your right, it’s abusing it. So there is no limit except when you feel that the video or article you just made crosses a line into someone else’s life and feelings.
2) I think there should be more restrictions to what is posted. Like making sure that the material doesn’t offend anyone internationally, making sure it isn’t anti-patriotic, making sure it is appropriate for people around the world to see it, it’s not denouncing anyone’s lifestyle or religion, ECT. In order to post you should have to go through a process of making sure your material is suitable for the internet. For example have someone proofread your article before you post. Or maybe show the video to a couple friends first. Just think twice before you hit enter.
3) Right now many people are probably thinking that someone ought to make the rules on freedom of speech tighter. Most people are probably astonished that someone could do something like that. I think many people across America love their right to have freedom of speech but think that the “Anti-Islam” video was going too far. Other countries probably think we’re crazy. We’re crazy to let something like that be posted without punishment. Some people might think it’s great that we can do whatever we want with internet postings. Others might think us Americans are rude and need to be under more rules. The bottom line is, use the freedom of speech. Don’t abuse it.
Kelly Zhang
ReplyDelete2nd Period
This article was about the recent outrage over an American movie. This movie was a random low budget and unpopular film, but clips were posted on YouTube. and Muslims interpreted some parts as the Prophet, Mohammad, being depicted in a derogatory and degrading portrayal. This enraged Muslims and has sparked a many news articles and controversy over the freedom of speech.
I believe that the freedom of speech should never be limited. The first amendment protects the freedom of speech, so people should be able to say what they chose to about anything including another religion. These words can be malicious and nasty, or kind and supportive, but people can still say them if they wish to. Most people respect the religion and culture of others, and they would never say bad things about them. They may think them, but they usually filter what they think and do not say it. People follow a common social custom that if it is not nice, then do not say it. If you do say mean things about a religion or culture, then you will have to face the backlash of what you have said because people will respond and comment on what you have said. Freedom of speech should never be restrained because it is a right that American citizens have to express themselves however they like.
I do not believe that stricter regulations should be set when it comes to posting things media sites like YouTube. This would limit freedom of speech, which I am absolutely against. Freedom of speech is a right that we have, and it should not be taken away no matter what. People should be allowed to post whatever they wish, but most people will think before they post something and decide whether or not it is a good choice to post it or not. The people have the right to decide what specific criteria they want to follow when uploading things on media sites. They people’s values and morals play a role in what they post. If somebody does not care how they are portrayed or how these things will affect others, then they will post whatever they comes to mind and not think about the consequences of these actions. People should think before posting things, but they are allowed to post whatever they wish to.
This event probably caused other countries to be baffled as the article title states. Other countries do not have luxury of freedom of speech, and this concept is very foreign, confounding and baffling. Other countries may also believe that this video was very nasty and cruel towards Islamic religion, and they may believe that the U.S. is cruel to specific religions and discriminate against some cultures. Others may also believe that the citizens of the United States have been given too much freedom, have started abusing their freedom of speech, are crossing normal boundaries and are insulting others. The U.S. believes that this whole predicament was a simple misunderstanding and that the movie was never meant to be interpreted in that fashion. The U.S. Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton stated that “The U.S. government absolutely rejects the film’s content and message.” Some countries may believe that the United States is telling the truth and that the Muslims have blown this simple misunderstanding way out of proportion and are putting on a dramatic show. I do not believe this event has changed America’s stance on freedom of speech in our nation, but it may have changed the view of other nation’s laws about freedom of speech. U.S. citizens have realized that not everyone has the right and freedom of expressing themselves, and this may make freedom of speech be less taken for granted.
I also referred to the other articles mentioned through the hyperlinks in the article provided.
Blake Rasnake
ReplyDelete9-20-12
2nd
1)When you are talking about the culture and religion you should watch what you are saying but there should not be a law or getting in trouble because you say something bad. If you do say something that makes other people mad you should mad you should say your sorry to people and try to make it better with them.
2)I do not think that there should be any regulation on what you can and can not put online because you should be smart about it. Also at the same time I think there should be some regulations but how are you going to check what is good and what is bad? There should not be killings over a you-video so that is also why I think that there should be things you should not be able to post.
3)I do not think that the United States are going to change the freedom of speech law in anyway. They might change what you can and cant put online. They can not and will not change the freedom of speech in America.
Simon Dunson
ReplyDeletePeriod 7
I personally think that the egyptians overreacted. In this country we have freedom of speech which means that we can say what we want. There are probably hundreds if not thousands of other more offensive videos out there. I personally feel that we should not censor what videos we put out on the web. It is our own decision and thats it's someone else's problem if they don't like it. There should not be stricter regulations when it comes to posting videos about religion or what not. If you feel comfortable posting that video then that is your decision. I think that this video will not change our countries view on freedom of speech, I feel that it shouldn't affect anyone at all.
9/20/12
ReplyDeletePeriod 1
1. In general, I support free speech, but only to an extent. I don't think free speech should ever be outlawed on any topic in the U.S. People have their opinions and can spread them if they want to. This obviously causes problems, sometimes terrible ones like in the murder of the U.S. Ambassador, but that's just an unfortunate consequence to what makes the U.S. Unique. I do believe it is wrong to post such content on the internet itself though, which really includes the entire world. I think that at least some action needs to be taken to limit offensive and provocative content.
2. I do think that there should be some limitations on what people post on sites like Youtube. I mean, think about it this way. Things like nudity aren't allowed in a Youtube video due to them being offensive and inappropriate. Now, that doesn't really have anything to do with free speech, but it does somewhat validate Youtube getting rid of videos that target religion and other similar topics. Extremely malicious and conflict-causing videos probably harm our society more than nudity, and therefore they should be taken off of sites like Youtube as well. Now, this wouldn't so much be a law that requires Youtube and other sites to do this, but a right that lets them do this.
3. I think that this has and will change the U.S.'s view of free speech to some extent, but not enough to make a big difference. I doubt that they would make such a large change to the first amendment for something like this. A murder is a sad thing but very rarely does it change a nations values. Now, that's just for this event alone. If more things like this continue to happen, and they probably will, then some real action might be taken.
Danielle Reviere
ReplyDelete5TH
I think that people have a right to say what they believe, but I do think when it comes to religion and things that offend other people that they should be more cautious of what they say. I think that there should not be restrictions because that kind of defeats the whole purpose of having an opinion, but there is a fine line. I think that there should be a way to say whatever you want to say about the religion. For example you should not go around saying that the God(s) that they worship are stupid or something of that nature, but instead you should say I do not believe in those God(s). On the same subject I think that we should have one stricter limitation about what you can post on YouTube, Facebook, etc. This would be that if your opinion is going to offend a lot of people then that should be blocked, and what I mean by a lot of people is an entire race or religion.
I think that even though this video was extremely rude and very inconsiderate that the freedom of speech amendment is still ok. But I do think that there should be some restriction on posting things like this, as I said in the paragraph above. I do not think that all of the US should be judged on just this act, but if I was in another country right now I would think that the Americans were rude.
Current Event Abby Thomas
ReplyDelete1)I think that we as Americans can be very rude in the eyes of other cultures and religions sometimes. We speak our minds, whenever we want and say what we think without thinking about what we are going to say first. Freedom of speech should be limited when disputes or debates begin about the subject, so that nobody gets upset or offended, but we should say what we want in within limits.
2)We should have stricter regulations on what we post on Youtube and social media sites because we blindly post things and don’t think about who will see it. It causes major disputes, whether it’s nation wide, or just around your school. You should only be allowed to post things that are not inappropriate and you don’t have to think twice about whether it will offend someone or not.
3)This recent activity changes the way we view our country’s stance on freedom of speech because we now know that we have more power than the rest of the world to say what we want to say and know that they can’t say everything they want. We abuse our power of freedom of speech over the internet, in videos, and in person. This event will shape other countries perception of the U.S. by causing them to think that we are rude, disrespectful people and that we cause major disputes and arguments by simply posting videos carelessly.
Paige Haskins
ReplyDeletePeriod 7
9/20/12
1. In my opinoin, i think that Freedom of Speech is a right that some people abuse. It's okay to say or post whatever you like, but there comes in limit. If another group or individul beliefs become a factor to what your saying, then you should have the common sense to not sat it. When religious beleifs become the main topic of things, then speakers should be limited on what they can say towards the topic. If it's negative inthe worst way possible then obviously it would be inappropiate to say such things.
2. Personally, I do think there should be some restrictions of what people can post on media sharing sites. People sharing things should know what would be okay to post and what would be offfending to ohters. If it has to do with people, who there is already tension with, then you shouldn't provoke them with offensive videos, pictures, or blogs. On the other hand, as a viewer, you don't have to watch everything you see. There is always something bad someone has to say about anything. If you don't want to hear what people are saying, then don't listen.
3.This changes how we view Freedom of Speech because now people are thinking that the amendement should be changed so this doesn't happen again. I think the amendement is fine, but could be tweaked a little bit in terms of adding something about religion or beliefs. This video makes the United States goverment seem like they don't have control over there citizens anymore. That the citizens can do or say anything with no punishment.
Ashley Yang
ReplyDeleteWorld History 2nd
1) I think freedom of speech is something that everyone has a right to even though what they say might be hurtful. Everyone is going to have their own opinion on things and not everyone is going to be on your side. I don’t think there is anyway of limiting what someone says because they will always think it and they can pass on ideas not only through the Internet. I definitely think it’s hurtful and mean to talk about another’s culture or religion because there’s nothing wrong with believing in different religion. Not everyone is the same. I think even if we decided to limit what someone says about another culture, it would be very hard because on the Internet there’s not going to be someone who looks at every video and controls which ones go on the Internet. Overall though, I believe everyone has the right to say what they want to, but people should really think about it because some topics touch other people’s personal lives.
2) I think we should enforce stricter regulations but like I said I think that would be much harder. It would be hard because the Internet isn’t flawless and when posting onto websites it would take a lot of thought and changes to be able to regulate each video. I think the only way to really regulate it is to not have anything regarding religion posted on the Internet because otherwise, someone in the world will find something controversial about every single video regarding culture or religion. People shouldn’t not be able to post videos on the Internet, but it would be much nicer if some people thought about maybe how offensive their videos could be.
3) I really like being able to express my opinion and no one is perfect at choosing the right words to say. After reading this I think it caused a debate on whether there should be certain exceptions on the freedom of speech law. I think other countries would start to form opinions on how Americans don’t accept other people and other cultures.Even after this incident, I still think it is a right that we should have to be able to say what we want to say, but we also have to understand that what we say might end up coming back as a regret.
Justin Alexandre Soll
ReplyDeletePeriod 6
9/19/2012
1) When should freedom of speech be limited when another culture/religion is at the center of discussion?
Never. Our own culture is built around freedom, freedom of speech and other such stuff. When it starts to become stripped away, our very core as Americans becomes lost. Freedom must be preserved and kept.
2) Should we enforce stricter regulations when it comes to posting video footage of controversial subjects on media sites such as YouTube, etc.? If so, explain the specific criteria one must follow for uploads.
No stricter regulations should come up. The regulations are fine as they are. A general warning of caution should be posted however, saying that any highly contraversalk materials may inflame other cultures and cost lives. This will also have the added benefit of providing insight into the human mind, checking if the number of contriversal videos increase or decrease.
3) How does this recent activity change the way we view our country’s stance on freedom of speech and how will this event shape other countries perception of the U.S.?
It wont change our perception. As a rule, Americans are quick to opinion and slow to change. The media will milk it as long as possible, and then move to another topic. Any changes suggested will be forgotten, and the cycle will repeat with something else. The European countries will sigh and continue on with their business. The African countries will have a small affect. China and Russia would be suspicious, and then move on again. The Muslim Nations terrorist organizations would use this to attempt to inflame the people. The governments will attempt to stop this, or at least appear to. And so, slowly over time, the worlds respect for America slowly drops. And...who can blame them? In a world like this, in chaos and destruction, the ones who hold the power cant work together to fix anything.
Emma Baldwin
ReplyDeletePeriod 7
Honors World History
1. Freedom of speech is an integral part of American society because it is part of why the United States became its own country. However, as with most things, there is a boundary for what is acceptable and what is not. One unacceptable thing is denouncing the beliefs of others. It is one thing to disagree and mildly criticize; it is another thing entirely to attack in a brutal manner. it is thus necessary to promote a higher standard of human ethics in which people of all cultures and religions are given respect and will, as Martin Luther King Jr. said, “ not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
2. The area of definition for “controversial subjects” is large and varied. For this reason, it is important to know the difference between videos that cover one or more controversial views and videos that obscenely displace them. A news station posting a short clip of a reporter who is covering a controversial topic is acceptable, while a video of people taking obvious action against another viewpoint is not. There is no perfect solution, but perhaps people who post videos on Youtube should check a box that says that their video is not disrespectful. If the video is ultimately found to be disrespectful, then their channel would be taken down and it would appear as a black mark on their permanent record. The “report” button on Youtube is also an important tool, as it will allow monitors to see the types of videos people are offended by.
3. While it seems that this event will drastically change the way Americans view themselves, I disagree. I honestly believe that Americans are used to watching each other belittle and make mistakes, and so this concept of irrational disrespect is by no means new. This activity has more noticeably changed the way that other countries view the United States. In lackadaisical response, Americans have provided evidence that is in a way even more shocking than the actual incident: most Americans do not care about events that do not concern themselves. Many Americans are not even perturbed by events that do involve them. Our nation needs to rethink its values, and remember that other countries have the right to express their thoughts freely as well.
Lillian Menkens-Weiler
ReplyDeleteHonors World History Period 5
Mr. Waters
Freedom of speech is a very difficult topic, because free speech for one group of people often comes at the expense of another group of people. I believe that religion is an especially fragile topic in the world, and I believe that videos like this one should not be permitted. I also feel that if freedom of speech is limited, comments and statements about religion should not be permitted, because people of all religions are very defensive about their religion. Religion is a huge defining part of many lives around the world, and statements about this piece of the lives of people everywhere is offensive, hurtful, and in this case, can lead to death.
Some controversial subjects create an intellectual debate or discussion. But in my opinion, videos such as this anti-Muslim video are pushing it way too far. One could argue that it is opinionated and legal, but I feel that such opinions should not be publicly expressed when they involve such things as religion. I myself was very offended by even the thought of a video like this existing on the internet, and I’m sure the feeling is much stronger for Muslims, because of how directly offensive this is to them. I believe that we should be restrictive about things like this appearing on the internet. Being more restrictive about internet content will make us a more considerate country, not a more oppressive one.
This event is very eye opening for many people around the world. I feel for the ambassador who was killed because of someone else’s video. I think that this event will certainly not make the U.S. look good to many countries. It presents us as an immature country that is inconsiderate and not excepting of religions other than our own. Of course, this generalization by no means accounts for everyone in the country, but it evidently describes some people who produce content such as the recent anti-Muslim video. I think that freedom of speech is very important to our country, but it its lack of guidelines can be caotic. I hope that these recent events will cause the government to revisit the powerful and controversial topic of free speech.
Mimi Kramer
ReplyDeleteI thought that this article was very interesting and made good points and brought up lots of thought provoking ideas. Here are my opinions on the questions asked:
1) I support freedom of speech, but only to a certain extent. I believe that everyone should be allowed to say what they need to say, and be able to express themselves freely. However, there is a fine line which one should not cross when using freedom of speech. Far too often I find that Americans cross that line and say things that would better go unsaid. I think we need to be grateful and understand that we are privileged with this right, and not abuse it. When talking about religion/culture everyone should be careful. That could be a sensitive subject and many people could be easily offended. So you can discuss religion or culture but take extra precautions when doing so.
2) Yes, I do think that there should be more strict rules for this. Things can go too far on the internet, because there is no one there to tell them they can't say something. Lots of people like to hide behind computer screens, and with the loose rules regarding video sites and social networks that has become far too easy. There is no benefit of posting an offensive video, and it only starts trouble. The biggest change Youtube could make to help would be to hire supervisors to watch any videos that have started controversy. If the videos became too much of a problem (like the anti-islam video) then they would have the power to delete it.
3) Hopefully now our country will learn to watch what we say. This is something we have needed to learn for a long time, and hopefully now we will be careful with what comes out of our mouths. After looking at this article I watched the video to learn a bit more about what I was writing. Reading the comments, I was hopeful that they would be disappointed with the creators of the video and be reassuring any Islams that not everyone in america is as ignorant as the creators. But much to my dismay many of the comments were supporting the ideas of the video. This made me realize that other countries will now think of all americans as hateful. I'm sure there is lots of hatred stirring up in Islamic countries at America.
Erica Johnson
ReplyDeletePeriod 1
1) I think that freedom of speech is an important privilege that all people in general should be allowed to have. And while the internet is a great place to share different ideas, customs, cultures, advice and such, there is a specific line that it is not ok to cross. Things can easily become heated, due to the conflicting ideas with many people, all around the world. That’s when conflicts occur- when somebody gets offended greatly by a site on the internet. Especially when the centers of discussion are conflicting ideas of religion and culture!
2) I think it might be a good idea to enforce stricter regulations onto the internet and what people can post. It would be a good idea because it would not only benefit the children that are exposed to violence and other inappropriate material every day, but also the people who could become offended by some of the content on various websites. The regulations should be: not allowing to post offensive material, Sex or violence, anything R-rated, and anything having to do with offensive content: without a warning. So this way people still are allowed to speak with a freedom of speech, but if other people don’t wish to see it, then they won’t have to!
3) I hope that Americans will from now on view freedom of speech as a privilege, and not take it for granted. Due to what has happened, and what certain people have posted, many other people from different backgrounds were offended. I think that from now on, some middle eastern countries may view us differently, maybe people that are inappropriate, offensive people- which (for the most part) is completely not true! What has happened on the internet has shaped our countries perspective from the other foreign countries.
Casey Patterson
ReplyDeletePeriod 2
9/20/12
1. You should always have freedom of speech but if you are talking about another religion or culture you should be careful what you say especially if it could make someone angry. Also if you know it might make someone angry just don’t say it. It’s that simple and you will be perfectly fine not saying it. If you do end up saying it you can’t really expect no one to get upset. You also cant expect no one to say anything back
2. Yes I do think there should be stricter rules about what you can put on YouTube. There should be someone or a group of people who regulate what goes on YouTube. They shouldn’t let insulting things about other cultures go on YouTube. Also anti Muslim videos should be illegal. The same thing for anti Christian or anti American videos.
3. It shows that we might not actually be as free as we thought we were and that we need to be careful what we say or what we post on YouTube. The government also might be right because what people say can start a conflict.
Claire Kern
ReplyDelete7th Period Honors World History
In my opinion, freedom of speech is having the freedom to say how you feel and express your opinion. But by restricting the freedom of speech, you can’t do those things. I don’t think it should ever be limited because the freedom of speech is a right that everyone should have and it is wrong to restrict it in any way. Even if religion or culture is the topic! Everyone is entitled to their own thoughts and beliefs. Not everyone has to agree with your beliefs, but they are entitled to have their own opinion. But that doesn’t mean you should be hurtful towards others opinions, people should respect others thought, not put them down.
I don’t think we should have any restrictions on video postings. Even if something not everyone agrees with is on the internet, that doesn’t mean everyone should look at it and take it personally. There are so many videos and pictures on the internet, and by making restrictions I don’t think it would make a difference because there are many posts already up.
People across America value their freedom of speech. Therefore, I think citizens will be disappointed that someone took their freedom to this point, and are probably unhappy that someone was mean about others religion. The citizens also know, that these people (as rude as they are) do in fact have the right to express their opinion, which is why I don’t think our country will greatly change its view of ourselves. As for other countries, they might be appalled that a person would actually post something as mean and hurtful as the anti-Islam video. Other countries might also look down on us even more and really think like “why does our government let this happen”, and “why do us citizens do these kinds of things in the first place.” Our citizens should really try and be nicer, but I know they have the right to say their opinions not matter what others will think, even if it is hurtful.
Francisco Coch
ReplyDelete7
Freedom of speech should only be limited if it poses either legal or security related threats. However it is, and largely should remain up to the discretion of the user. But instead of attacking it as a problem over regulations and to what extent this right may be exercised, we as a society should largely discourage racism and malevolent feelings towards foreign peoples and things- instead of just accepting it as part of a varied culture.
We should not attempt to regulate and create criteria for uploads of videos on social networking sites. This would result in a violation of the first amendment and question one of the most important principles of society that distinguish America from other countries of the world.
This event will surely cause us to ask ourselves what is acceptable and what is not? Uploading videos spreading ideas of hatred and violence most likely isn’t going to benefit anyone at all and make no advancements in our culture whatsoever. This event will probably cause other reactions of anger for people in the Middle East, and degrade the view of American’s overall as ignorant to other beliefs and ways of people.
Max Weintraub
ReplyDeletePeriod 2
9/20/12
I think the only plausible reason to limit freedom of speech is if it poses a danger to someones safety. On sites like YouTube they could screen all videos for dangerous content. Other than that I believe the most any one should be able to do is publicly condone something as they have done with the video insulting Islam.
When it comes to freedom of speech relating to religion or culture, there is not much you can do. But I believe that in situations like we have now, once protests get violent the offensive content should be banned from YouTube.
I think, as a nation, we have gained a new perspective on freedom of speech. We have realized that while it has many benefits, it also has a downside. From an outsiders view, who might not have understood it before, they would question the value of it. And, unless we make some changes, the world will be even less forgiving next time.
Autumn West
ReplyDeleteSept. - 20th - 2012
Worl History 7th period
1) When should freedom of speech be limited when another culture/religion is at the center of discussion?
When then cultures set limits then freedom of speech will be limited.
2) Should we enforce stricter regulations when it comes to posting video footage of controversial subjects on media sites such as YouTube, etc.? If so, explain the specific criteria one must follow for uploads.
Yes, Because it just starts unnecessary arguments and fights on the media and some things aren’t needed to be on the internet.
3) How does this recent activity change the way we view our country’s stance on freedom of speech and how will this event shape other countries perception of the U.S.?
1. It put people in a situation we’re they weren’t comfortable or didn’t agree with it and they might think that we are self-centered and we don’t care about others feelings.
2. They might think that we don’t care about other country’s and we just focus on ourselves when we don’t .
Joyce Yao
ReplyDeletePeriod 2
9/20/12
As Americans, we get the special privilege of freedom of speech. It's a very controversial right because the amendment is often abused. When another culture or religion is being discussed, you should be cautious of what you say. While you may have the right of freedom of speech, you should also use some common sense as to what is okay to say and what is not. As always, you're legally allowed to say whatever you like, but acknowledge the line that separates an appropriate from an inappropriate discussion.
There should be some regulations on YouTube regarding what you can post and what you can post about. Subjects that could bring about controversies and/or altercations should not be allowed on YouTube and other media sites. Too many regulations and extensive security on YouTube will ruin the fun of it as well as the purpose. So I think that light rules should be applied, such as no smack talking other religions and cultures.
I think many people have always been aware about how much freedom of speech is wrongly used. But this event is a wake up call to everyone who has forgotten. The United States is kind of viewed as "the free country" because we have so many rights and are allowed to do so much while freedom in other countries is a foreign thing. A lot of countries have many rules to abide to, including those regarding freedom of speech. They must be aware of what they say or else they will be punished, while we in the US use freedom of speech as an excuse to say whatever we want, whether it's appropriate it or not. People from other countries probably think we are naive and insensible.
CURRENT EVENT #2
ReplyDeleteFREEDOM OF SPEECH
CISEM KARACA 5th period
9/20/12
The controversial video about Islam caused quite the stir up in the Middle East recently. The video insulted Islamic beliefs and Muslims many people in the Middle East were not pleased about what the video was implying. America’s freedom of speech may have violated the way other countries feel on this controversial topic. Has the freedom of speech been pushed to the limit?
I feel that freedom of speech should be limited to saying things that don’t insult another religion. In other words not purposefully provoking people with a video that is sure to cause a controversy. This video is clearly insulted many people in the Middle East resulting in violent protests. On the other hand this video was amateur and was more like a video made for “humorous” reasons. I don’t think this should be a video removed from you tube because it was an amateur type video and was clearly not made for people to follow and use as example for protests. Even though the subject is very controversial the video seemed like it was made for fun. As long as this video meets all the internet requirements and does not violate any of the policies than it should be online unless someone comes up with a valid reason to remove it. This video makes America seem arrogant and makes us see anti-Islamic. When other countries view this clip is makes an impression that America is against Muslims and their beliefs. This is a controversial video which may have pushed the limits on freedom of speech a bit too far.
Ari Horwitz
ReplyDeleteCurrent Event 2
Freedom of Speech
7th Period
9/20/12
Citizens of the United States are privileged to have the freedom of speech. I think it is a great thing that we can express our values and thoughts openly without being judged. But when the topic is insulting or offending other countries or religions, it goes to far. Yes, this practice is not illegal, but people have to understand that there is a fine line to going too far. Creating videos that are considered offensive or insulting to other countries is not good in the first place, but if you must, you might as well keep it to yourself or only to people that wont get offended. But when you post it on the Internet for everyone in the world too see, you have crossed a line. First of all people have to have the common sense to realize that what they are doing may not be a good idea. Freedom of speech should be limited on the Internet when it starts to deal with sensitive foreign topics or things that can cause anger amongst others throughout the world.
Regulations of controversial topics on the Internet are definitely a bit laid back. In my opinion there should be stricter regulations to prevent events like this to happen. For instance instead of just letting anything be posted on YouTube, etc. they should start to monitor certain videos that contains insulting matter. Also this event should serve as a learning experience for Americans to realize that not everyone in the world has these types of privileges like we do and therefore use there common sense and prevent these incidents from happening.
This event has been a big wake up call to the United States. It has shown citizens that the way our country is run is not the same in foreign countries. I enjoy the freedom of speech but I also question the way we use it. It definitely should not be taken away in our country but just regulated and more careful then it has been in the past. There is obviously now a negative opinion about the US by foreign countries and the killings of the US ambassador and his staff is a horrible event because the people had nothing to do with the offensive video and it has caused suffering for their families and friends. We need to work towards a better perception of the US from other nations because at the moment we are viewed at very negatively and that has to change starting with Americans being more carful what they post on the Internet.
Nikki Thai
ReplyDelete1st Period
1.) Personally, I’m not sure on how have limitations would work. I believe that we, as people, deserve the right to speak what is on our minds. On another note, although it’s absolutely okay to express your own opinions, you need to have limitations. Without limitations, we’d have to suffer from the consequences of our words. It’s like that quote, “if you have nothing nice to say then don’t say anything at all,” and that’s what a person should go by.
2.) Yes, I do believe youtube videos should be regulated. What I think should happen is that, there should be actual government officials watching the videos that get sent in, and they determine the “appropriateness” of the video. Then an email could be sent back to the youtuber, notifying him of the changes he should make if he still wants to post his video.
3.) I’m sure that the U.S. will start taking action of this by regulating some of our freedom of speech and adding limits. I don’t think it’ll happen anytime soon, maybe in a few years or so. In one perspective I think this will make our country better, and help us form better alliances with other countries; but in another perspective I think it’ll stir up some major rebellions.
Anna Grace Kelley
ReplyDelete09/20/12
Period 7
Freedom of speech is definitely an interesting topic to discuss. Some people believe that there is no such thing as freedom of speech, but others would argue that there is. Americans love the fact that we can pretty much say whatever we want, whenever we want, but there are times when we need to be careful. Many times, when Americans talk about other people’s religions or life styles, it can come across as critical. This is where things can get tricky. Should we be allowed to say whatever we want about other people personal lives, or should there be some boundaries? I don’t think that there should be limitations on what we are allowed to say, but I do think that we as Americans should be more aware of other people’s cultures and beliefs.
One of the main problems in today’s society when it comes to international miscommunications is the fact that people can post stuff on Youtube and other social media sites that allows anyone around the world to access it. I believe that while people can have their opinions, there should be some regulations on what gets put up on the web for everyone to see. This is especially when it deals with religion, race or culture. If there is a video that someone wanted to post of Youtube, I think that it should be inspected to make sure there isn’t anything in the video that could possibly cause someone to be offended. This would make sure that stuff like what is mentioned in the article does not happen as often.
This recent activity definitely caused Americans to reconsider our view on the freedom of speech. While I don’t think that this will cause action right away, I wouldn’t be surprised if regulations were set up in the future. This occurrence might also cause other countries to look at the United States a little different. Events like these never make a country look good, and United States probably has a bad reputation due to this incident.
So to wrap it all up, the freedom of speech is great, but as Americans, we need to be careful with what we say because we never know who will hear it.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteLily Elnaccash
ReplyDeleteHonors World History 7
I don’t believe that freedom of speech should be limited at all. It is something that Americans are proud of and will always defend. However, the fact that people can say whatever they want does not mean that we need to listen to it all. If opinions are offensive or do not contribute to a discussion, we can choose to ignore them.
I also don’t think that there should be restrictions on what can be put on YouTube. To watch a video, you have to find it (or be sent the link) and choose to click play. If, as you are watching it, you are offended, you can turn it off with one click. I definitely think that uploaders should think twice before posting videos and consider how they will be received, but that process should be individual and not carried out by the website itself.
Even though hateful videos are a tiny minority of videos, they are the ones that make the news. People in other countries will hear about the movie and think that that type of speech is acceptable in America. We will not take the video down because of the First Amendment, and some people may take that to mean that America supports the video rather than that although it is hateful, our Constitution allows it to exist in our country.
I don’t think that we should change the First Amendment, but I do think that we should make sure that everyone around the world understands how it works. We don’t support everything, but we support their right to be stated.
Rebecca Harless
ReplyDeletePeriod 5
September 20, 2012
Nowadays, there is a lot of conflict, verbal and nonverbal, involving different cultures and religions. And everyone wants to get their fair share in voicing their opinion. Yet, while some opinions may be against violence and conflict with cultures and religions, others, like the anti-Islam video, are filled with hateful words and thoughts that add to the conflict. The video was linked to violence and more hate. Due to this, I feel that freedom of speech should be limited, when another culture/religion is the topic, when other people’s lives can be put in danger. I think that if what one says in some way directly affects a person or group of people so that their opinion is no longer verbal, the person should not be allowed to say it. However, I do not think that all freedom of speech should be limited if the topic is religion/culture, though, just as long as what is said cannot possible physically harm.
I think that we should enforce stricter regulations when it comes to posting video footage of controversial subjects on media sites like YouTube. Controversial subjects being videos of hate, or depreciating other cultures or religions, or vulgar images. I think that the criteria one must follow for uploads is that there cannot be any words said, stated, or written, crude images, implications, violence, or anything that is offensive or could potentially harm others. Anything other than that should be allowed because we should still have free speech.
With the recent activity, I think our country’s stance on freedom of speech has definitely changed. Events have happened in the past like the video, where offensive things were published, yet this, with actual violence occurring and our country’s flag burned just because some person who felt it necessary to tell the whole world his opinion, has changed our view. Now, I think we feel our country’s freedom of speech is a curse as well as a blessing. It is a wonderful thing that we are free to say what we feel without feeling threatened or restricted by the government, yet it also allows conflict inside and outside our country to blossom. This event has shaped the perception of the U.S. to other countries. For example, our flag was burned. As the article said, our country already stood out with our freedom of speech, but I think that this event has lowered other countries’ standards of the U.S. and of Americans as a people in general. This event was sad and dumb and should not have happened, but because it did happen, maybe now a change can be made for the better.
Jessi Szymczak
ReplyDelete2nd period
Honors World History
1) First of all, I think that we are very lucky to have freedom of speech in America. Secondly, I don't think that freedom of speech should be limited at all. I think that if you have something to say then you should be able to saw it. Having said that though I also contradict myself in saying that I do not think it is right to be mean or hateful when using freedom of speech. No one deserves to get offended or hurt by something that someone said that they did not have all of the details on or something they made an assumption or stereotype about. However, I think that if freedom of speech is not used in a bad way that puts someone down or singles a certain group out from the rest that it should be allowed.
2) I do think that stricter law should be enforced when it comes to posting video footage or controversial subjects on media sites. The way they could enforce it would be to simply start watching some of the videos that are being put out there for everyone to see. Also, for the owners of the website to be able to take down the video or at least ask the person who made the video to take it down. They should do this instead of just talking about how there are such bad videos out there, and actually start doing things to help the situation.
3) I do think that in the near future the U.S. will TRY to start putting limits on the things you can post or say online, but they can't in person because there is no way to be able to manage what people say. I do think that other countries sometimes perceive America in a not so positive way but that we are a country that allows a lot of individual freedom like the freedom of speech which I am very thankful to have in the U.S.
Julia Perkins
ReplyDelete9-20-12
1st Period History
1) I believe that freedom of speech should never be legally limited. At the same time, I think that people shouldn’t say blatantly inflammatory things about others’ cultures or religions. People should be allowed to disagree with others’ religious beliefs, but there is a difference between disagreeing with someone and being disrespectful to them. I think that there are always going to be hateful people out there, and it’s unfortunate that people in other countries with more limiting laws can’t see that just because one person is hateful and has said so, doesn’t mean that their entire country shares the same prejudice.
2) I think that on Youtube, people should be able to post videos no matter what controversial political topic they may talk about. People should recognize a difference, however, between posting a video that is impudently provocative and one that just states political views. While I don’t think that legally there should be any new restrictions on what people can post on Youtube, I do think that people should be more careful and considerate of others when they post videos where the whole world can see.
3) While the killings of the ambassador and his colleagues were very unfortunate, it was mentioned that the demonstrations against the provocative video may have been used as a cover for a pre-planned attack. In either case, the first amendment to the American constitution should not be altered because of one conflict. Unfortunately, the actions of one prejudiced individual have now caused the deaths of an American ambassador and his staff, which I’m sure was not the original intent of the producer of this video.
Gabi Brenman
ReplyDeletePeriod 7
Freedom of speech is a very important and unique right to the United States of America. However, freedom of speech should be limited online because it is seen by many others around the world. Since customs in other countries are very different than those in the United States of America, I think that freedom of speech should have stricter regulations regarding religion and culture online since the web is for the whole world. If there was a way of knowing that all websites would only be available in the United States of America, then I believe complete freedom of speech could be used. However, since that is not the case, I believe it is very important to be much more cautious in posting controversial issues online.
I think we need to enforce stricter regulations online, specifically YouTube, twitter, and other similar web sites. Before posting controversial information or videos, people need to understand that freedom of speech is not a worldwide thing. Many people from countries throughout the world are flabbergasted by the comments people make about others religions and cultures. Many think it is simply impolite and disrespectful to question another’s culture. I think YouTube should have a specific section where controversial videos are found. Before you view the videos, you agree to terms that you are solely responsible for your actions and viewing of the content. That way, if people are offended by the content, it is their own fault because they went looking for it knowing the results most likely would not please them.
The recent protests of an offensive anti-Islam video resulted in the death of Christopher Stevens. This attack is making the USA relook at the importance of freedom of speech. It makes current citizens worry about how far people will go when there are absolutely no restrictions on speech. People of America are asking themselves ‘is freedom of speech worth the possible outcomes of violence?’ The recent attack probably makes other countries very glad they take everything they say seriously. When the bill of rights was originally made, our founding fathers would have never guessed the people of America would abuse freedom of speech the way that we do. We must be more careful in what we post online.
Harish Prasad
ReplyDelete5th period
9/20/12
I think the freedom of speech should be limited during the discussion of another culture and religion when the speech is insulting and derogative to the culture or religion. The content of the speech should also be limited if it ridicules another culture or religion. It is very irresponsible to deliberately hurt the feelings of people of different cultural or religious background, knowing that this might result in retaliation by group of people. It is also important to know and understand all the facts about the specific culture and religion before commenting on them. We should understand the cultural differences between people and not assume that everyone come from the same cultural and political background.
I believe stricter regulations should be enforced when it comes to posting video footage of controversial subjects you tube and other such sites. The criteria that should be followed is that inflammatory and derogatory material regarding other cultures and religions should not be allowed to be posted. Anything propagating hate and malice towards different groups should not be posted. Now that we have seen the disastrous protests worldwide as a result of such postings, we should screen the material before allowing it to be posted. However, this is easier said than done. There is a fine line that divides these regulations from censorship. Hence, it is not easy to determine exactly what the criteria should be. I think we should be more responsible and more sensitive to the feelings of people of other cultures and religion when posting videos on media sites.
This event has certainly made us think about the First Amendment and whether we should still follow it. In America, unlike any other country, we have a right to freedom of speech. This is what makes our democracy unique, but on the other hand we saw how this right has been grossly misused. In other countries, including European countries, people can get prosecuted for publishing cartoons about Prophet Mohammad or denying the holocaust. Middle East, Africa and other Muslim countries have felt disturbed by this video, even though they may not support violence that followed. They certainly feel that we lack sensitivity and should have done something to stop this video from being posted. However, I do not believe that any American would like to give up their right to free speech.
George McBurney
ReplyDelete1. Most of the time it is okay to display you’re opinions. But there should be some kind of law that keeps people from killing committing malicious crimes or obscene things onto public internet. So the reason people burned the US flag is because they believe that the US shouldn’t have free speech, which makes no sense, which is definitely not a good thing.
2. There should be a kind of filter on the internet that would block or warn view for extremely obscene content or disturbing images. I do think that we should enforce some regulations when it comes to this This isn’t too restricting, so I think there won’t be much protest.
3. Other countries might believe that the US government should not allow to openly to express feelings, but if you oppress the people a revolution will eventually happen.
Daniel Kleissler
ReplyDelete1. In my mind Freedom of Speech means one thing, you may express your opinion no matter what. It is up to other people to get offended or not. You are simply stating your opinion. However, when people say “It’s a free country! I can do whatever I want!” they are incorrect. Freedom of Speech is not the same thing as Freedom to Wildly Insult Other People. Therefore, I believe that it is up to human decency to govern what people have to say, not other people. Essentially what I am saying is that Freedom of Speech should not be forcefully limited, but that people should know when to limit themselves.
2. This subject is a bit trickier. Again we have the issue of Freedom of Speech vs. Human Decency. People should be allowed to post anything they want, but in moderation. I feel that YouTube should only be free to limit CLEARLY offensive material. I understand that some people have a dark sense of humor, but something like “People with cancer deserve to die” is just crossing the line. Stuff like that and “Innocence of Muslims” goes right beyond Freedom of Speech and into hate. That being said, people do need to understand that, at least in our countries, people now have a right to express their opinion. That we have a different set of values. There is no need to blame all of the US for one video. The attacks on the embassies were unnecessary and rash. They cannot call for the execution of one of our own, simply because they are one of our own. We have a right to govern OUR country as we wish, and that cannot be disputed.
3. I do not believe that this should change how our government treats freedom of speech at all. But, I do believe that we the people (and corporations, such as YouTube or Facebook) should be able to control ourselves. However, this has changed how people see our ways. Some do just not understand the concept of being free to voice an opinion, no matter what. While they may view us as crazy they have No right to try to make us change our ways. The attacks on the embassy were exactly the kinds of things that have started wars in the past, and they accomplished nothing. I understand how offensive the video was, but people need to understand that we have a different way of doing things. We will handle our business our way.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteJulie Park
ReplyDeletePeriod 1
I think there should be a limit for Freedom of Speech if it concerns a religion or culture. If you publically scorn another religion or culture through news, internet, or any other publically accessible news broadcast, you should be fined or at least put in jail for a few nights. Even Freedom of Speech should have a limit, just so it doesn’t start some sort of controversial hate rebellion or war. I think stricter regulations should be enforced if you’re posting something on YouTube or Facebook, etc. Young kids now a days utilize technology so much more because they have easy access to it and even though they can use the internet, it doesn’t mean they always understand what is on the internet. It would be great if children were more engrossed in politics or world affairs, but we don’t want them getting the wrong idea from a biased video or a violent video. Before being able to post a video of some sort, the site should scan through it and make sure it doesn’t have any content that could be racially offensive and if it does, just block it from the site. America is one of the few if not the only country that has the Freedom of Speech and a lot of people take advantage of that, good or bad. But having that freedom should also come with a responsibility. If you’re not responsible with the right you’re given to freedom of speech, other countries may stereotype and just depict all Americans as racist and violent.
Emily Ball
ReplyDelete9/20/2012
1. I think that our freedom of speech should be limited when we are involving other countries/cultures/religions etc. A careless incident could occur where we won’t be able to do anything about it because of our freedom of speech. And saying other insulting things about or to other countries could also cause bad reactions.
2.I think that we not only should not only enforce stricter regulations against certain videos posted, but we should require it. Posting something harmful on a website such as youtube means that that video will/is available to anyone to watch or see. If someone get upset about what they see or hear, then you won’t be able to know how far their actions could go. Someone should look through each video before it is posted to make sure it won’t insult or be harmful to anyone else.
3.This activity can make us, and even other cultures and countries wonder about our statuses in other people minds. They can be positive, or most likely negative. They will be negative in these types of situations because they could/would think that we can not control our people.
Olivia Wander
ReplyDeletePeriod 2
I do think freedom of speech should be subjected to limitations when discussing someone else's religion. The recent events in Benghazi prove there should be restrictions on the first amendment concerning religion. Social media and the Internet allow an ease and speed of access that was previously unknown. In several Supreme Court cases dealing with the freedom of speech, the Supreme Court has ruled that there are instances where there are limitations on the freedom of speech. One of these limitations is that your speech cannot cause imminent danger. The murder of the U.S. ambassador Christopher Stevens shows that your speech posted on the web can cause imminent danger all over the world. I think this should prompt people to be mindful of making possibly harmful or degenerate remarks about another culture's religion.
YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter need much stricter regulations on offensive comments. In response to Sarah Taekman's comment, you should be required to fill out questions and have your video reviewed when it deals with sensitive material about religion or culture. This is one way you could possibly reduce the number of harmful videos. Maybe a panel of unbiased reviewers could be put together to decide whether or not the video was disrespectful. I don't know how you could assemble a panel of unbiased reviewers as everyone will have their own opinion of what is considered to be offensive.
This article made me question America's freedom of speech. Why are we letting our citizens say disrespectful and insulting things about other countries' religion and culture? Part of the problem is other counties don't understand that our government cannot control what we post on YouTube. We could try educating other countries about our Constitution, but I don't think the rest of the world really cares about our laws. Instead of trying to change other countries views of our laws, we need to change the way we post information. To prevent further violence, I strongly believe we should impose restrictions on our freedom of speech when it concerns religion.
Alexis Ramirez
ReplyDelete1st period
Honors World History
Freedom Of Speech
1. What in my opinion it should not be limited. I think this because won't really get the point of learning, but as a community we should learn, not by ourselves. This I agree with right of free speech, but we shouldn't say it as hurtful and in a badly way, they respond it in their own opinion saying that in overall the freedom of speech is important. So by connecting this into culture and religion they shouldn't go public and say anything about hire culture or religion.
2. To post videos in youtube in this case, we should be stricter regulations on the internet and stuff. But in the internet when post stuff whatever you post it says there. They can like report you for whatever you wrote such as racism lines,religion etc. But you have to know when to post these things. You should ask questions to yourself and think, is this going to effect others?Is this going to get me in trouble? But overall how would you react to this.
3. This is showing us that we America need to fix. This is showing us to improve on the first amendment. Other countries will look at us and see how we treating our people in the United States. Look and see that we are having protesting, and a ambassador died. So we to change this. But in overall the rule of freedom of speech will be affected later.
Sanjana Vasudevan 1st Period
ReplyDelete1. I think freedom of speech should be restricted. However, I don't think it will be any time soon, especially since that right is in our constitution. It is also going to be harder to regulate things like speech because of the diversity and size of the internet. Things seen in other countries may not be the same ones here. The only way to control our behavior to other countries is to become more accepting and diplomatic to them as a whole country.
2. As I mentioned in the previous answer I don't think regulating things on the internet will be easily possible. The amount of man power that would take from both or either youtube or the government would be too much to sustain. Even if youtube filtered the content the poster could still post on dozens of other website, perhaps not as popular as youtube, but still valid. People can make unlimited email addresses and therefore social media accounts, which means even if their account was deleted for harmful content they would still be able to make another.
3. I think that this has helped wear down the idea that free speech is the best notion and that it should be sought after for all costs. Citizens can now see what freedom of speech has done to their own countryman and what it has done to foreign relations. I think that this event will get people to think more about what the constitution means and especially how it was written for a time that was far different from ours. People could only distribute information by print back then and now we have several different pathways to do it. I hope that this event brings some sort of change to people's mindsets.
Hanna Siekierski
ReplyDeleteHonors World History
Period 1
9/20/12
1) I strongly believe in freedom of speech, but only up to a certain point. You should always be allowed to share your opinion, however, you should know where to draw the line. You need be able to know how you're opinion will affect anyone who is exposed to it. If someone is going to be so outspoken that they are not sure how bad the consequences will be (not just if they're going to be bad, but how bad), they should think twice about what they are saying and if they should even say it aloud. People should also watch what they say and think before they speak about other cultures or religions to make sure that they don’t criticize or hurt other people. I also think that before someone shares their opinion, that they should know what they are talking about.
2) When using sites such as Youtube to upload videos or other media, you need to remember that once that video is uploaded it's out there for the whole world to see and once it's out there, it's out there for good and there is almost no way of removing it. Anyone with time and the right resources will be able to find whatever video or writing that you put out there. That person and whoever else finds it, will draw their own conclusions from it. These could either be positive or negative. This doesn't mean that I think the sites should monitor the postings and choose which ones are "appropriate", restrictions can only go so far, and people will always be able to find a way around it. The people posting the things should be the ones to do that, and see whether it could be offensive or innapropriate. Before you ever post anything you should also think about what you would do if you were someone who saw this online.
3) As a citizen of the United States, I've always liked the idea of having the freedom of speech. Though when I go online and see all the slander and how people have taken advantage of freedom of speech, it makes me think that people need to start being more responsible about what they are saying online. The U.S. needs to start thinking about what it says about them. More importantly, this recent activity should make us wonder if there is anything that we should change about Amendment One concerning the freedom of speech. The United States government has probably currently started to consider adapting this amendment so that another event like this won't occur again. If we looked at the United States from the viewpoint of another country, they would probably perceive the U.S. as a country that has little control over its citizens.
Robert Fernald
ReplyDelete1st Honors World History
9/20/2012
I think that Freedom of Speech is a hard thing to limit because if we had a law concerning one issue then we would need more and more laws until eventually we would not have free speech anymore. I don’t think that Freedom of Speech itself should be limited in any case because there is no way to limit it and still keep complete Freedom of Speech.
Since we can’t limit what people actually say on internet sites like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter the website could at least be responsible for limiting what is shown on their website because it is in their own interest. I think that it would helpful if there were regulations that encouraged popular public websites to check for any content that will be offending before allowing it to be published. That alone could prevent cultural clashes like this one from even occurring in the first place. The problem would be that if a law were put in place, people would have to screen the videos and posts before they were published and that it would take a lot of time and would therefore be very pricey.
This event does not really change my view on Freedom of Speech, it will always be the right to say whatever you want. But it will definitely change other countries views on the US, especially countries with different cultures. This event makes both America as a whole and its citizens look bad. It makes America look bad because it seems like people are taking advantage of the amendment and saying things that they probably should not. Also it makes US citizens look insensitive and uncaring about other cultures of the world. I think we should be responsible for limiting what we say because it is in our own interest and there is no good way for the government to do it for us.
Julianna Turner
ReplyDeleteSeptember 20, 2012
World History Current Event
4
"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." This is the text which was added to our constitution as the first amendment. It ensures that American citizens have freedom of religion and speech, as well as publishing and peaceful assemblies. It also gives the people the right to express their grievances towards the government in a non-violent manner. This amendment, as well as twenty-six others, was added to the constitution in December 1791. I think that our right to voicing our opinion should not change. Some comments may be hurtful and degrading, but it is up to the person being verbally attacked not to act violently in return. No matter how you feel about what someone says, I think it is important to respect others opinions. No one is asking you to understand their opinion, but if you show respect towards it they will likely return the favor. If our freedom of speech was taken away, we would be a different country. We would not be The United States of America, the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
I feel the same way about uploading videos to sites such as YouTube. It is the internet so people are brutally honest and some of the videos can be painfully degrading and inappropriate. If you are someone who cannot handle that kind of exposure, then don’t go on those types of sites. YouTube is a popular media site where people around the world can post video’s, and I think that it is important to have access to these types of sites. It is a way for many people to build off of other people’s ideas in ways that can enhance the artistic and creative side of not only America, but the world.
I do not think that the meaning of the first amendment will ever change for me. Our forefathers must have known that some people will take their comments and opinions to the extreme, but also that it is an important way for people to interpret and develop their own ideas and opinions. I think that there will always be a side which is misjudged as ‘negative’ to any country. We should not judge a country by the actions of individuals, or a small group of people. Like in the instance of 9/11, it is not fair to compare the actions of Al-Qaeda to other muslims or Islam as a whole just as it is unfair to the crude actions of American individuals to this country as a whole.
Works Cited
"The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States." The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. .
Wenbo Wang
ReplyDeleteHonors World History
Waters 2
9/20/12
Freedom of Speech
1) In relevance to the recent situation, I believe that the privilege of having the freedom of speech should be limited when regarding to another culture or religion, or anything negative in that manner. This is because as humans, religion and culture sets us apart; and if we do not respect that difference-through criticism and/or acting lightly towards culture differences- culture groups will become offended by the other group’s actions. Thus, freedom of speech should be restricted when dealing with sensitive topics that one or more culture/religion groups might object to, while having an extensive understanding of one’s culture group before proceeding with sensitive, forbidden, or otherwise restricted topics.
2) Because YouTube is a consumer’s website for sharing personal experiences and other online videos; many things that may be offensive should be restricted by the uploading and posting technology. The posting of videos on YouTube has spread cultural/religious ideas faster than any mode of transportation; and is also the most commonly used way of watching videos. I believe that there should be a restriction on the posting of political, economic, or social controversies as well as propaganda. It may as well be censorship, but it might reduce the media’s influence and viral spread of controversial videos about certain cultural and religious personalities. A criteria for uploading videos might be to scan the pending video with internet databases upon request for uploading material; so it can detect any negative information in the video and remove it if necessary to prevent future disagreements.
3) The First Amendment allows the people to have the freedom of speech, but in this situation, the creator of the trailer was one who had violated many laws already; bank fraud, unpaid tax bills, and was on probation when he created the controversial video. Because of this, the country sees some who exploit the freedom of speech for their own unfair uses; thus, they might limit the freedom of speech, because of this situation. Other countries who do not understand the freedom of speech might believe that the country provides too much freedom to its citizens, and are too lenient in the things people are allowed or not to say; but because many countries experienced a different historical background in comparison to the United States of America, the opinions of one’s freedom and way of life will be unique per country as well.
Provided Source,
"Why Free Speech Is Baffling to Many." – Global Public Square. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. .
Harrison Young
ReplyDeleteHonors World History
7th period
9/20/12
1) Freedom of speech is used for anyone who is in the United States. Based on what religion you are does not matter. Religion is a choice as is the way you speak in any way. But, you have freedom of speech but it may start something like a war. Say that a president is in alliance with another country but that president says he hates all citizens of that country. its freedom of speech but it could start a war.
2)I think that some of the popularity that comes from youtube is the fact that people can say and do what they want on there without being judged. Obviously there's an extent to which you should talk about and do things because some stuff on youtube is bullying and racism. But most of the money and popularity comes from those videos but youtube needs a better filter on what is uploaded.
3)I believe that we see loopholes in our freedom of speech amendment because these people are abiding by the rule of freedom of speech but it starts something as big as killings. Other countries will think that we are bad because the will think we aren't disciplined enough to realize that this video will start something major.
Connor Korfas
ReplyDeletePeriod 1
Honors World History
When you begin to discuss limiting freedom of speech you have to think about what the amendment allows us to do. One of our rights given to us by the First Amendment is to use certain offensive words and phrases to convey political messages. So when you talk about limiting this amendment when it is used to talk about another culture/religion you are talking about changing the amendment altogether. Now with this being said I do believe that at a certain time this amendment was good but in our date and age I think it needs to be changed. This recent event is a perfect example of why. Back in the time when this amendment was written the options for conveying your personal opinions were so different from what they are now. I think that the Amendment should be limited to freedom of speech in the US and when Only involving situation in the US.
As far as regulations. I feel that if the topic trying to be conveyed over the internet does not relate to US issues or US ideals then it has no business being posted in the first place. It is not our place as citizens of the United States to intervene in other countries affairs. I believe that the criteria should be, if there is any reference or statement involving another country in negative way then it shouldn’t be posted on the internet. If the media trying to be posted contains images that displays another country or culture in a negative way it shouldn’t be posted.
This event has really made me think about whether the first amendment give us too much freedom. Now I am not saying I don’t appreciate the freedom given to me but the video that was posted cost the lives of multiple people. And it was legal based on the first amendment. I think that it may be time to reexamine this amendment and make changes to it so it may better fit this time period. I think right now other countries view us as the parent whose kid is running around the play pen pushing other kids and screaming and crying and the parent isn’t doing anything. We look like as a country we can’t control our citizens. It makes us look like we have taken advantage of the freedoms we were given.
Free speech is an intriguing topic for many reasons. The most interesting of these is how only one country has true free speech. That country being the United States of America. However when our free speech is used to insult religion or culture the results can be devastating. An example of this is when recently an anti-islam video was posted on youtube. This video quickly caused the death of an United States ambassador.
ReplyDeleteI believe some kinds of free speech should be limited, but by only very tiny amounts. Such as each video on youtube with more than so-many views should have to be watched by an employee at youtube to decide whether the video puts anybody at danger. The mark to be reviewed should be much lower on videos that have to do with religion or culture. Hopefully this event will drive people to from other country to look into America’s law of free speech.
-Louis Rabinowitz
Tommy Mozier
ReplyDeletePeriod 1
1: Well, I think that people should know not to do that type of thing. The guy who put this out is not smart at all. He should be banned from posting anymore videos on YouTube, but you can’t take back the damage that was done. Maybe the U.S could have limited freedom of speech laws like in Canada and Europe, where the arrested people for say that the holocaust never happened.
2: Yes you should. YouTube and Facebook should review videos, but not too severely. If someone swears in a video, and they bleep it out, fine, or swearing at all is not really that offensive to viewers. But if it’s putting down a minority or a religion it should be taken off before anyone can view it, and this might have never happened.
3. I think that it will cause people to want limited free speech, to keep the U.S. out of other country’s hate lists. I think that that guy is very dumb and should be punished. And all Muslim countries are already mad, but they should tell them clearly and explicitly that they had nothing to do with one person’s mistake
Ian Hufford
ReplyDelete9-21-12
Freedom of Speech
I think that freedom of speech is a right that should be a birthright of everyone who wants it. However, there should be a system of higher accountability for what someone says, and they should have to stand by what they said and assume responsibility if anyone gets offended or harmed. I think that it would be helpful to enforce stricter regulations when posting videos onto youtube and other video sites. However we would have to be careful that people can express their opinions through those sites. However, the videos would be filtered to make sure that no offensive content is posted that could hurt people or cause uprisings. I think that the assassination of U.S. ambassador Christopher Stevens shows that we have to be more careful about what we say and about how we treat other cultures. I still think that freedom of speech is one of the most important laws and we just need to be more careful about offending people. I think that how we react to this event will largely shape how other countries see us and how they feel about freedom of speech.
Kaitlin Hill
ReplyDelete9/21/12
Honors World History
2nd Period
1. I think freedom of speech is one of the great things about America. It is unfortunate when situations like these occur where people abuse their right and are not considerate enough to respect other people and religions. It gives the U.S. a bad reputation and makes other countries dislike us because of some idiotic people who can’t show common courtesy towards other human beings. I believe that those certain individuals who cannot handle the right of freedom of speech should have this right taken away or possibly banned from posting another video to international cites like YouTube.
2. I believe that it is important for Americans to have the freedom to post whatever they like, but there still needs to be some regulations. One thing that might help prevent something like this from happening again in the future is to have a board or committee of people who has to view the videos before they are posted online and are responsible for taking down any videos that are disrespectful or offensive to other cultures and or religions.
3. I think that this event will have a very negative effect on people’s perception of the right of freedom of speech, epically those in other countries. It has definitely changed my opinion on how you are allowed to post anything on the internet. I had no idea how big of an impact a YouTube video could have on people in countries so far away from the United States. It is apparent by all the protests that a lot of people were very upset by this video, and they have every right to be.
Rachel Danner
ReplyDelete7th period
I think if you limit freedom of speech, it is no longer free speech. In order for it to be upheld, it needs to be kept as unlimited as possible. However, there are instances such the jeopardy of National Security that require certain steps to be taken. When it is a smaller matter, people just need to realize that their words make a bigger difference than they might think. If we all tried to be more respectful and accepting, issues like these do not have to come up. We already have regulations up on sites like youtube, with regards to inappropriate and copyrighted content. We could put some in place that regulate more political issues, but I feel like there would be many protests and it would be hard to define exactly what those would be. In light of the recent events, we may have to rethink some of our policies and the way we present ourselves, but I do not think that any significant change will come about.
http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/14/why-free-speech-is-baffling-to-many/?hpt=wo_r1
ReplyDelete1) When should freedom of speech be limited when another culture/religion is at the center of discussion?
2) Should we enforce stricter regulations when it comes to posting video footage of controversial subjects on media sites such as YouTube, etc.? If so, explain the specific criteria one must follow for uploads.
3) How does this recent activity change the way we view our country’s stance on freedom of speech and how will this event shape other countries perception of the U.S.?
1. The freedom of speech should be limited to when someone is going way too far. If you live in the US and you burn down their flag that is going way too far, you should not be burning the country you serve for. If u were not born there you still cannot burn their things that is the way to far from the limit.
2. Yes. if we videotape burning a flag down then that is way too far, their consequences is at least go talk to the court about it because that is just going past the limit. If you cannot respect their flag then why live in the US.
3. This should change our law about the freedom of speech a little bit because we learned what people can do when they take advantage of using this law. Therefore we cannot do anything about it. This will change a lot about the US.
Annelise ter Horst
ReplyDelete9/21/12
7th
1) I think freedom of speech should be limited when it is negative toward one’s culture. Not at the extent of punishing someone who did not agree with a person's point of view or a celebrity’s actions. But if someone were to seemingly bash and threaten another person’s religion or the person her/himself then I would want to stop those actions from being carried out. It is a little too extreme to arrest someone if they do not agree with the country’s leader and express that feeling publicly, but saying hurtful things at anytime is looked down upon and does not receive a warm reply.
2) I do not think that there needs to be any regulations when it comes to media and such because many things can be interpreted as offensive. More of our media and humor today deals with racial comments and stereotypes, and while some people see that as more hurtful than funny, people have the choice to pay attention to those things and make a fuss about it. And while I believe some things are wrong it does not mean that everyone does. So while there may be a lot of negative media that attracts a lot of bad attention, most people know common sense to not threaten someone just because of their belief and lifestyle.
3) Since America has freedom of speech, you would think a lot of these offensive strikes would happen, and I am not saying that it does not. I think that because we see other country’s having strict freedom of speech laws and the repercussions of them makes us grateful to have such an open home. And while I do not support the anti-islam video, the Palestinians would respond just as anyone else who is offended easily that is serious about their religion. Other countries might perceive American as out of control, but that is the price of free speech, everyone is not always nice and respectful towards another.
Keith Segars
ReplyDelete9/21/12
2nd
Current Event # 2
Freedom of Speech
The recent violence in Libya is an example of how connected the world has become through technology. An offensive video posted on YouTube led to riots and protests that resulted in the deaths of Ambassador Stevens and members of his staff. Unlike some issues, religion is a personal and deep belief. While comments and opinions about politics or sports may not be offensive to people, the same is not true about religion. This is very true when the comments or opinions are crude and in bad taste. People should be able to practice and enjoy their religion if it does not interfere with the rights of others. Also, they should not be exposed to ridicule, harassment, or intimidation because of their religion. I think this is true in person or on the Internet. If speech in person or through the Internet interferes with a person’s liberty then it should be limited. I do think there should be regulations for posting media that offends certain groups or promotes criminal activity. These regulations should be similar to those that govern everyday activity. It is wrong to intimidate, harass, or ridicule others in person and the same should be true with technology. The Internet connects us with cultures that are different in terms of speech. Going forward, it is important to respect these countries and not view our way of being right and their way of being wrong. It will be important to be aware of our differences and respect the beliefs and religions of other countries.
1) When should freedom of speech be limited when another culture/religion is at the center of discussion?
2) Should we enforce stricter regulations when it comes to posting video footage of controversial subjects on media sites such as YouTube, etc.? If so, explain the specific criteria one must follow for uploads.
3) How does this recent activity change the way we view our country’s stance on freedom of speech and how will this event shape other countries perception of the U.S.?
Emily Molina
ReplyDeletePeriod 2
9/21/12
I personally think that people should be allowed to talk about religion on a private site, etc. in any way they want to. If it is a private site then only certain people can see it, so the writer would only have to worry about offending them. But on public sites like YouTube, I think it is stupid for someone to post any offensive video such as someone denouncing a religion. It really is not anyone's fault but the poster for offending someone because one would think that they would have enough sense to think about others' feelings and beliefs. I do not necessarily think that free speak should be limited when it comes to religion or culture. But people should definitely be aware of how other people are going to view certain things. Also, just because some offensive video is on a public (or even private) site it does not mean that you have to watch it.
I see it as unnecessary for stricter regulations to be placed on posting videos on YouTube because it is just one more hassle to deal with, and some one out there will eventually find something else offensive. They will then ask for even more regulations, and the cycle will start over again. I think that people should have enough common sense to not post something that would be highly offensive to large groups of people, but if they chose to anyway, it should be their problem to deal with. Posting such things like a video should be a personal choice, and that one person should have to endure the consequences for posting.
Certain Americans might view the US's free speech rights as bad because it lets people say what they want (which they think is too offensive too often). Other countries might also see it as too carefree and loose, but it should be our choice. These other places might not want to associate themselves with us, but they should be allowed to do that (free speech is in essence a decision, and so it choosing who these countries want to align themselves with). The recent events may make some people and places view us as too loose and unprepared for retaliations from offended people, but I think people should know what is appropriate to post. This should serve as a very harsh warning, and I think that people will get the message.
Sydney Jones- Period 7
ReplyDeleteI think that whenever people are dealing with a fogien culture or religion they should take into consideration that the people have different views and that they live in a different country with a different government. People who post things about these other religion and cultures need to realize the different in culture and take that into consideration with the information they are posting. For example in this article someone posted a crude video about the islamic religion that resulted in a major uproar, this person and other internet-ers must realize what consequences can come from these post. They need to realize the effects of their words and start drawing the line well before slanderous and hateful.
I think that popular public posting sites like youtube and facebook should be stricter with public postings that are hateful or malicious to others, whether the posts are towards other cultures or to the posters neighbors. It would result in much less overall conflict for the country, for the users, and for the sites themselves. They should start enforcing a strict criteria not allowing the post of malicious or slanderous videos and should make it known to their users that this behavior is unacceptable.
I makes me feel lucky to have this freedom, but also wary of people who will and have abused their right of free speech. I think that a lot of us, as a nation don’t realize how rare this freedom is in other countries and don’t understand the effect this freedom, if abused, can have on other cultures. Americans should start being more careful about what they post on the internet regarding other cultures for if they post something slanderous and there are people upset about it, those people are more likely to blame our nation rather than just that one person. The more people that post hateful comments about other religions, countries, races, not only give themselves a bad representation but they are also giving America as a country a bad reputation.
Jeffrey He - Period 7
ReplyDelete1) Freedom of speech should be what it exactly states; "freedom of speech", therefore that means you can say whatever you want, whenever you want, without getting punished. This even includes sketchy and controversial topics like culture and religion. You can say what you want, but the government should not step in. Whatever you say will elicit reactions out of others, maybe making others angry. I don't think freedom of speech should not be limited.
2) I don't think YouTube should be censored, because it limits the right to express freely. It is fine the way it is as long as YouTube videos do not infringe copyright laws. Explicit or vulgar material should be flagged, just like it is now so that viewers must be 18 or older to view the video.
3)I think this is showing that we need to adjust/rewrite or adhere the first amendment, because now we have protests and a ambassador dead. Either change it or stick to it and stay out of freedom of speech because it is in the Constitution, written by the Founding Fathers of this country. Changing it is a better solution in my opinion because then it can be adjusted to certain circumstances like this.
Hope Davison
ReplyDeletePeriod 1
1. There are so many different cultures and religions existing in this world, and some people just like to think that all of them are the same. This is the cause of many of the major incidents around the world. If you are not sensitive to other people’s religion or culture, it will be a major offense to not only them, but their culture/religion on a whole. So, why do some people carelessly slander cultures/religions just because it isn’t theirs? This recent event in the Middle East is a really complicated and unfortunate happening. Lots of people think that if the man who posted the YouTube video did not have freedom of speech, the whole thing might not have happened. While this is possible, it is not fair to blame what happened on freedom of speech. Regardless of whether the country you live in has these free speech restrictions or not, everyone has their own opinions. It is not something you can force people to lose. I support freedom of speech strongly, and I’m pretty sure it is one of the main reasons why people come to live in America, as this is somewhat unique to our country. Many people explain that the man should have had common sense to not post the video, which is definitely true, but honestly, this world is really unpredictable. Yes, I’m sure he knew his video would rack up hits and cause a stir within the internet universe, because millions of people are active on a popular site like YouTube. But really, if he knew how big this would blow up, that people would lose their lives over this, would he really be as uncivilized to do this minor action such as clicking the post button, that causes major consequences like people burning the American flag? So it’s true, from several past incidents like these of mass devastation towards certain cultures and religion, people can use these as examples as when they should voice their opinion, and when they shouldn’t.
2. Placing regulations on the videos people upload to media sites seem, unfortunately, unreasonable. While this would seem like a peaceful solution, it never will be. People will find a way to get out their opinion through text, video, whatever, whether it is offensive or not. It keeps happening, and honestly, how would sites like YouTube find a way to put in said restrictive actions? They can’t just tell people to not post slanderous videos and place it in their terms and conditions, which people always click yes and move on without it ever being seen. True, it is really troubling to know that only until one video causes such a worldwise incident, only then will the video be removed. Here is where people must rely on their common sense to find out what is acceptable to put out publicly to 7 billion people, and what is not. It is far from the ideal situation as clearly there are people who ignore their common sense, but I don’t see how placing these restrictions in media sites would help very much.
3. I won’t lie, it really disturbs me that most of the Middle Eastern people are looking with disgust at our country because of a few American people who did wrong things. America has over 300 million people; our nationalities don’t make our decisions, our human functions do. Maybe there are many countries with people looking down at America’s freedom of speech, written in the First Amendment of the Constitution, maybe this is true. It probably is true, actually, but this is what makes up America and I am really proud of that. It is highly unfortunate what happened on account of some people’s abuse of their rights of free speech, but that isn’t 300 million other American’s actions. Freedom of speech is a given right and we shouldn’t falter in our stance about it, as people shouldn’t abuse this right. Sometimes you have to realize how valuable and lucky we are to have the right to voice our opinions without strict consequences against us.
Jacob Engel
ReplyDelete7th
1) I think that freedom of speech should be to a certain extent. I do think that when someone is insulting religion, like the video, or culture, they should be punished. Also, I think that germany and france had a right to fine the people who didn't believe in the holocaust. Since the freedom of speech amendment is so lenient, the man who caused a US ambassador to die, will get off scot free.
2) I do not think that YouTube should be censored, because people have the right to post whatever they want. I do think though, that people should work for YouTube who look through videos and flag or give warning to those that are mature or offensive. If it is really bad, YouTube should have the right to take it down. If YouTube employed people like this, the video issue would not be a problem.
3)I think that the US should tighten the rules on free speech, and make it similar to the ones in europe. I don't think it will happen, because so many people believe that america was founded on freedom, and freedom of speech is a central pillar in american law. I think that if the USA had a tighter grip on speech, then things like this could be prevented, and the ambassador's life would have been saved.
Avery Scope-Crafts
ReplyDeleteP.1
9-20-12
I think freedom of speech should be limited when another culture and religion is at the center of discussion. People take things very offensively when it comes to those two matters. Although, when things like this are said, if everyone didn’t take them as seriously it would have a much better resolution. There are always going to be extremists that say things that shouldn’t be said, and I think even if freedom of speech was restricted they would still say what they wanted to say.
But, I do think stricter regulations are in need when it comes to people posting video footage of controversial subjects on media sites. Personally, I think that to prevent anyone from saying something that someone else would find offensive by religion and/or culture, then should be people working for sites such as YouTube monitoring the videos so that if anything like that is posted, it will be shut down and deleted automatically, and that the person(s) who posted it would be banned from said site.
Because of these recent activity’s, I think it should change how we view our country’s stance on freedom of speech. The rule is becoming to slack and people and saying things that should never be said where the whole world can see. Also, I think this event make’s the United States as a whole look badly. Because of videos like that, other countries think we all are that way, when it’s smaller than 1% of our nation that is really like that.
1. I think that freedom of speech should never be limited because I personally feel it is a basic human right. Not everyone shares the same culture or religion so the variety of perspectives has many possibilities on all kinds of issues. What is fine for one culture could be insulting or upsetting to another.
ReplyDelete2. I don't think we should put more restrictions because people have different ideas and you should not be allowed to restrict an opinion just because it might offend someone else's opinion for being different.
3. I don't think this will change our stance on freedom of speech and I don't think the world's perception of us is going to change because of it. They already know that freedom of speech is an important part of our democracy and as democracy spreads around the world, people will become more tolerant of other view points.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete*Mary Louise Callaghan*
ReplyDelete2nd period
1) I think freedom of speech is one of the great things about the U.S. But if someone is directly targeting someone else's religion or culture with negative intentions they are abusing their rights. I believe if the hatred was announced privately between a few people or put on a privet site it would be more civil,but that should be as far as they go. To go as far as to post a crude video on youtube where everyone in the world can see it is just stupid. People like that give americans a bad reputation, making everyone unlike when only a few people made the bad decisions.
2) On on worldwide sites such as youtube there should definitely be more restrictions on what people should or should not post, since once its posted it will always be online. If a video includes footage of any violence or death it should be taken down immediately, since they advertise horrific actions for the entire world to see. You should also be able to send a request to the site to have the video taken down, and they should respond quickly to check the video. If it proves to be offensive it should be removed.
3) I don't believe our law for free speech should be altered in anyway. The only way it will get better is if websites monitor what is uploaed to keep events like this from happening because of a video (or other source of communication) again. I think that because of this video many groups of people will consider americans to be inconsiderate and rude because of this video.Proving that one dumb move by a few people can effect an entire nation
1. as clearly stated in the article, we can not censor everything. Some people think that its their right to sue other people who make fun of their culture. This has caused difficulty in stopping people expressing their opinions, but there are several things that need to come to our attention. Saying bad things about someones personal beliefs is something that people do to make themselves feel better, which is extremely idiotic, but posting video of murder for people to see, is taking it to a whole new level..
ReplyDelete2. not being exactly the same, but similar, many people on the internet have been protesting against acts such as SOPA ans PIPA, which are basically trying to put strict guidelines on content. If they did this to certain videos, people would argue that it should be on more and more videos, rendering the internet to be a cookie cutter environment, where you have to do exactly what you are told.
3. I don not think that this will change our view on our country, but I do see that we are trying to prevent freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is the rule that has the most exceptions. If you want to dislike America, that is fine, but you should not disrespect them. We may not like other sports teams, but we treat them fairly.
Friday 21st September
ReplyDeleteAnna Zurliene
Honors World History-7th period
1) Once people aren’t having a discussion anymore, when they start to spit insults and disrespect one another is when freedom of speech be limited if another culture/religion is at the center of discussion. Most people take pride in their country and if someone starts to speak out and say well I don’ t think this religion is doing it right or this culture shouldn’t be doing this then of course people will get angry, because the person who put that video up has publically displayed that they are against something. People don’t want their pride to be hurt so they retaliate and avenge, so maybe this just needs to be stopped at the root.
2) I believe that people can and will probably always be able to post their feelings on controversial subjects just because there isn’t really a way you can stop them from spreading their opinion if they really want to. The thing is, they will have to know the possible consequences before they post it, because it will most likely lead to conflict. We need to understand that whatever we put on the internet will be accessible forever and anyone can view it. Of course, it would be good to have some regulations because those posts could also be harmful to others, not just that one person who posted it. We already have things like flagging or reporting abuse for videos on YouTube, so I think it’s up to us as the viewers to be able to tell when a video could have a bad outcome so we can report it and help save people from conflict.
3) I think people use freedom of speech far too often as an excuse for saying some things that are offensive to others. We should have freedom of speech, but it was meant to help us improve our nation rather than insult and make other cultures and religions feel inferior, because that just provokes them. It was made so that we could speak out and make a difference for the better. We can now tell that the freedom we are given should not be wrongly used or it can have terrible results. From my own experience, having lived around people form many different places in the world, other countries generally think America is arrogant and too proud of ourselves. I can see how freedom of speech can relate to that. We are always talking about how America is such a “free country” and that can make us sound like we think we are superior and conceited. We use our freedom of speech too free willingly and we take it for granted, and I think Americans should learn from this experience.
Alex Parks
ReplyDeletePeriod 1
Freedom of speech should be limited with culture and religion once it gets to a certain point. Once people reach a certain point in a discussion where people disagree about a culture or religion, they get emotional. If it gets to a certain level where it goes further than angry words and insults, then it goes to a physical level that was caused by a small disagreement about culture or religion.
I think people should be allowed to post all their feelings and stuff. Even if we wanted to, it would be close to impossible to keep people from posting their feelings about this stuff. People that react to this sort of thing react, even reacting is to much of a reaction. If they just realize that some people don't like their culture or religion and accept it, then we would have more peace.
Freedom of speech is used as an excuse to insult someone way too much. When we use it the way t insult someone or someone's culture/religion, freedom of speech makes this nation fall into a pit where all things in the pit are horrible things. The way freedom of speech was supposed to used is to help us improve our nation instead of bringing it down into that pit. When people think they are above of everyone because they are in a "free country" they do things that bring us down instead of improving this nation.
Johnny Huang
ReplyDeleteHonors World History, 5th period
Freedom of speech should be limited when another culture or religion is involved at the point when it insults a culture's pride or a religion's deity or savior, leader or any other major characters that is involved or helped in the creating and defending of the religion.
When those things are involved, things get serious and heated up. They can, and will in this case, cause major riots and protesting.
We shouldn't coerce stricter rules on posting videos because major video broadcasting sites already have workers monitoring the videos . Also, on most sites, viewers have the choice to flag the video for multiple reasons; if enough people flag it, the video will be taken down.
In my opinion, the freedom of speech that the United States has is too free in some circumstances, such as the one that is happening right now. The event should make our country rethink how the freedom of speech's leniency isn't necessarily a good thing. Other countries may be influenced by the media and may think that our country, as a whole, thinks a certain way about something.
David Cho
ReplyDeleteperiod 2
1) i really like freedom of speech it should only go as far as gossip. because if it does go too far it can hurt many people. like if people start hating on a religion it could cause some kind of fighting.
2)yes i do think that we should put restrictions when it comes to posting it on to the internet but not so many restrictions that make it so that every little thing will be counted for and removed.
3)we all have been using freedom of speech the wrong way. we have been using it for “evil” and not using it for the reason we got it for. it can negatively affect the rest of the world.
McKenna Willoughby
DeletePeriod 2
9/19/12
1) Even though I believe that freedom of speech is important to everyone, I don’t think that it is ok to say wrong things about someones culture/religion. Culture/religion is a really sensitive subject to a lot of people. You may have your opinions, but if they will hurt another person, then you should keep them to yourself.
2) In my opinion, I think that we should enforce stricter regulations for internet posting before it gets out of hand. As well as culture/religion, there are also many other subjects that may be insulting to people. I believe that the government should create a company that decides what should and shouldn’t go on the internet.
3) I think that even though we will still enjoy our freedom of speech, we will use it more carefully now. People nowadays seem to take their freedom of speech for granted, saying whatever they want without thinking about how it may affect others. I believe that other countries see the US as a very unorganized country because we can’t control what our citizens post.
Jesse Chen
ReplyDeleteperiod 7
1) I think that even though religion is a sensitive subject for some people, freedom of speech means that people have the right to say what they want even though other people might not like what they are saying. It's the person listening's choice to decide whether or not to listen.
2)I think that the rules we have for posting videos on public sites are well suited and reasonable. If someone posts something that is insulting, then it's the viewer's decision whether or not to watch. They shouldn't take away freedom just because something could be offensive to one group.
3)Although freedom of speech is great and this recent activity hasn't really changed my opinion of the US's laws on freedom of speech, I think that people of other countries will start to think that Americans are given too much freedom, and that the government can't control their people.
9/26/12
ReplyDeletePeriod 5
Nathan Guskiewicz
1. Yellowstone
2. I think that Yellowstone is very important because it’s something thing you can’t really find anywhere else. It provides a lot of jobs for many people and is a very big tourist attraction. Yellowstone is known for its wildlife, sights and geothermal features. When I was in Yellowstone this summer I noticed a lot of people speaking different languages, there were also a lot of people from other countries.
3. It would be horrible for anyone to think to destroy or tear down any historic monument. It’s something people can admire forever, and it would be wrong to take any of them away. I think it’s horrible that they are using that ancient site for mining.
4. If we were to lose Yellowstone we would be losing a lot of amazing sites. Yellowstone is one of the most beautiful places and like I said people come from all over the world to see it. Also Yellowstone is responsible for half of the world’s geothermal features. It would be a horrible thing to lose.
1) I think that there is defiantly a fine line between freedom of speech and just plain crude. I know it means you allowed to voice your opinion but i think that that opinion should not be offensive towards other peoples cultural/ religious beliefs.
ReplyDelete2)I really do think that there needs to be some type of regulations about this matter, if its an article than and editor should read in before its published into a magazine, newspaper, or website. video should be watched and monitored before posted online or on television.
3) I think that if more videos are released like this then people in the USA will think that it is okay to voice those negative opinions on those cultures/ religions. I do think that other peoples perception of America are extremely negative, and that our government and population are stupid.
Sophie Heins
ReplyDelete1st
I believe that the line between right and wrong. You should never go to far, but both sides need to be able to have a sense of humor about it all. But flag burning in concept is to far. Way to far. You should never offend anyone that much. There should maybe be a few regulations but mostly when it comes to physical actions like the aforementioned flag burnings. Videos, movies, books, and so on should be monitored but not to the point where you can't even right a whole book just joking around about everything at least in my opinion. In some ways what other cultures think about is true and sometimes being called an American can be shameful I mean don't get me wrong I'm proud to be one and all but we make just as many if not more mistakes than all the other countries. We are naive about other countries cultures and politics and that should be fixed but all in all we just need to move on.
Bobby Russell
ReplyDelete5th period
Freedom of speech should not be limited unless you are in school or in a building that would be inappropriate to say certain things. If somebody is talking about religion they are entitled to their own opinion but they should not be able to post extremely offensive things on the Internet. I don’t think there should be stricter rules on posting controversial things on YouTube because of how difficult it would be to sort through the videos. Because of the recent incident people are second guessing having complete freedom of speech and some people think that it should now be limited. Other countries have learned to like us less because of this incident and it has ruined some of our relationships with other countries.
I think freedom of speech shouldn't be used as an excuse to put other's religions down and insult people based on their views of politics. You can think silently in your head or just calmly explain your views but if you say crude things about other's culture and religion, it's crossing the line. I someone wants to be a believer in Christ, you definitely should not start hating on them, saying that you're an atheist. We all have our own views and opinions.
ReplyDeleteThere should definitely be rules of what you can post on youtube, especially if it is something insulting other's religion or sexuality or culture, etc. People have to understand that you cannot just use the freedom of speech rule to your advantage and expect to get away with it. The rules of youtube are too laid back.
This video probably caused some countries to reconsider freedom of speech. The USA hasn't done anything that I know of yet though. Maybe now, most countries won't be so lenient to activities such as this.
Current event # 2
ReplyDelete1. Whenever the person mentions someone else’s culture then the person who’s culture was mentioned then the person may stand up
2. No as long as one can confirm the video was real then it will be fine.
3. The U.S. is good with freedom of speech for the most part but other countries should also allow freedom of speech for the good of mankind.