Freedom of speech misused

"Keep Calm and Rape Her" t-shirts - why it was right to ban their sale

Freedom of speech - someone exercising rights to FoS must also realise that those rights go along with responsibilities, to not cause undue offense and to not threaten the morals of society.

I have recently heard it argued that the condemning reaction to the vile "Keep Calm and Rape Her" t-shirts from Amazon, was misplaced and infringed on freedom of speech. It was reactionary and the t-shirt complainers need to learn to “laugh a little”. Some people saying this have been atheists. Vocal, militant ones, at that.

This is, frankly, double-speak. How can they say on one hand say that atheism is superior to religion and therfore atheism should be promoted above religion, and also hold the view that rape (as opposed to no rape) is just as valid a point of expression in their right of freedom of speech. You can't have it both ways. Condoning the suppression of religion infringes religion's rights to freedom of speech just as much as stopping rape t-shirts infringes the rights to freedom of speech for rape-apologists.

Those really are rights I don't care to stand up for. I guess my point is that some "speakers" deserve less intrinsic freedom that others based on their standpoint across a spectrum of issues.

This is not censorship. It is moderation.

For example, do we seriously need to listen to the mad ravings of serial killers simply because not doing so would infringe their rights to freedom of speech? They most often have nothing useful to say, probably because the mind that has useful things to say is more often than not, not one that controls a serial-killer's body. Regardless, even if there are people who want to listen to them, we should not all be expected to like it when their ridiculous opinions are made known.

Banning the t-shirts did not infringe any rights. The same company could have made slightly different t-shirts the next day somewhere else and continued to sell them, moving on each time they were discovered or changing names etc. Drug cartels do it. I think the point is more that some atheists just don't like how powerful feminism can be and how much influence it can have when we unite. Well, tough.

To navigate this ideological minefield, we need a consistent approach. We must both utterly condemn rape and regard its promotion or over-exposure as unacceptable. Rape is wrong at all times and we must be sensitive and accommodating to those who can't just "laugh it off". It is a bit like when Sepp Blatter famously asked victims of racial abuse in football to simply “shake hands” with their abusers. As if that would solve anything.