Originally posted by Shadowblazer
Just because you [b]can say something doesn't necessarily mean that you should. Sure, she had every right to say what she did. That doesn't somehow remove the listener's right to be offended by it though. And of course, thanks to the aforementioned freedom of speech, those offended have every right to voice their disagreement. It's not hypocricy, it's the system doing its job.As for my opinion on this, I think Atma put it best. Miss Maines is certainly free to say whatever she wants, but it seems kind of... tacky, I suppose, for a celebrity to go overseas and start badmouthing the president. I honestly didn't find the comment itself all that offensive, but the very fact that she made it did strike a nerve.[/B]
I agree with that. Not much more to say because you covered it all.
Originally posted by Beldaran
Here's some freedom of speech for you:People who don't understand American patriotism don't have anything worth preserving in their lives. That is why Mander makes fun of us for boycotting the Ditsy Chicks. If she had something in her life worth believing in, she'd appreciate our views.
But obviously she is intolerant of our beliefs, which makes her a bigot.
You're acting like those loons who are pouring wine down drains just because France won't support us. I'm more conservative than I am liberal, but I can still respect what they said. You have to remember, about half of our country doesn't support the president. Most of them may be liberals, but I don't bad mouth them for their beliefs. At what point did being a liberal make you unpatriotic?
Just because they don't believe what our president does, or what we do, doesn't make them wrong. You have to remember, those who are against the war are patriotic too. They sincerely believe that the war will hurt our country. It's their right to believe so. We can't just say "well, they're wrong." The war will probably turn out at least okay, but you STILL wouldn't be able to say "You were wrong," because we don't know how it would have turned out the other way.
I made fun of Clinton all the time. The man was like a walking scandal. However, since 9/11 and the whole terrorism thing, disagreeing with the president has become taboo. For the most part, I support Bush, but he HAS done things I didn't agree with, and I've made fun of him over those things. These people you want to keep demonizing just agree with the president even less, so they make fun of him more, just like the major conservatives made fun of Clinton all the time.
They aren't unpatriotic. They think that our president is hurting our country, and it's their right to speak out if they want to. That doesn't make them bad. It doesn't make them wrong. It just means that their idea of what is right for our country differs than ours. I'm generally a Republican, and it's people like you who give our party a bad name. You're acting like a bigger bigot than the Dixie Chicks are. To put it in a frame of reference you can relate to, you're acting like an Asturian.
As for the Dixie Chicks, I think what they said is phenomenally stupid. We're heading for war, and that's a bad time to criticize the government. Not to mention, it's in extremely bad taste to criticize your government when you're in another country.