Feeling Offencded??

I abhor the erosion of free speech. I oppose any who would condemn the idea of free speech. Nowadays people feel they have the right to be legally protected from what others might say. Holy shite! That sort of thinking heralds the beginning of the end of free-speech!

We should be able to openly express our views; if others are offended by our views, then the responsibility lies with them to deal with that. I don’t like the censorship of ideas; I don’t like people being burn’t at the stake for their ideas; I don’t like people being threatened for drawing a cartoon that offends a segment of the population; I don’t like the fact that someone can be vilified for stating what they think. To temper this belief - I also think that civilized people shouldn’t go around offending others for the sake of it; but if we are arguing for a belief of some kinD, or defending our position on something, then all bets are off (in my opinion). 

People, in my view, should be free to say what they like about me; about my beliefs, opinions, etc - and I , of course, should be free to defend my position (if I can) … words are words. If I am offended, then that is my problem … I should be able to defend my position with rational argument. Our grandparents knew better … ‘stick and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me’. The new generation needs to harden up a little methinks …