I Think, Therefore I Hate?

Jolson in Mammy, 1930

No, I did not spend Yom Kippur writing this....just thinking about it. I really don't want to write about Macklemore but he has raised a question that just won't let go: what constitutes freedom of expression? Does that freedom include the harassment and intimidation of people going about their daily business? Can a venue say, thanks, but no thanks to that performance because it would be offensive to many audience members? Or are all venues require to permit performers dressed in minstrel costumes with cork blackface and clown white lips singing pro-slavery songs while shouting epithets at black people to perform? Is shouting FIRE! in a crowded theater when there is no fire really a crime? 

Does the owner of a venue have the right to say, thanks, but no thanks  to a performer who intentionally spouts something he doesn't consider hate speech but others do? And what exactly is hate-speech?

One opinion is that Macklemore has the right to say whatever he wants, but he does not have a right to perform on the privately owned arena stage if the owner of said stage says no. The performer's long history of antisemitic statements lend credence to the idea that denying him performance space is an act of corporate responsibility.

This is not over. The fallout is already spectacular. But I don't see anyone asking if minstrel shows are now okay?

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

Take a moment to read The Constitution.

It's a pretty interesting document.