Apparently, appreciation of the law (or irony) is not universal.
As Duke Rescola has told it (see the Thursday, Dec. 13 Daily Forty-Niner article, “Illegitimate posting misses the watermark,” the “goon” in question — and the organization the latter supposedly represents — has targeted the Daily Forty-Niner columnist in a manner contrary to legal statutes.
Hate groups, the world over, have a tendency to champion the law only when they perceive it as being in their favor – to muscle hate and prejudice over reason and civil debate.
And therein the irony, folks: that in such fury of fear and hostility sleeps a blind eye to laws that apply to everyone, and which Rescola has seen fit to see enforced.
The free and open exchange of a diverse spectrum of ideas is encouraged. It is a bastion of our democracy, where silence is not golden.
As U.S. citizens, it is our constitutional right to assert and defend freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
But it is also our obligation to respect the laws that protect all from malicious harm.
The idea is for everyone to speak and be heard clearly. Frame a message with solid claims, supported by verifiable legitimate evidence, and credibility from a wider audience will be earned. And more power to ya’.
The wielding of malicious verbal “clubs,” however, is not the preferred method. One need only ask the law.
– Misako Miyagawa,Daily Forty-Niner staff writer
