Ave, Kevin Kim on Insulting and Free Speech

Kevin Kim

My friend Kevin Kim yesterday cited Ali Rizvi's criticism of people who concede that the recent killings at Charlie Hebdo were terrible and then add "but" a line was crossed when Muhammad - whose image is forbidden to be depicted - was satirized repeatedly in caricature, a thing vastly offensive to Muslims (from whom violence is to be expected, apparently). To such 'but-ridden' people, Ali retorts, "Without the freedom to offend, there is no freedom of speech." Kevin then linked to my two prior posts making much the same point:

A similar point was recently made by my friend Jeff Hodges, and for his trouble he now finds himself being hectored by a troll who is obviously a member of the "but" crowd. Trolls begin conversations in a posture of attack, which is one way to know they are trolls. To be both a troll and a "but"-head, though, is a truly sad state of affairs.

What I truly admire in Kevin's writing is his skill at concisely encapsulating the essential point that, once stated, is clearly the essential point, as in his observation that "Trolls begin conversations in a posture of attack, which is one way to know they are trolls."

Exactly right.