Free speech Penn St students dress up as dead W Virginia students

wilthrill · 12-11-2007, 08:35 AM

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=3976074&page=1

Well it is incredibly TASTELESS but one of the students claims it was a free speech act so I look to see WHAT he was trying to "say".

From the article:
"However, Powers said that Penn State, after talking with one of the students involved, had no plans to discipline the students, citing freedom of speech protections in the Constitution....In the interview, which the station WSLS posted on its Web site, the unnamed student said, "It's not that it was funny, it's that we are notorious and infamous in the state college and very popular, so we have to do things that push the envelope just for shock value."

Free speech is NOT an ABSOLUTE right. The cliched example is that you don't have a right to yell "fire" in a crowded theater. However, as I have said numerous times no one has a right to go through life unoffended.

Yet here I can discern ABSOLUTELY NO VALID FREE SPEECH objective. If they were expressing a political view for example this would be easy and they would be within their rights. But here they just say they wanted to shock people.

This borders on Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress which in most jurisdictions is a cause of action (they could be sued for it). Their goal was not to convey a message. Instead it appears their goal (if they had one) was SOLELY to gain attention. As the article says, they were "attention whores". But they had to know that if they were successful in gaining attention they were going to harm a lot of people namely the relatives of the dead.

Can anybody out there tell me WHY they shouldn't be sued out of financial existence???

And if this IS free speech would it have been ok if they had showed up at the dead students' funerals in this garb???

ssspert · 12-11-2007, 05:33 PM

damned yankees

PITBOSS · 12-12-2007, 10:29 PM

I agree, free speech, but in very bad taste. they've insulted a lot of people and will be treated as the dumbasses they are.

wilthrill · 12-18-2007, 09:32 AM

Would it also be free speech if at the next athletic event involving W Virginia and Penn State, 10,0000 students from West Virginia showed up with t-shirts that had these JACKASSES' pictures on them with the slogan, "Penn State Morons"?

Would free speech be an adequate defense for causing the riot that would surely ensue?

12-11-2007, 08:35 AM	#1 (permalink)
wilthrill Band Whore Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 818 Rep Power: 45	Free speech Penn St students dress up as dead W Virginia students http://abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=3976074&page=1 Well it is incredibly TASTELESS but one of the students claims it was a free speech act so I look to see WHAT he was trying to "say". From the article: "However, Powers said that Penn State, after talking with one of the students involved, had no plans to discipline the students, citing freedom of speech protections in the Constitution....In the interview, which the station WSLS posted on its Web site, the unnamed student said, "It's not that it was funny, it's that we are notorious and infamous in the state college and very popular, so we have to do things that push the envelope just for shock value." Free speech is NOT an ABSOLUTE right. The cliched example is that you don't have a right to yell "fire" in a crowded theater. However, as I have said numerous times no one has a right to go through life unoffended. Yet here I can discern ABSOLUTELY NO VALID FREE SPEECH objective. If they were expressing a political view for example this would be easy and they would be within their rights. But here they just say they wanted to shock people. This borders on Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress which in most jurisdictions is a cause of action (they could be sued for it). Their goal was not to convey a message. Instead it appears their goal (if they had one) was SOLELY to gain attention. As the article says, they were "attention whores". But they had to know that if they were successful in gaining attention they were going to harm a lot of people namely the relatives of the dead. Can anybody out there tell me WHY they shouldn't be sued out of financial existence??? And if this IS free speech would it have been ok if they had showed up at the dead students' funerals in this garb???

12-11-2007, 05:33 PM	#2 (permalink)
ssspert Band Member Productive GCB Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: wemo Posts: 1,919 Rep Power: 12	damned yankees __________________ Straight Shots Myspace page My Myspace Bass page email ME for Straight Shot booking information. “Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.” James Dean

12-12-2007, 10:29 PM	#3 (permalink)
PITBOSS Band Whore Join Date: May 2005 Location: Grand Bay Age: 33 Posts: 290 Rep Power: 39	I agree, free speech, but in very bad taste. they've insulted a lot of people and will be treated as the dumbasses they are.

12-18-2007, 09:32 AM	#4 (permalink)
wilthrill Band Whore Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 818 Rep Power: 45	Would it also be free speech if at the next athletic event involving W Virginia and Penn State, 10,0000 students from West Virginia showed up with t-shirts that had these JACKASSES' pictures on them with the slogan, "Penn State Morons"? Would free speech be an adequate defense for causing the riot that would surely ensue?