AltTulsa takes free speech seriously. We agree with the noted 20th-century philosopher, Madonna, who once said, "Free speech is better than sex."
But free speech has some limits, of course. You can't knowingly lie about a person and damage his or her reputation without facing a libel suit, for example. More seriously, speech that incites violence can and should be punished because it is harmful, so harmful that it goes beyond words to actions that cause injury, even death.
All of which leads us to the crazy talk permeating the right-wing airwaves and blogosphere these days, some of it blatantly erroneous and dangerously hyperbolic. We tend to discount most of this nonsense, but some of it can, in some cases, lead to actions that go well beyond speech.
Glenn Beck's particular brand of paranoia may have done just that in a recent case in California, a case with deadly results. Why do we say that? Because the shooter himself has said so.
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Headline: Six people shot following argument in Oklahoma City church
By MATT DINGER NewsOK.com
Published: 10/14/2010
Six people were shot on a northwest Oklahoma City street Wednesday night, police said.
The victims' names and ages weren't released.
The shooting happened on NW 96, just east of Western Avenue, about 8:45 p.m., Oklahoma City police Lt. Daimon Alexander said.
Two groups of people started arguing inside the Word of God church. They left and the argument continued as they walked down NW 96, he said.
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Well, at least they had the decency to hold their fire until AFTER they left the church.
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