Freedom of Speech Comes with a Price 1
You can say it, but that doesn’t mean I have to listen.
You can say it, but that doesn’t mean anyone has to publish it (remember, it’s freedom of speech, not freedom to be published by someone else).
You can say it, and the rest of the world is free to decided you are an idiot.
You can say it, and be denied the opportunity to accompany children on a field trip.
Yeah, really.
Lisa Becker, who owns www.thebarnegatpress.com, was removed from the list at the Board of Education’s regular meeting Monday night. After asking why, Becker, who has three children in the district, was told she would be allowed to volunteer in the future once the site was taken down.
“What I do, yes it’s opinionated, but it has nothing to do with my ability to volunteer,” said Becker, whose past volunteering included work with the high school marching band and passing out sandwiches at school picnics.
You can decide for yourself how subversive her website is by clicking here.
Tip to Linda.
November 2, 2007 at 6:39 pm
You can say it, and be denied the opportunity to accompany children on a field trip.
Actually, from the facts given in the article, I think she would win a free speech lawsuit. If the government grants or denies a privilege on the basis of the content of someone’s opinion, it’s a slam-dunk. The school district’s lawyer claims they are protecting themselves from future liability, a claim I don’t really understand, since her site consists of (a) links to news articles and (b) comment boards. If I were her lawyer, I would argue it was a pretext to punish her for her views.