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.
It’s amazing the lack of understanding people have about the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The first thing they don’t seem to understand is Freedom of Speech, which does not mean saying whatever you want whenever you want without having to suffer any consequences.
This part of the First Amendment only means that the government cannot limit your right to express your opinion on issues. It doesn’t mean you can call someone names without them beating the crap out of you, and it doesn’t mean you can call your boss a mouth-breathing wanker without him deciding to fire you.
Speaking of mouth-breathing wankers …
Donald Trump, who many people have taken to calling The Former Guy, or TFG, appears to have found another way to scam some money for his time in Washington. He has filed a megabillion dollar lawsuit against Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for impinging on first First Amendment rights.
He said at one point that because he had been president, he had absolute First Amendment rights that could not be limited.
As for Twitter, it’s pretty apparent that without being able to tweet, Trump would never have been a viable candidate for president.
It would be one thing if TFG had proven to be a defender of Americans’ rights other than those involving weaponry, but too often his only thoughts are for himself. The only rights he truly supports are those that allow him to do whatever he wants.
Freedom of speech doesn’t mean using someone else’s platform to have your say, just as freedom of the press is mostly freedom for the people who own the press. If Twitter or Facebook set rules for their usage, it’s completely within their right to ban people who don’t follow those rules.
Trump actually seemed to understand that when he said some months back that if Facebook or Twitter or YouTube wouldn’t let him play the game his way, he would start his own platforms to compete with them.
Of course he learned it isn’t that easy.
Too often in our country, the Golden Rule means that they who have the gold make the rules.
TFG really ought to understand that.