It was just a "Joke" ???

Words are so powerful. We can ruin or improve someone’s life, just by what we say! It is amazing how it works.

I was just reading about two Disc Jockeys that some refer to as "Shock-Jocks". ( I am assuming this makes what they say and do acceptable in the general public) They made a very (disgusting) statement; using body fluids and Alaska Native women in what they said was a “joke”…

I am glad that an Alaska native woman is making a public statement and demanding justice. Because what those DJ’s said/implied/inferred was an indirect intimation about Alaska Native women, in a disparaging or a derogatory (derogatory=tending or intending to belittle) nature, and I feel shouldn’t be tolerated now or ever.

I feel that anyone who is in the position of public speaking, whether on TV, Radio, etc. should be held responsible for remarks or statements that they make. Even tho some are using the defense that it was just… a …“joke"…??? (Joke=to tease or mock good-humoredly)

There is a certain responsibility to every word spoken to those who are listening, especially if it was a statement made from a receptacle that all ages and types of people listen to. Which also means the speaker had no way of knowing who is listening. How many children heard that “joke”?

Saying “if you don’t want to hear it, turn it off” is kind of a “hindsight 20/20” remark, because I am sure that most people listening to that program didn’t expect to hear that “joke”.

Why? Because they wouldn’t be expecting in this day and age of “politically correctness” to hear what is considered a degrading, racial slur (slur= a disparaging remark or a slight, a blot or stain, as upon reputation) against Native Alaskan Women!!

Using “freedom of speech” is not really a very good argument either. Because being able to speak freely is to be able to say whatever you want about whoever you want but what most of us would like to forget is; that you can be held responsible.

There are consequences to every action! Whether we like it or not, we are held accountable to what we say and do to each other. Claiming to know that last bit of information...would you still continue to say whatever, wherever, whenever???

Here are some examples of what some may claim are “assaults” on freedom of speech taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/freedom

The news articles that I have read on what these DJ’s said or inferred (to hint; imply; suggest) with what they called a “joke”, I would be considered it to be either #12 or # 19.

1) Defamation (slander and libel)
2) Product Defamation (criticism of commercial products; sometimes called product libel or product disparagement))
3) Obscenity
4) Threats
5) Lying in Court
6) Talking out of turn during a trial, or talk that causes contempt of court,
7) Speaking about a trial outside the courtroom after the judge forbids it.
8) Speaking publicly without a permit
9) Speaking publicly outside of a free speech zone
10) Limits on the size of public demonstrations
11) Profanity
12) Hate Speech that is defamatory or causes incitement to violence
13) Noise pollution
14) Speech that contains a copyright infringement
15) Company secrets (trade secrets) such as how a product is made or company strategy
16) Political secrets: campaign strategies, dirty past/deeds of a politician etc
17) Classified information: sensitive or secret to protect the national interest.
18) Lies that cause a crowd to panic or causes clear and present danger or imminent lawless action, such as shouting fire in a crowded theater.
19) Fighting words doctrine: (U.S. 1942) “insulting” or fighting words” those that by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace.
20) Sedition: speech or organization (vs Freedom of Assembly) that is deemed as tending toward insurrection against the established order.
21) Treason: to talk publicly of the death of all countrymen or the overthrow of the government
These and more “freedom of speech” arguments are used to excuse threatening (To utter threats against; to menace; to inspire with apprehension; to alarm, or attempt to alarm, as with the promise of something evil or disagreeable) words used against someone else.

Even the Bible warns us of "words" and the power that they have:

Modern King James Version
Proverbs 16:24 Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.

Proverbs 15:1 A soft answer turns away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger.

Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it shall eat the fruit of it.

Message Bible Version:

Proverbs 18:20 Words satisfy the mind as much as fruit does the stomach; good talk is as gratifying as a good harvest.

Proverbs 18:21 Words kill, words give life; they're either poison or fruit--you choose.

CU