[circlecity]

S"o does free speech mean that we must endure hateful speech in the public square?"

But Sterling's speech wasn't in the "public square". They were part of a private conversation.

[rellimpank]

--same principle I have had to explain to union agitators at work-

-"Yeah, you have a constitutional right to free speech , but you don't have a constitutional right to work at Company X--"

[fruser1]

The problem is that the “standard” is applied capriciously.

Some groups or people can be overtly racist and get accolades.

[driftless2]

And now “gay” people are not so gay. They want to shove their lifestyles down our throats. I think society was a lot better off when “gay” people were in the closet.

[skeeter]

The goal is noble: create a kinder environment.

Stossel is being naive - this is not the goal.

In fact I think the goal is quite the opposite - they're just shifting targets.

[driftless2]

Stossel goes a little astray in this column. No, it is not a case of someone being denied their freedom of speech, and yes , the NBA does have a right to protect its interests and viability.

But because the NBA has the right to discipline its members and banish them if need be, that does not mean that its members cannot be treated unfairly. To dismiss Sterling as an old racist who got what was coming to him is to ignore the fact that he was less than nice for decades before this incident (which was conveniently ignored by the NBA) and is now being punished for something he said in the privacy of his home and illegally recorded. Even scoundrels have rights.

Many people say why feel sorry for a crud like Sterling who has billions? I don't feel for sorry for Sterling...I feel sorry for justice. If Sterling can lose his franchise for something he said in the privacy of his home, then who is safe from something similar happening to them? I think the league opened up a can of worms.

[bird4four4]

All a business can do is refuse to do business with me.

We all know that statement is false.

What you meant is you can refuse to patronize a business.

[Altura Ct.]

In America today, the market punishes racists aggressively.

No they don't. They punish whites aggressively.

[P-Marlowe]

This changed in just two decades, he says, because there was open debate. Gay people "had no real political power, only the force of our arguments. But in a society where free exchange is the rule, that was enough."

And now the homos who benefited from the open debate now want to close it and make any supposedly anti-homo remark a hate crime.

Liberals are willing to debate until they get power. Then the debate is over and they use the power to ensure that there will not be any opposing viewpoints.

Obama's climate change report is the end of the debate. Anyone disagreeing will be considered a heretic and possibly subject to criminal prosecution. That is where we are headed.

[Wildcat Stevens]

‘There is a new commandment at colleges today: “Thou shalt not hurt others with words.”’...Unless they are White, Republican, Southern, Christian, Gun Owners, Heterosexual, etc. Then one may hurl invective with impunity.

[glennaro]

Fight bigotry with more speech

Would that we could, John. "Open exchange" and "more speech" only antagonizes the Left and -- because they truly believe that those who disagree with them aren't just wrong, we're evil -- they use that "speech" to justify their pathological bullying. (Along the lines of that ridiculous "how to deal with a bully" advice from a few weeks back.)

[Savage Beast]

Stossel’s right. The problem is that millions of people are too stupid—or too morally lazy—to comprehend the difference between government censorship and the way the free market works.

[Responsibility2nd]

This changed in just two decades, he says, because there was open debate. Gay people "had no real political power, only the force of our arguments. But in a society where free exchange is the rule, that was enough."

If Stossel wants to argue for free speech; he sure is picking a bad example here. No other group wants to silence thoughts and words like the Gaystapo.