You may believe that "freedom of speech and expression" is a right that is absolute and cannot be restricted because it is addressed in the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, recognized in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and stated as law in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Each of these guides by which modern societies function recognize that there also exist duties and responsibilities which subject that "freedom" to restrictions when necessary to respect the rights of others. This is the part of "freedom of speech and expression" that some groups do not understand. You may say they are misguided, but they are not. They are wrong.
Neo-nazis, racist skinheads, Patriot groups, white supremacists, black separatists, armed border militias, and dozens of other types of hate groups exist across our country, and are growing daily fueled by fear of a diminishing majority of whites, Christians, English-speakers, straights, and people with any characteristic the hate group doesn't like. These are the recognizable groups that most everyone acknowledges. But there are others that exhibit the same fear and anger, but are not part of the 1,018 groups recognized as "hate groups" by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
What about your neighbor who will drive 2 miles to an ABC supermarket because the local ABC has too many people who use food stamps. Or who makes excuses every year to not go to John's Christmas party because they don't like his "partner" Bob. Or who will never vote for Abdul for Mayor, or shop in Dinesh's convenience store, or who sends the email with photo of the politician looking like Hitler. Well, those people at the supermarket are loud, and they bother me, and I don't like to be around gay people, and that guy wears a turban, and that store smells like some strange spice, and that photo was just a joke. Is this personal preference, misguided hate, or political correctness? Does this form of expression respect the rights of others? If not, then what is it?
Remember, as residents of the only habitable planet in our solar system, we have duties and responsibilities. Hate toward those unlike ourselves is not one of them. Treating others as we would wish to be treated ourselves--well, that should be.
