For the sake of argument and simplicity, let us say there are two types of people in the world: The type that can walk down the street and see something that could be deemed offensive but well within the boundaries of the First Amendment, and somehow manage to soldier on to their destination. And then there’s the type that sees the same thing and is seized by the childish impulse to ban it.
The latter type includes “overzealous police officers, clueless politicians, and censorious school officials,” as the Boston Phoenix notes this week in its annual “Muzzle Awards.”
The entire package is worth a read. And it’s worth noting that politicians of both stripes are on the blood-boiling list; there are Democrats and Republicans out there who will profess support for free speech, before tossing it aside in favor of what they actually care about: getting votes and advancing, to steal a phrase from George Orwell, “the smelly little orthodoxies that compete for our souls.”
They deserve to be viciously and relentlessly mocked, whether it’s in the paper or on an 11 o’clock comedy show. And they deserve to be spotlighted for their offenses, as the Phoenix has done this week. Read the whole thing.
