Issue 684 You're allowed to insult people September 23, 2015

Ok, you are wondering probably how I can say you are allowed to insult people.  That it hurts others.  That the recipient receives emotional pain.  People may consider your statements racist.  Um, you are forgetting the first amendment and its responsibilities.

Insult away:  People need to stop worrying about insulting people.  They need to stop worrying about being politically correct.  But a college in New Hampshire made a list of banned words to fit the politically correct themes they believe in.  As such the word "rich" are people of wealth.  Senior is people of age.  But all this violates free speech.  Senior and rich are innocent words that are a describer, they are not designed to be hateful in the least.  However, our notions of sensibilities has changed to say that they are insulting.  I say they are not.  It is not calling a black person the "N" word, or a Spanish person the "S" word. These words like senior, rich or poor are not designed to be derogatory.  Even then, you're calling someone an idiot or a moron for doing something dumb is ok.  Saying your friend is a dummy and him calling you an ass as per your regular greeting to each other is insulting, but it's ok.  Insulting someone you do not know who happens to be six feet tall, bulging muscles and a face only a mother can love is also ok, though you suffer the consequences of being punched in the face.  Speech already has consequences socially, yet laws and codes of conduct try to ban them.  Last I checked, no law can restrict speech as per the first Amendment.  And if you do not like what is being said, you are under no obligation to listen as per your first amendment rights.

Conclusion:  If we follow this trend, every word used as a describer can potentially insult someone.  But insults are not something that we should concern ourselves with.  It is simple speech which has its meanings change only when we the people change those meanings.  So if you stop changing the meaning of senior, poor, low income, and the like and instead set a specific definition to describe people under specific or varied circumstances, then they are not insults, they become just words.  It does not stop the prideful from being hurt by a descriptor they do not like, but it is up to them to take it that way, not yours.  You should not be afraid to speak, yet changing meanings and claiming that a word can demean someone so much is just silly. If you think it is insulting, then do not say it, but do not force it on others.  People are already responsible for what they say due to social consequences.  What need do you have to punish someone who is already admonished publicly for saying something stupid in the first place (if what they said is dumb to begin with). You can speak freely.  Resist political correctness as your freedom of speech says you can.